.* ^0 



O N 

















«£. <;> 



V 



e,. *'«* 







^'^ 



^^ 



,^ * 
















,^^ "^ 







v<>> 




o « o 







• % A^ -^r 















^ ^ 



^^ Y<* 






o . S ' A <> 'O » A ^ .0 ^^^ 



s • • 

















>^ 






^ o 
s 
















<j5^^ 









t • 



^ % *'«^ aT 







V *•'-' 









-^ 






< 



"^^ 



The Students Hume, 



HISTOKYrOF ENGLAND 



FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE REVOLUTION 

IN 1688. 

By DAVID HUME. 

ABRIDGED. 

INCORPORATING THE CORRECTIONS AND RESEARCHES 
OF RECENT HISTORIANS; 



AND CONTINUED DOWN TO THE YEAR 1858. 




JJlIustrateti fig SBttflrabinjjs on ?32^ooTi. 



n 



NEW YOKK: 
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 



FRANKLIN SQUARE. 



..^^- 



1859 



^,^^^^6::^cAcy4%^^^ 




OF C ONGR ESS 
WASHINGTON 



UNIFORM WITH THE PRESENT VOLUME. 

The STUDENT'S GIBBON. Being the History of the Decline 

AND Fall of the Roman Empiee, abridged, for Colleges and Schools. Wood-cuts. 
12mo, Muslin, $1 00. 

A HISTOEY OF GREECE. From the Earliest Times to the Ro- 
man Conquest, 171111 Chapters on the History of Literature and Art. By Dk. Wm. 
Smith. Wood-cuts. 12mo, Muslin, $1 00. 

A HISTORY OF ROME. From the Earliest Times to the Estab- 
lishment op the Empire, with Chapters on the History of Literature and Art. By 
Dean Liddell. Wood-cuts. 12mo, Muslin, $1 00. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 

Harper & Brothers, 
In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New York. 



PREFACE 



This work is designed to supply a long-acknowledged 
want in our School and College Literature — a Student's 
History of England in a volume of moderate size, free 
from sectarian and party prejudice, containing the results 
of the researches of the best modern historians, tracing more 
particularly the development of the Constitution, and bring- 
ing out prominently the characters and actions of the great 
men of our country. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the 
manifold difficulties of su.ch an undertaking — difficulties 
which the editor of the present work would have deemed 
insuperable if he had not been able to avail himself of the 
clear narrative and matchless style of Hume. 

It has lately been the fashion in some quarters to under- 
rate the merits and exaggerate the faults of Hume ; but the 
most competent judges have generally been among the first 
to render homage to his greatness as an historian. Thus 
Mr. Hallam remarks that the domestic transactions in the 
reign of Edward I. have been "extremely well told by 
Hume, the first writer who had the merit of exposing the 
character of Edward I. ;" and a recent critic has observed, 
" that Hume's account of our English annals is still, with 
all its defects, the best history of the period over which it 
extends."* Indeed, the History of Hume will probably 
long remain unrivaled. It is not mere learning and the por- 
ing over records that constitute an historian. A writer may 
be accurate in his facts, but most erroneous in his deduc- 
tions from them. With the best materials, he may com- 
pletely misrepresent history from want of the ability to trace 

* The Times, April 1, 1858. 



vi PREFACE. 

the connection of events, and to reason from them correct- 
ly ; above all, he may lack that power of historical narra- 
tion without which the facts of history will ever remain 
mere annals — dry bones, devoid of form, and flesh, and vi- 
tal motion. In all the great qualities of an historian Hume 
was pre-eminently excellent. His perception was the most 
acute ; his judgment, except when occasionally warped by 
prejudice, the most sound; his historical views the largest 
and most enlightened. But the principal charm of his work 
lies in his inimitable style, the ease and grace of which in- 
spired even so great a writer as Gibbon with " a mixed sen- 
sation of delight and despair." 

It is not intended, however, to ignore or extenuate Hume's 
defects. The editor of the present work has carefully com- 
pared the historian's statements with the best and most re- 
cent authorities, retaining his language as far as was practi- 
cable, but at the same time introducing into the text numer- 
ous corrections and additions. Hume's political principles, 
as is well known, led him to uphold the royal prerogative 
against the popular element in our Constitution ; and this 
bias may be observed, not only in the coloring of his narra- 
tive and the tone of his reasonings, but occasionally also, it 
must be added, in an unfair use of his authorities. The ef- 
fect of these principles is most conspicuous in that portion 
of his work which he first published, namely, the history of 
James I. and Charles I. In the lives of the two following 
Stuarts there is not much to which any lover of constitu- 
tional freedom would be reasonably inclined to object ; but 
with the view apparently of exculpating Charles I., the great 
hero of his work, in his maintenance of those principles 
which cost him his crown and his life, the historian has 
been led to represent the royal prerogative under the Plan- 
tagenets and Tudors as greater and more absolute than the 
facts will justify. These views it has been the duty of the 



PREFACE. ^ii 



present editor to modify and correct from later and more 
unprejudiced writers. 

Another defect in Hume's History is tlie carelessness with 
which he has treated the earlier portion, and especially the 
Anglo-Saxon period. This arose from two causes: his 
philosophical indifference for a people whom he considered 
little better than barbarians, and the want of authentic, ma- 
terials for his narrative. This want has been supplied in 
the present century by the impulse given to antiquarian re- 
search, and by the revival of the study of the Anglo-Saxon 
language and literature. The works of Turner, Palgrave, 
Lappenberg, and Kemble, have thrown an entirely new 
light upon this period of our annals, and, accordingly, the 
early history down to the time of the Norman Conquest has 
been in a great measure rewritten by the editor. 

As much prominence as possible is given in the present 
work to the rise and progress of the Constitution ; but, in 
order to economize space, and at the same time not interrupt 
the narrative, much important information upon this subject 
is inserted in a smaller type in the "Notes and Illustrations," 
where the student will find an account of the " government, 
laws, and institutions of the Anglo-Saxons," of the " Anglo- 
, Norman Constitution," of the "origin and progress of Par- 
liament," and of other matters of a similar kind. Several 
constitutional documents, such as the Petition of Eight and 
the Bill of Eights, are printed at length. These Notes and 
Illustrations, which contain discussions on various other his- 
torical and antiquarian subjects, have been drawn up mainly 
with the view of assisting the student in farther inquiries ; 
and with the same object a copious list of authorities is ap- 
pended. 

The continuation from the reign of James II., which it 
has been necessary to compress into narrow limits, has been 
compiled from the best authorities, among which Lord Ma- 



viii PREFACE. 



hon's History deserves to be particularly mentioned, on ac- 
count of the valuable assistance which has been derived from 
it in this portion of the work. All that could be attempted 
in so limited a space was a succinct narrative of the princi- 
pal events ; and it is hoped that no facts of any great im- 
portance have been omitted. 

Another work which has been of great service to the ed- 
itor is the " Historic Peerage of England," by the late Sir 
Harris Nicolas. As a peer is usually mentioned in history 
by his title, and the same title has often been borne by dif- 
ferent families, the student frequently experiences no small 
difficulty in ascertaining the family to which a title belongs, 
and supposes a relationship between persons who are in no 
way connected. Sir Harris Nicolas has removed all diffi- 
culties of this kind ; and, accordingly, the editor of the pres- 
ent work has taken pains to distinguish in the Notes be- 
tween families bearing the same title, and to specify the 
times when titles of historical importance were created and 
became extinct. It is believed that such information, which 
is given for the first time in a history of this description, 
will guard the student against many mistakes. 

All the coins and medals figured in the work have been 
drawn from originals in the Medal-room of the British Mu- , 
seum, and the editor desires to express his obligations to 
Mr. Hawkins and Mr. E. Stuart Poole for their advice and 
judgment in the selection of them. 



NOTE BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR. 

In those portions of this volume relating to America, a 
few errors of names and dates have been corrected in the 
text. Where any important correction seemed requisite, it 
has been made in the form of a note, bearing the signature 
of the American editor. 




Coin of the Emperor Hadrian, p. 11. 



CONTENTS. 



BOOK I. 

THE BEITONS, ROMANS, AND ANGLO-SAXONS. 

(B.C. 55-A.D, 1066.) 
B.C. A.D. CiiAP. Page 

55-4:46. I. The Britons and Romans 1 

Notes and Illustrations : 

A. Caesar's Voyage to Britain 16 

B. The Roman Wall 16 

C. The Comes Littoris Saxonici 16 

D. The Scots and Picts 17 

E. Government and Divisions of Britain un- 

der the Romans 17 

E. Authorities 18 

A.D. 

450-827. 11. The Anglo-Saxons till the Reign of Egbert 19 

Notes and Illustrations : 

A. The Frisians took part in the Saxon inva- 

sion of Britain 37 

B. The Isle of Thanet 37 

C. Celtic Words in the English Language.... 37 

827-1016. III. The Anglo-Saxons from the Union of England un- 

der Egbert till the Reign of Canute the Dane.. 38 

1016-1066. IV. Danes and Anglo-Saxons from the Reign of Ca- 
nute to the Norman Conquest 58 

Notes and Illustrations : 

A. The Government, Laws, and Institutions 

of the Anglo-Saxons 70 

B. Anglo-Saxon Language and Literature.... 75 

C. Authorities 76 

1* 



y CONTENTS. 

BOOK 11. 

ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS, (a.d. 1066-1199.) 

A.D. Chap. Page 

1066-1087. V. William L, surnamed the Conqueror 77 

1087-1154. VI. William II., Henry I., Stephen 93 

HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET. 

1154-1199. VII. Henry II. and Richard I ". 108 

Notes and Illustrations: 

A. The Anglo-Norman Constitution 128 

B. Authorities for Norman History 132 

C. Authorities for Anglo-Norman History... 132 



BOOK III. 

THE FOUNDATION OF ENGLISH LIBERTY.— FROM THE AC- 
CESSION OF JOHN TO THE DEATH OF RICHARD III. 
(a.d. 1199-1485). 

HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET.— Coni^me J. 

1199-1272. VIIL John and Henry III 135 

Notes and Illustrations : 

A. On the Amalgamation of the Saxon and 

Norman Races 153 

B. Confirmations of the Great Charter 154 

C. Trial by Juiy 154 

1272-1327. IX. Edward L and Edward II 155 

1327-1399. X. Edward III. and Richard II 1 73 

Notes and Illustrations : 

. A. Death of Richard II 199 

B. Stsitnte of Prceinunire 199 

HOUSE OF LANCASTER. 
1399-1461. XL Henry IV., Henry V., Henry VI 201 

HOUSE OF YORK. 

1461-1485. XIL Edward IV., Edward V., Richard HI 223 

Notes and Illustrations : 

A. Origin and Progress of Parliament 238 

B. Authorities for the Period of the Plantag- 

enets from John to Richard III 240 



CONTENTS. 



XI 



BOOK IV. 

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR, (a.d. 1485-1603.) 
A.D. Chap. Page 

1485-1509 XIII. Henry VII 242 

1509-1530. XIV. Henry VIIL From his Accession to the Death 

ofWolsey 255 

1530-1547. XV. Henry VIII., continued. From the Death of 

Wolsey to the Death of the King 273 

1547-1553. XVI. Edward VI 293 

1553-1558. XVII. Mary 303 

1558-1587. XVIII. Elizabeth. From her Accession to the Death 

of Mary Queen of Scots 313 

1587-1603. XIX. Elizabeth, continued. From the Execution of 

the Queen of Scots to the Death of Elizabeth. . 348 

Notes and Illustrations: 

A. The Court of Star Chamber 366 

B. Authorities for the Period of the Tudors. ,367 



BOOK V. 

THE HOUSE OF STUART, TO THE ABDICATION OF 
JAMES II. (A.D. 1603-1688.) 

1603-1625. XX-. James 1 369 

1625-1642. XXI. Charles I. From, his Accession to the Com- 
mencement of the Civil War 389 

Notes and Illustrations : 
Petition of Right 420 

1642-1649. XXII. Charles I., continued. From the Commence- 
ment of the Civil War to the Trial and Exe- 
cution of the King 422 

Notes and Illustrations: 
Icon Basilike 450 

1649-1660. XXIII. The Commonwealth 451 

1660-1678. XXIV. Charles II. From the Restoration to the Peace 

of Nimeguen 477 

Notes and Illustrations : 

A. Test and Corporation Acts 498 

B. The Act of Uniformity 499 

C. Immunitv of Juries 499 



xii CONTENTS. 

A.D. Chap. Page 

1678-1685. XXV. Charles II., continued. From the Peace of Nim- 

eguen to the Death of the King 500 

Notes and Illustrations : 
Habeas Corpus Act 522 

1685-1688. XXVI. James II 523 

Notes and Illustrations : 
Authorities for the Period of the Stuarts 544 



BOOK VI. 

FROM THE REVOLUTION OF 1688 TO THE YEAR 1858. 

1689-1702. XX VII. William and Mary, and William III 515 

Notes and Illustrations : 

An Act for declaring the Rights and Liber- 
ties of the Subject, and settling the Suc- 
cession of the Crown 569 

1702-1714. XXVIIL Queen Anne 573 

HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 

1714-1727. XXIX. George L... 593 

Notes and Illustrations : 

The Convocation of the English Church 605 

1727-1760. XXX. George II. 606 

1760-1783. XXXI. George III. From his Accession to the Recog- 
nition of American Independence, and the 
Peace of Versailles 631 

1783-1802. XXXll. George III., continued. From the Peace of Ver- 
sailles to the Peace of Amiens 663 

1802-1820. XXXIII. George III., continued. From the Peace of 

Amiens to the Death of the King 691 

1820-1858. XXXIV. George IV., William IV., and Victoria 727 

Notes and Illustrations : 

A. Poor Laws.... 756 

B. Corn Laws 757 

C. Navigation Laws 757 

D. Authorities for the Period comprised in 

Book VI 758 

Table of the principal contemporary European Sovereigns from the 
period of the Conquest 760 

List of the Archbishops of Canterbury from the time of the Reforma- 
tion 762 



CONTENTS. 



Xlll 



GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 

Page 

Of the House of Cerdic (Anglo-Saxon kings) 57 

Of the Anglo-Danish Kings ..,.. 71 

Of William the Conqueror ; 80 

Of the Descendants of William the Conqueror down to Henrj II 92 

Of the House of Flantagenet 1 34. 

Of the Descendants of Philip III. of France (in illustration of the French 

wars of Edward III.) 176 

Of the Descent of Henry IV. from Henry III 197 

Of the Descendants of John II. of France (in illustration of the French 

wars of Henry V.) 207 

Of Henry of Richmond (Henry VII.) and the Duke of Buckingham ... 233 

Of the House of Tudor 241 

Of the House of Stuart ....'. , 368 

Of the Descendants of Philip III, of Spain (in illustration of the war 

of the Spanish succession) , 563 

Of the House of Brunswick .... 764 

Index 765 




Reverse of Seal of Edward the Confessor. The obvei'se is figured on p. 5S. 




Jeweled Oraament of the Mitre of William of Wykeham, 14th century: 
New College, Oxford. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Medal of James, Duke of York, afterward James II., ^ 

commemorating the naval Victory over the Dutch, June > Fkoxtispiece. 
3, 1665 S 

Medal commemorating Battle of Plassy Titlepage. 



Page 

Coin of Hadrian ix 

Eeverse of Seal of Edward the 

Confessor xiii 

Jeweled Ornament of the Mitre 

of William of Wykeham xiv 

Mitre of Thomas a Becket xvi 

Stonehenge 1 

Gold Coin of Cynobelin or Cuno- 

belinus 8 

Aureus of the Emperor Claudius 9 
Aureus of the Emperor Carau- 

sius 12 

Map of the Isle of Thanet at the 
Time of the Landing of the 

Saxons 19 

Map of Britain, showing the 
Settlements of the Anglo-Sax- 
ons 28 

Silver Penny of Ethelbert II., 
King of Kent and Bretwalda. . 31 



Page 
The Raising of Lazarus — sculp- 
ture of the 9th or 10th cen- 
tury, from Selsey, now in 

Chichester Cathedral 38 

Golden Ring of Ethelwolf, in the 

British Museum 41 

Seal of EdAvard the Confessor .. 58 

Silver Penny of C anute 60 

Norman Knights at the Battle 
of Hastings, From the Ba- 

yeux tapestry 70 

SilverPenny of William the Con- 
queror, struck at Chester — 

unique 77 

Henry of Blois, Bishop of Win- 
chester, and Brother of King 
Stephen. From an enameled 
plate in the British Museum.. 93 
Eleanor, wife of Henry II. From 
her monument at Fontevraud 106 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



XV 



Page 
Henry II. From his monument 

at Fontevraud 108 

Geoffrey Plantagenet, father of 

Henry II 109 

Richard I. From his monument 

at Fontevraud 123 

Berengaria 1 25 

John. From his tomb in Wor- 
cester .Cathedral 5 135 

Isabella. From her tomb at Fon- 
tevraud 135 

Henry III. From his tomb in 

Westminster Abbey 145 

Edward I. From the Tower.... 155 

Noble of Edward III 173 

Neville's Cross 182 

Henry IV. and his Queen, Joan 
of Navarre. From their mon- 
ument at Canterbury 201 

Reverse of great Seal of Edward 

IV 223 

Reverse of great Seal of Richard 

III 223 

Henry VII. and Elizabeth of 
York. From their monument 

in Westminster Abbey 242 

Silver Medal of Henry VIII. ... 255 

Gold Medal of Henry VIII 273 

Reverse of gold Medal of Henry 

VIII 274 

Shilling of Edward VI 293 

Medal of Philip and Mary 303 

Queen Elizabeth 313 

Medal of Pope Gregory XIII., 
commemorating the Massacre 

of St. Bartholomew 334 

Dutch Medal on the Overthrow 

of the Armada 348 

Reverse of Medal on preceding 

page 349 

Sardonyx Ring, with cameo 

head of Queen Elizabeth 367- 

Obverse of Medal of James I. .. 369 
Obverse of Pattern for a Broad 
of Charles 1 389 



"Oxford Crown" of Charles I. 422 
Obverse of Medal of Sir Thom- 
as Fairfax 433 

Pattern for a Crown of the Pro- 
tector Oliver Cromwell 451 

Medal given for Service in the 
Action with the Dutch, July 

31, 1653 463 

Medal of Charles II. and Cath- 
erine, probably relating to the 

Queen's Dowry 477 

Medal of James, Duke of York, 
afterward James II., com- 
memorating the naval Victory 
over the Dutch, June 3, 1665 484 

Reverse 485 

Medal relating to the Rye House 

Plot 500 

Reverse 501 

Medal struck in commemoration 
of the Acquittal of the Earl of 

Shaftesbury 515 

Obverse of Medal of James II. 

and Mary of Modena... 523 

Medal of Archbishop Sancroft 

and the seven Bishops 531 

Medal of William III 545 

Medal of Queen Anne, in honor 
of the Union, struck at Leipzig 573 

Medal of George 1 593 

Medal of the elder Pretender 

and his Wife 596 

Reverse, Clementina 597 

Medal of George II 606 

Reverse 607 

Medal of the young Pretender... 620 
Medal commemorating Battle of 

Plassy 631 

Medal in commemoration of Lord 
Howe's Victory over the French 

Fleet, June 1, 1794 663 

Medal in commemoration of the 

Battle of Trafalgar 691 

Reverse 092 

Medal of the Battle of Aliwal... 727 




Mitre of Thomas a Becket. Cathedral at i^ens. 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 





Stonehenge. 

BOOK I. 
THE BEITONS, E0MA:^S, aitd ANdLO-SAXONS. 

B.C. 55-A.D. 1066. 



CHAPTEE I. 

THE BRITONS AND EOMANS. 

§ 1. Earliest Notices of Britain. § 2. The earliest Inhabitants of Britain 
were Celts of the Cymric Stock. § 3. Religion of the Britons. § 4. 
Knights and Bards. § 5. Manners and Customs of the Britons. § 6. 
British Tribes. § 7. Caesar's two Invasions of Britain. § 8. History till 
the Invasion of Claudius. § 9. Caractacus. § 10. Conquest of Mona ; 
Boadicea. § 11. Agricola. § 12. The Roman Walls between the Solway 
and the Tyne, and the Clyde and the Forth. § 13. Saxon Pirates ; Ca- 
rausius. § 14. Picts and Scots. § 15. Final Departure of the Romans. 
§ 16. Condition of Britain under the Romans. § 17. Christianity in 
Britain. 

§ 1. The southwestern coasts of Britain were known to the 
Phoenician merchants several centuries before the Christian era. 
The Phoenician colonists of Tartessus and Gades in Spain were 



2 EARLIEST NOTICES OF BRITAIN. Chap. I. 

attracted to the shores of Britain by its abundant supply of tin, a 
metal of great importance in antiquity from the extensive use of 
bronze for the manufacture of weapons of war and implements 
of peace. It would seem that the Phoenicians originally obtained 
this metal from India, since the Grecian name for tin is of Indian 
origin, and must have been brought into Greece by the Phoenicians, 
together with the article itself =^ Accordingly, when these traders 
found tin in the Scilly Isles, they gave them the name of the Cas- 
siterides, or the Tin-islands, an appellation by which they were 
known to Herodotusf in the fifth century before the Christian 
era. Aristotle, however, is the first writer who mentions the 
British islands by name. He says, " In the ocean beyond the 
Pillars of Hercules are two very large islands, called Bretannic, 
namely, Albion and lerne ;"J the former being England and Scot- 
land, the latter Ireland. The origin of the name of Britain is very 
uncertain,§ but that of Albion is perhaps derived from a Celtic 
word signifying white, a name probably given to the island by the 
Gauls, who could not fail to be struck with the chalky cliflis of the 
opposite coast. Himilco, a Carthaginian navigator, whose diary 
was extant in the fifth century of our era, and who is repeatedly 
quoted as an authority by Festus Avienus in his geographical 
poem called Ora Maritima, touched near Albion at the Tin Isl- 
ands, which he calls Oestrymnides. But the oldest Avriter who 
gives any account of the inhabitants is Pytheas, a Massilian, frag- 
ments of whose journal have been preserved by Strabo and other 
writers. By these means some knowledge of the British islands 
became gradually diff'used among the natives of the Mediterranean. 
They had excited the curiosity and inquiries both of Polybius and 
Scipio as early as the second century before the Christian era.|| 

In addition to the Phoenician merchants, the Greek colonists of 
Massilia (Marseilles) and Narbo (Narbonne) carried on a trade at 
a very early period with the southern parts of Britain, by making- 
overland journeys to the northern coast of Gaul. The principal 
British exports seem at that time to have been tin, lead, skins, 
slaves, and hunting-dogs, of which the last were used by the Celts 
in war ; but at a later period, when the Britons became more 
civilized, corn and cattle, gold, silver, and iron, and an inferior 
kind of pearl may be added to the list. An interesting account 

* The Greek name for tin is hassiteros (Kacrcrirtpog), which evidently 
comes from the Sanscrit kastira. f iii., 115. j De Mundo, c. 3. 

§ Many writers derive it from a Celtic word, hriih or 6?-z7, " painted," be- 
cause the inhabitants stained their bodies with a blue color extracted from 
Avoad. In the early Welsh poems we find the island called Prydain, which 
is clearly the same as Britain ; but whether this is a genuine Celtic word, 
or borrowed from the Romans, can not be determined. || Polyb., iii., 57, 



Chap. I. EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF CYMRY. 3 

of the British tin- trade is given by Diodorus Sicnlus.* This 
writer relates that the inhabitants near the promontory of Be- 
lerium (Land's End), after forming the tin into cubical blocks, con- 
veyed it in wagons to an island named Ictis,t since at low tides 
the space between that island and Britain became dry. At Ictis 
the tin was purchased by the merchants, who carried it across to 
Gaul. 

§ 2. Nothing is known of the history of Britain till the invasion 
of the island by Julius Cagsar in B.C. 55. The fabulous tale of the 
colonization of the island by Brute the Trojan, the great-grandson 
of ^neas, and of his long list of descendants, does not require 
any serious refutation. The only certain means by which nations 
can indulge their curiosity in researches concerning their remote 
origin is to consider the language, manners, and customs of their 
ancestors, and to compare them with those of the neighboring 
nations. There can be no doubt that the first inhabitants of 
Britain were a tribe of Celts, who peopled the island from the 
neighboring continent. Their language was the same ; their man- 
ners, their government, their superstition — varied only by those 
small differences which time or a communication with the border- 
ing nations must necessarily introduce. The Celts are divided 
into two great branches, the Gael and the Cymry, of whom the 
former now inhabit Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland, and 
the latter the principality of Wales. It has been vehemently de- 
bated whether the ancient Britons belonged to the Gaelic or Cym- 
ric stock of the Celtic race ; but we may safely acquiesce in the 
conclusion of the most cautious modern inquirers, that both the 
Britons and the Gauls of the continent were Cymry, and that the 
Welsh may be regarded as the descendants of the ancient inhab- 
itants. In proof of this it may be sufficient to mention that the 
Celtic words which still exist in the English language are clearly 
to be referred to the Cymric and not to the Gaelic dialect. 

The Gallic origin of the ancient Britons is expressly stated by 
Caesar, who saysj that the maritime parts of the island were in- 
habited by Belgic Gauls, who had crossed over from the main land 
for the sake of plunder. He adds, it is true, that the inhabitants 
of the interior were said by tradition to have sprung from the 
soil ; from which we can only infer that the earlier immigrations 
of the Celts took place long before the memory of man. Tacitus, 

* v., 22. 

t This island has been identified with the Isle of Wight on account of the 
resemblance of its name to Vectis ; but its proximity to the tin country, and 
the circumstance of the intervening space between this island and Britain 
being dry at the low tides, favor its identification with St. Michael's Mount. 

t Bell. Gall., v.. 12. 



4 RELIGION. Chap. I. 

who derived his information from his father-in-law Agricola, sup- 
posed* that the red hair and large limbs of the Caledonians indi- 
cated a German origin ; and that the dark complexion of the 
Silures, their curly hair, and their position opposite to Spain, fur- 
nished grounds for believing that they were descended from Iberian 
settlers from that country ; but these were evidently mere conject- 
ures, to which Tacitus himself seems not to have attached much 
importance, since he adds that upon a careful estimate of proba- 
bilities we must believe that the Gauls took possession of the 
neighboring coast. 

§ 3. The connection of the Britons with the Celts of Gaul is 
shown by their common religion. Caesar, indeed, was of opinion 
that Druidism had its origin in Britain, and was transplanted 
thence into Gaul; and it is certain that in his. time Britain was 
the chief seat of the religion and the principal school where it was 
taught. But this circumstance only shows that the common faith 
of the Celtic tribes had been preserved in its greatest purity by the 
remotest and most ancient of them, who had been driven by the 
tide of emigration to the western parts of the island. 

The religion of the Britons was one of the most considerable 
parts of their government, and the Druids, who were their priests, 
possessed great authority among them. Besides ministering at 
the altar and directing all religious duties, they presided over the 
education of youth ; they enjoyed an immunity from war and 
taxes ; they possessed both the civil and criminal jurisdiction ; 
they decided all controversies, among states as well as among 
private persons, and whoever refused to submit to their decrees 
was exposed to the most severe penalties. The sentence of ex- 
communication was pronounced against him; he was forbidden 
access to the sacrifices or public worship ; he was debarred all in- 
tercourse .with his fellow-citizens ; he was refused the protection 
of the law ; and death itself became an acceptable relief from the 
misery and infamy to which he was exposed. Thus the bands of 
government, which were naturally loose among that rude and tur- 
bulent people, were happily strengthened by the terrors of their 
superstition. 

No species of superstition was ever more terrible than that of 
the Druids. Besides the severe penalties which it was in the 
power of the priests to inflict in this world, they inculcated the 
eternal transmigration of souls. They practiced their rites in 
dark groves or other secret recesses ; and, in order to throw a 
greater mystery over their religion, they communicated their doc- 
trines only to the initiated, and strictly forbade the committing of 
them to writing, lest they should at any time be exposed to the 

* Agricol., c. n. 



Chap. I. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 5 

examination of the profane vulgar. In the ordinary concerns of 
life, however, they employed writing, their characters being either 
the Greek or a sort of hieroglyphics formed from the figures of 
plants. Of the nature of their rites, except their veneration for 
the oak and mistletoe, we know but little. If a mistletoe was dis- 
covered growing upon an oak, a priest severed it with a golden 
knife ; on which occasion a festival was held under the tree, and 
two milk-white bulls were offered as a sacrifice. The Druids 
worshiped a plurality of gods, to which Ceesar, after the Roman 
fashion, applies the names of the deities of his own country. The 
attributes of the god chiefly worshiped appear to have resembled 
those of Mercury. The stupendous ruins of Stonehenge, situated 
in Sahsbury Plain, are probably the remains of a Druidical temple, 
but it is not mentioned by any ancient writer.* The principles 
which the Druids inculcated were piety toward the gods, charity 
toward men, and fortitude in suftering. They taught their disci- 
ples astronomy, or rather perhaps astrolog}'-, and magic, and train- 
ed them to acuteness in legal distinctions ; and a term of twenty 
years was commonly devoted to the acquisition of the knowledge 
which they imparted. They chose their own high-priest, but the 
election was frequently decided by arms. 

Human sacrifices formed one of the most terrible features of the 
Druidical worship. The victims were generally criminals, or pris- 
oners of war, but, in default of these, innocent and unoffending 
persons were sometimes immolated ; and in the larger sacrifices 
immense figures made of plaited osier were filled with human be- 
ings and then set on fire. The spoils of war were often devoted 
by the Druids to their divinities.; and they punished with the 
severest tortures whoever dared to secrete any part of the conse- 
crated offering. These treasures they kept in woods and forests, 
secured by no other guard than the terrors of their religion ; and 
this steady conquest over human avidity may be regarded as more 
signal than their prompting men to the most extraordinary and 
most violent efforts. No idolatrous worship ever attained such an 
ascendant over mankind as that of the ancient Gauls and Britons; 
and the Romans, after their conquest, finding it impossible to rec- 
oncile those nations to the laws and institutions of their masters 
while it maintained its authority, were at last obliged to abolish it 
by penal statutes ; a violence which had never in any other in- 
stance been practiced by those tolerating conquerors. 

§ 4. After the Druids, the chief authority was possessed by the 

* In the compound word Stone-henge, the latter half, henge, probably sig- 
nifies the impost, which is suspended on two uprights, and consequently the 
word might be used in any case in which one stone was suspended on two 
or more others. — Guest, in Proceedings of Philological Society, vol. vi., p. 33. 



(5 TRIBExS. Chap. I 

equestrian order. The British bards were closely.connected with 
the Druids. They sung the genealogies of their princes, and pos- 
sessed lyric poetry as well as epic and didactic, accompanying their 
songs with an instrument called the chrotta. ^ 

§ 5. The southeast parts of Britain had already before the age 
of Ctesar made the first and most requisite step toward a civil 
settlement ; and the Britons, by tillage and agriculture, had there 
increased to a great multitude. The other inhabitants of the 
island still maintained themselves by pasture : they were clothed 
with skins of beasts : they dwelt in round huts constructed of 
wood or reeds, which they reared in the forests and marshes with 
which the country was covered : they shifted easily their habita- 
tion when actuated either by the hopes of plunder or the fear of 
an enemy : the convenience of feeding their cattle vv^as even a suf- 
ficient motive for removing their seats ; and, as they were ignorant 
of all the refinements of life, their wants and their possessions were 
equally scanty and limited.* 

The Britons tattooed their bodies and stained them blue and 
green with woad ; customs which were long retained by the Picts. 
They wore checkered mantles like the Gauls or Scottish highland- 
ers ; the waist was circled with a girdle, and metal chains adorned, 
the breast. The hair and mustache were suffered to grow, and a 
ring was worn on the middle finger, after the fashion of the Gauls. 
Their arms were a small shield, javelins, and a pointless sword. 
They fought from chariots (esseda, covini) having scythes affixed to 
the axles. The warrior drove the chariot, and was attended. by 
a servant who carried his weapons. The dexterity of the chari- 
oteers excited the admiration of the Romans. They would urge 
their horses at full speed down the steepest hills or along the edge 
of precipices, and check and turn them in full career. Sometimes 
they would run along the pole, or seat themselves on the yoke, 
and instantly, if necessary, regain the chariot. Frequently after 
breaking the enemy's ranks they would leap down and fight on 
foot ; meanwhile the chariots were withdrawn from the fray, and 
posted in such a manner as to afford a secure retreat in case of 
need ; thus enabling them to combine the rapid evolutions of cav- 
alry with the steady firmness of infantry. The Britons had no 
fortresses, and their towns, if such a name can be applied to mere 
clusters of huts, were defended by their position in the centre of 
almost impenetrable forests, and by being surrounded Avith a deej) 
ditch, and a fence or wall of felled trees. 

§ 6. The Britons were divided into many small nations or tribes ; 

* Cffisar's story of their having their wives in common probably arose from 
some misconception respecting their method of dwelling together in small 
societies, as the custojn is not mentioned by Diodorus Siculus. 



B.C. 55, 54. CESAR'S INVASIONS. 7 

and being a military people, whose chief property was their arms 
and their cattle, it was impossible, after they had acquired a relish 
for liberty, for their princes or chieftains to establish any despotic 
authority over them. Their governments, though monarchical, 
were free, as well as those of all the Celtic nations ; and the com- 
mon people seem to have enjoyed more liberty among them than 
among the nations of Gaul from whom they were descendej3. 
Each state was divided into factions within itself; it was agitated 
with jealousy or animosity against the neighboring states : and, 
while the arts of peace were yet unknown, wars were the chief 
occupation, and formed the chief object of ambition, among the 
people. 

The British tribes with whom the Romans became acquainted 
by Ceesar's invasion were mainly the following, though their pre- 
cise boundaries can not, of course, be laid down : 

The Cantii^^ under four princes, inhabited Kent. 

The Trinohantes were seated to the north of the Thames, and be- 
tween that river and the Stour, in the present counties of Middle- 
sex and Essex, having London, already a place of considerable 
trade, for their capital. 

The Cemmagni, perhaps the same as the Iceni of Tacitus, dwelt 
in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. 

The Segontiaci inhabited parts of Hants and Berks. 

The Ancalites and i?z5?^oc2 inhabited parts of Berks and Wilts. 

The position of the Cassi is uncertain. 

§ 7. Csesar, taking advantage of a short interval in his Gallic 
wars, invaded Britain with two legions in the year B.C. b^. The 
natives, informed of his intention, were sensible of the unequal 
contest, and endeavored to appease him by submissions, which, 
however, retarded not the execution of his design. After some 
resistance, he landed, as is supposed, at Deal ;t and having ob- 
tained several advantages over the Britons, and obliged them to 
promise hostages for their future obedience, he was constrained, by 
the necessity of his aifairs and the approach of winter, to with- 
draw his forces into Gaul. The Britons, relieved from the terror 
of his arms, neglected the performance of their stipulations ; and 
that haughty conqueror resolved next summer (b.c. 54) to chastise 
them for this breach of treaty. Pie landed, apparently at the same 
spot, and unopposed, with above 20,000 men, and pitched his camp 
a little above Sandwich, near Richborough ; and though he found 
a more regular resistance from the Britons, who had united under 
Cassivelaunus, or Caswallon, one of their petty princes, he dis- 
comfited them in every action. He advanced into the country 

* The Cantii derived their name from the Celtic Caint, or open country, 
t See Notes and Ilhistrations (A). 



S HISTORY TILL INVASION OF CLAUDIUS. Chap. I. 

and passed the Thames in the face of the enemy at a ford, proba- 
bly in the neighborhood of Kingston, in spite of the piles which 
Caswallon had caused to be driven into the bed of the river, con- 
siderable remains of which are said to have existed in the time 
of Beda, seven centuries later. The valiant defense of Caswallon 
was frustrated by the treacherous submission of the Trinobantes 
and other tribes. Caesar took and burned his forest fortress at 
Verulamium, the modern St. Albans ; established his own ally, 
Mandubratius, in the sovereignty of the Trinobantes ; and having 
obliged the inhabitants to make him new submissions, he returned 
with his army into Gaul, and left the authority of the Komans 
more nominal than real in this island. 

§ 8. The civil wars which ensued, and which prepared the way 
for the establishment of monarchy in Rome, saved the Britons 
from the yoke which was ready to be imposed upon them. Au- 
gustus, apprehensive lest the same unlimited extent of dominion, 
which had subverted the republic, might also overwhelm the em- 
pire, recommended it to his successors never to enlarge the terri- 
tories of the Romans ; and Tiberius, jealous of the fame which 
might be acquired by his generals, made this advice of Augustus 
a pretense for his inactivity. \ Almost a century elapsed before a 
Roman force again appeared in Britain ; but the natives during 
this period kept up some intercourse with Rome, though on a 
completely independent footing. Hence, as well as through their 
commerce with Gaul, where the Roman power had been com- 
pletely established, they appear to have derived some tincture of 
Roman civilization ; and the coins of Cynobelin, the Cymbeline of 

Shakspeare, and a successor 
of Caswallon, as well as those 
of Tasciovanus, probably his 
father, display the influence 
of Roman art, and a knowl- 
edge of the Latin alphabet. 

Gold Coin of Cynobelin or Cunobelinus. The mad SallieS of Caligula, 

Obverse : [c]amv (Camulodunum) ; ear of corn, in which he menaced Britain 
Reverse: cvno (Cunobelinus); horse to right. ^-^j^ ^^ invasion. Served Only 

to expose himself and the empire to ridicule ; but at length a 
British exile named Beric instigated the Emperor Claudius to un- 
dertake the reduction of the island, and Aulus Plautius was dis- 
patched thither at the head of four legions, together with Gallic 
auxiliaries, a.d. 43. The first great victory and the honor of a 
triumph was achieved by Cn. Osidius Geta. Vespasian, the future 
emperor, likewise distinguished himself in this campaign, and at 
the head of the second legion fought thirty battles, took twenty 
places, and subdued the Isle of Wight. Claudius himself, finding 




A.D. 43-62. 



CONQUEST OF MONA. 



9 




matters sufficiently prepared for his reception, made a journey 
into Britain and received the submission of several British states, 
the Cantii, Atrebates, Regni, and Trinobantes, vv^hom their pos- 
sessions and more cultivated manner of life rendered willing to 
purchase peace at the expense of their liberty. Claudius entered 
the city of Camulodunum (either Maldon or Colchester), where a 
colony of veterans was subsequently established, and the south- 
eastern parts of Britain were gradually moulded into a Roman 
province. 

§ 9. The other Britons, under the command of Caractacus, or 
Caradoc, a son of Cynobelin, still maintained an obstinate resist- 
ance, and the Romans made 
little progress against them 
till Ostorius Scapula was sent 
over to command the Roman 
armies (a. D. 47). Under this 
commander, Roman camps 

were established on the Avon Aureus of Emperor Claudius. 

and hevern ; theiceni' were obverse: ti.clavd.caesau-avg.p-m.tep.viiii -imp. 

reduced after a desperate and ^i (Tiberius ClaudlusCaesar Augustus Pontifex 
Vki'illioni- afT«nrrrrlci • +1to loorvno Maximus, Trlbuuicia Potestate Villi. Imperator 
Drniiant struggle , tne league ^y^^^ head, laureate, right. Reverse: Triumphal 

of the BriganteS J was Sur- arch, on which equestrian figure and two trophies, 
prised and dispersed by the i^^^ribed be beitak^ (De Britannis). 

rapid march of Ostorius, and the Roman eagles pervaded the 
greater part of Britain. But the Silures and OrdovicesJ still 
held out, and it was not till after many years of warfare that 
Caer Caradoc, the residence of the British leader, seated on a hill 
in Shropshire near the confluence of the Coin and Teme, was cap- 
tured by the Romans, and with it his wife and family. Caradoc 
himself sought shelter at the court of his step-mother Cartis- 
mandua, queen of the Brigantes, whom he had formerly befriend- 
ed, but by whom he was basely and treacherously surrendered to 
the Romans (a.d. 51). Caradoc was conveyed to Rome, where 
his magnanimous behavior procured him better treatment than 
those conquerors usually bestowed on captive princes. But even 
after the capture of their leader the Silures still held out, and of- 
fered so determined a resistance that Ostorius is said to have died 
of vexation. 

§ 10. The Romans seem to have done little toward the farther 
subjugation of the island till the appointment of Suetonius Pauli- 
nus to the command, in the reign of Nero, a.d. 59. After two 
years of peaceful administration, he resolved on reducing the island 

* People of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. Probably, as already 
stated, the Cenimagni. f People between the Humber and the Tyne. 

X The Silures inhabited South Wales; the Ordovices North Wales. 

A 2 



10 



AGRICOLA. Chap. I. 



of Mona, or Anglesey, the chief seat of the Druids, which afforded 
a shelter to the disaffected Britons. The strait was crossed by 
the infantry in shallow vessels, while the cavalry either waded or 
swam. The Britons endeavored to obstruct their landing on this 
sacred island, both by the force of their arms and the terror of their 
relio-ion. The women and priests were intermingled with the sol- 
diers upon the shore ; and running about with flaming torches in 
their hands, and tossing their disheveled hair, they struck greater 
terror into the astonished Romans by their howhngs, cries, and 
execrations than the real danger from the armed forces was able 
to inspire. But Suetonius, exhorting his troops to disregard the 
menaces of a superstition which they despised, impelled them to 
the attack, drove the Britons off the field, burned the Druids in 
the same fires which those priests had prepared for their captive 
enemies, destroyed all the consecrated groves and altars ; and, hav- 
ing thus triumphed over the religion of the Britons, he thought his 
future progress would be easy in reducing the people to subjection. 
But he was disappointed in his expectations. The Britons, taking 
advantage of his absence, were all in arms ; and, headed by Boa- 
dicea, queen of the Iceni, whose daughter had been defiled and her- 
self scourged with rods by the Roman tribunes, had already at- 
tacked with success several settlements of their insulting conquer- 
ors. Suetonius hastened to the protection of London, which was 
already a flourishing Roman colony ; but he found on his arrival 
that it would be requisite for the general safety to abandon that 
place to the merciless fury of the enemy. London was reduced to 
ashes ; such of the inhabitants as remained in it were cruelly mas- 
sacred ; the Romans and all strangers, to the number of 70,000, 
were every where put to the sword without distinction ; and the 
Britons, by rendering the war thus bloody, seemed determined to 
cut off all hopes of peace or composition with the enemy. But this 
cruelty was revenged by Suetonius in a great and decisive battle 
(a.d. 62), where 80,000 of the Britons are said to have perished; 
and Boadicea herself, rather than fall into the hands of the enraged 
victor, put an end to her own life by poison. Nero soon after re- 
called Suetonius from a government where, by suffering and in- 
flicting so many severities, he was judged unfit for composing the 
angry and alarmed minds of the inhabitants. 

§ 11. After some interval Cerealis received the command from 
Vespasian (a.d. 71), and by his bravery propagated the terror of 
the Roman arms. Julius Frontinus succeeded Cerealis both in 
authority and reputation ; but the general who finally established 
the dominion of the Romans in this island was Julius Agricola, 
who governed it seven years (a.d. 78-85), in the reigns of Vespa- 
sian, Titus, and Domitian, and distinguished himself in that scene 
of action. 



A. D. 62-211. SEVERUS. H 

This great commander formed a regular plan for subduing Brit- 
ain, and rendering the acqusition useful to the conquerors. After 
subduing the Ordovices, and again reducing Mona, Avhich had re- 
volted, he carried his victorious arms northward. In the third 
year of his government he marched as far as the Tay, where he es- 
tablished garrisons ; and in the following year he erected a line of 
fortresses between the friths of Clyde and Forth. He extended his 
conquests along the western shores of Britain, and even meditated 
an expedition to Ireland. In the sixth and seventh years of his ad- 
ministration he made two incursions into Caledonia, in the latter 
of which he gained a great and decisive victory over the inhabit- 
ants under their leader Galgacus, at the foot of the Grampian Hills. 
One of the last acts of his government was to cause his fleet to sail 
round Britain, starting from, and returning to, the Portus Trutu^ 
lensis, or Sandwich. 

During these military enterprises he neglected not the arts of 
peace. He introduced laws and civilization among the Britons, 
tauo-ht them to desire and raise all the conveniences of life, recon- 
ciled them to the Roman language and manners, instructed them in 
letters and science, and employed every expedient to render those 
chains which he had forged both easy and agreeable to them. The 
inhabitants, having experienced how unequal their own force was to 
resist that of the Romans, acquiesced in the dominion of their mas- 
ters, and were gradually incorporated as part of that mighty empire. 

§ 12. This was the last durable conquest made by the Romans ; 
and Britain, once subdued, gave no farther disquietude to the victor. 
Caledonia, alone, defended by its barren mountains and by the con- 
tempt which the Romans entertained for it, sometimes infested the 
more cultivated parts of the island by the incursions of its inhab- 
itants. The better to secure the frontiers of the empire, Hadrian, 
who visited this island, built an earthen rampart between the River 
Tyne and the Solway Frith, which has been called the Picts' Wall, 
and of which there are still considerable remains. Subsequently 
Lollius Urbicus (a.d. 140), under Antoninus Pius, erected another 
between the friths of Forth and Clyde, along the same line where 
formerly A gri cola had established his fortresses, which was called 
the Wall of Antoninus, and is now known by the name of Graham's 
Dike. But these fortifications did not prove adequate to check the 
incursions of the Mgeat^ and Caledonians, who at length became 
so formidable, that the propretor, Virius Lupus, was not only obliged 
to buy off their attacks, but even to solicit the presence of the aged 
Emperor Severus himself. Severus accordingly came, attended by 
his two sons, Caracalla and Geta ; and, although so afflicted with 
the gout that it was necessary to carry him in a litter, Severus 
proceeded through an almost impassable country to the extremity 



12 



SAXON PIRATES. 



Chap. I. 



of the island, but with the loss of 50,000 men. Having made a 
treaty with the natives, by which they agreed to cede a considera- 
ble portion of their territory, he returned to York, where he shortly 
afterward expired, a.d. 211. As Severus caused the fortification 
constructed by Hadrian to be repaired and strengthened with a 
wall, it commonly bore his name.* Immediately after his death, 
his son Caracalla, eager to grasp the empire, entered into a truce 
with the northern tribes, and hastened back to Rome. 

§ 13. Except, however, on its northern frontier, Britain under 
the Roman dominion enjoyed profound tranquillity, till in the third 
century of our era it began to be disturbed by new enemies. These 
were the Saxon pirates, whose descents upon the eastern coast at 
last became so troublesome that the emperors Diocletian and 
Maximian were obliged to appoint a special officer for its defense, 
who at a later period obtained the name of " Comes littoris Sax- 
onici," or Count of the Saxon shore. His jurisdiction appears to 
have extended from Branodunum, or Brancaster, on the coast of 
Norfolk, to the Portus Adurni, perhaps Pevensey in Sussex.f Ca- 
rausius, however, the first officer of this kind (a.d. 286), fortifying 
the great power with which he was thus invested by an alliance 
with the Saxons themselves, asserted his own supremacy in Britain, 
and compelled Maximian to acknowledge him as his associate in 
the empire. In 293 Carausius was assassinated by his own officer 
AUectus, who in turn usurped the imperial title and retained it 
till 296, when he was defeated by the army which Constantius 

had sent against him : after 
'^K which period Britain re- 
(^..ts'Tr^nf^'^ mained in tranquil obedi- 
ence till the termination of 
the Roman sway. 

§ 14. The last emperor 
who resided in Britain was 

Aureus of the Emperor Carausius. CoUStantiuS ChloruS, whose 

Obverse : IMP CAEAVSivs PF AVG (Imperator Ca- nr^-noinvi TTpIavio la cnirl fr» 

rausius Pius Felix Augustus) ; bust, laureate, right, ^-^^i^'^i^ xaeicud, ife ^taiu lO 

Reverse : kenovat komano (Renovatio Romano- have been the relative of a 

rum); wolf and twins. In the Exergue use. -n-^'i, • tt tij. 

' British prince. He died at 

York in 306, where his son, Constantine the Great, assumed the 
title of Caesar. In the early times of the Roman dominion in 
Britain, the northern parts of the island were inhabited by the 
Caledonians and Masata?, but in the beginning of the fourth cen- 
tury we find them supplanted by the Picts and Scots, wild and sav- 
age tribes, whose destructive inroads were long a terror to south- 
ern Britain. The origin of these celebrated names has given rise 
to the most vehement disputes. With respect to the Scots, it is 
* See Notes and Illustrations (B). f See Notes and Illustrations (C). 




A.D. 211-446. PICTS AND SCOTS. I3 

now generally admitted that they were an Irish tribe, who crossed 
over to Britain from the sister island. The ancient writers agree 
in representing Ireland as the proper home of the Scots ; and for 
several centuries that island bore the name of Scotia. We can 
not pronounce with equal certainty upon the origin of the Picts ; 
but the most probable opinion is that they were those ancient Cal- 
edonian tribes who preserved their independence under the Romans, 
and maintained possession of the northern parts of the island till the 
invasion of the Irish Scots.* 

In the year 368, under the reign of Valentinian I., the Scots 
and Picts penetrated as far as London, but were repulsed by The- 
odosius, father of the emperor of the same name ; who also re- 
covered the district between the walls of Severus and Antoninus, 
which he named Yalentia, in honor of his master. Under the Em- 
peror Theodosius, Maximus, a member of a distinguished British 
family, gained great reputation in fighting against the Picts and 
Scots, was saluted emperor by his soldiers, established a western 
Roman empire at Treves, and was even acknowledged by Theo- 
dosius ; but he was subsequently taken prisoner at Aquileia and 
put to death, a.d. 388. Under Maximus a colony of British war- 
riors i^ said to have been established in Armorica, the subsequent 
Brittany. But this colonization helped to weaken Britain, which 
now began to be more and more infested by the Scots, Picts, and 
Saxons. Stilicho afforded temporary succor in 396 ; but soon 
afterward, Gaul being already occupied by the Alani, Suevi, and 
Vandals, Honorius was compelled to withdraw his legions from 
Britain, which, being thus relinquished by the Romans, was seized 
upon by rebellious tyrants, who assumed the title of emperor. 

§ 15. At the prayer of the Britons, the island was visited once 
more (a.d. 418) by the Roman legions, on the occasion of a new 
inroad by the Picts and Scots ; but after repulsing the enemy, re- 
pairing the British fortresses, and instructing the natives how to 
make and to use the arms necessary for their defense, they took 
their final leave. The incursions of the northern barbarians were 
now renewed. Led by the Gaulish bishop, St. Germain of Aux- 
erre, the Britons appear to have gained a victory over them in 429, 
which, from the cry of onset, was called the Hallelujah victory. 
But it was unavailing, and in 446 the unhappy Britons had again 
recourse to Rome. Aetius the patrician sustained at that time, 
by his valor and magnanimity, the tottering ruins of the empire, 
and revived for a moment among the degenerate Romans the spirit, 
as well as discipline, of their ancestors. The British embassadors 
carried to him the letter of their countrymen, which was inscribed 
the Groans of the Britom. The tenor of the epistle was suitable to 
* See Notes and Illustrations (D). 



14 CONDITION Of^ BRITAIN UNDER THE ROMANS. Chap. I. 

its superscription. '' The barbarians," say they, " on the one hand 
chase us into the sea ; the sea on the other throws us back upon 
the barbarians ; and we have only the hard choice left us of per- 
ishing by the sword or by the waves." But Aetius, pressed by the 
arms of Attila, the most terrible enemy that ever assailed the em.- 
pire, had no leisure to attend to the complaints of allies whom 
generosity alone could induce him to assist. At length the de- 
spairing Britons, guided, it is said, by the counsels of Vortigern, a 
powerful prince in the south of Britain, and by the example of the 
Armoricans, resolved on calling in the aid of the piratical Sax- 
ons, and thus repelling the Picts and Scots by means of tribes al- 
most as barbarous. 

§ 16. Under the Koman dominion* Britain had assumed an as- 
pect of great prosperity. Agriculture was carried to such a pitch 
that the island not only fed itself, but also exported large quanti- 
ties of grain to the northern provinces of the empire. Its burlders 
and artisans were in request upon the Continent. The country 
was traversed by four excellent roads, which, however, were prob- 
ably not originally constructed by the Romans, but merely im- 
proved by them. These were the Watling Street, leading from the 
Kentish coast, by Rhutupiae and London, to Caernarvon ; Ikenild 
or Rikenild Street, proceeding from Tynemouth, through York, 
Derby, and Birmingham, to St. David's ; Irmin or Hermin Street, 
running from St. David's to Southampton ; and the Foss, between 
Cornwall and Lincoln. Roman civilization in Britain was more 
complete than is commonly supposed, though its traces have now 
almost completely vanished. Bede speaks of the Roman towns, 
light-houses, roads, and bridges existing in his time ; and many 
remains of Roman buildings were visible in the twelfth and thir- 
teenth centuries, which have now disappeared. York, Chichester, 
Chester, and Lincoln retain portions of Roman walls ; and the cir- 
cuses of Dorchester, Cirencester, and Silchester are still visible. 
The remote Caerleon (Isca Silurum), as well as Bath, had its the- 
atres, temples, and palaces. Westminster Abbey was the site of 
a temple of Apollo, while on that of St. Paul's stood another of 
Diana. Even now, in London and other places once occupied by 
the Romans, if the spade of the workman penetrates to an unusual 
depth below the soil, fragments of pottery, tesselated pavements, 
and other objects are frequently discovered, which testify the pres- 
ence of its former owners. Thus, when the Saxons established 
themselves in Britain, they must have dwelt within Roman walls, 
and feasted their eyes with the magnificent works of Roman art. 

But at the same time it must be recollected that the Roman oc- 
cupation of Britain was purely military, and that the country was 
* See Notes and Illustrations (E). 



A.D.446. INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 15 

never completely Romanized like tlie provinces of Gaul and Spain. 
The natives continued to speak their own language ; the number 
of Latin words which found a permanent place in the Welsh lan- 
guage is comparatively small ; and the only traces of the Roman 
occupation subsisting in the English language are confined to the 
termination Chester, caster, etc. (from castra), which appears in Man- 
chester, Lancaster, etc. ; to coin {colonia), which is found in Lin- 
coln ; and to the word street, from stratum or strata. The condi- 
tion of England under the Romans has been well compared by a 
modern writer with that of Ireland as it existed under English 
rule in the 17th century. "The towns were entirely peopled by 
the conquerors: they alone were capable of holding municipal priv- 
ileges or power : and the country was covered with the houses of 
gentry and landholders who were all either descended from the 
old conquerors or new settlers. The peasantry only were British 
— that class who were in ancient times equally slaves under one 
race of rulers or another, and who were only spurred into insur- 
rection by political agitators or by foreign invasions. Still, as in 
Ireland, the peasantry, having no attachment to their lords, were 
easily excited to revolt ; and a successful inroad of the Caledo- 
nians would always be attended by a corresponding agitation 
among the Britons."* 

§ 17. Christianity was introduced into Britain at an early pe- 
riod, in all probability, however, not through Rome, but from the 
East, by means of tlie Mediterranean commerce carried on through 
Gaul. It is known that the latter country had numerous Chris- 
tian congregations in the 2d century. The most probable tradi- 
tion ascribes the adoption of Christianity in Britain, as an estab- 
lished religion, to Prince Lucius, or Lever Maur (the Great Light), 
who flourished some time in the second half of the 2d century. 
Under Diocletian, Britain reckons the martyrdom of St. Alban at 
Verulam, and of Aaron and Julius, two citizens of Caerleon. At 
the first council of Aries, in 314, three British bishops appeared, 
namely, Eborius of York, Restitutus of London, and Adelfius, prob- 
ably of Lincoln ; ^hose tenets are said to have differed from those 
of the Romish Church. The monastery of Bangor, near Chester, 
was founded at an early period ; its name, literally ban gor, or the 
great circle, was a generic one for a congregation or monastery, 
and thus we find more than one Bangor in Britain. The Bible 
was translated into the British tongue, and some of the British ec- 
clesiastics were famous for their learning and acuteness. Pelagi- 
us, the opponent of St. Augustine, and founder of the sect which 
bore his name, is said to have been a Briton whose real name was 
Morgan, while his disciple Celestius was an Irishman. St. Ger- 
* Edinburgh Review, vol. xciv., p. 200. 



16 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. I. 



main, Bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, Bishop of Troyes, were sent 
over to Britain by Pope Celestine to confute the Pelagians ; and 
the expulsion of those heretics by Severus, Bishop of Treves, and 
by St. Germain, in a second visit in 446, was one of the last acts 
of Roman power in this island. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



B.C. 

55. 
54. 

A.D. 

43. 
51. 

62. 

78- 
121. 



Csesar's first invasion of Britain. 
Caesar's second invasion. 

Claudius sends an expedition to Britain. 
Caractacus subdued and conveyed to 

Rome. 
Defeat and death of Boadicea. 
•85. Administration of Agricola. 
Hadrian visits Britain, and constructs 

a rampart. 



A.D. 

140. Lollius Urbicus raises a rampart be- 
tween the friths of Forth and Clyde. 

208. Severus visits Britain ; builds a wall. 

286-293. Usurpation of Carausius, 

293-296. Usurpation of AUectus. 

306. Death of Constantius at York. 

368. The Scots and Picts penetrate to London. 

429. The Hallelujuh victory. 

446. The Britains supplicate Aetius for assist- 
ance. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. CESAR'S VOYAGES TO BRITAIN. 

The subject of Csesar's two voyages to 
Britain has given rise to much controversy. 
In his first voyage Cassar merely says that 
he sailed from the country of the Morini, 
without specifying the exact spot ; but there 
can be little doubt that he started from the 
same place as in his second expedition, name- 
ly, the Portus Itius, which is supposed by 
D'Anville, who has been followed by most 
modern writers, to be Wissant, about half- 
way between Boulogne and Calais. In his 
first expedition Caesar must have landed on 
the 26th or 2Tth of August, since he tells us 
that it was full moon on the fourth day after 
his arrival in Bi'itain; and it has been calcu- 
lated by Dr. Halley the astronomer that this 
full moon was on the night of the 30th of 
August (Philosophical Transactions, abridged 
to the end of the year ITOO by John Low- 
thorpe, vol. iii., p. 412). Dr. Halley main- 
tained that Caesar landed at Deal, and his 
opinion has been adopted by almost all sub- 
sequent writers; but Mr. Airy, the Astron- 
omer-Royal, has lately started an entirely 
new hypothesis. He supposes that Caesar 
sailed from the estuary of the Somme and 
landed at the beach of Pevensey, on the coast 
of Sussex, near the same spot whei'e William 
the Conqueror disembarked nearly 11 centu- 
ries afterward. The reader will find the argu- 
ments of Mr. Airy in the '■ Archajologia,' vol. 
xxxiv., p. 231, seq. 

B. THE ROMAN WALL. 

The Roman fortification, which crosses En- 
gland from the Solway Frith to the River 
Tyne, consists of a stone wall and an earthen 
rampart running parallel with one another, 



generally at the distance of 60 or 70 yards. 
Dr. Bruce maintains, in his work on the 
"■Roman Wall," that the stone wall and the 
turf vallum both belong to one and the same 
fortification, and that they were erected by 
the Emperor Hadrian at one and the same 
time, the former to check the Mseatae and 
Caledonians, the latter to repress any hostile 
attempts of the southern Britons. It is im- 
possible to discuss this subject in the limits 
of this note, but we see no sufficient reason 
to abandon the generally received opinion 
that, as the vallum of Hadrian was not suf- 
ficient to check the Caledonians, it was 
strengthened, or rather superseded, by the 
wall of Severus. The same line was natu- 
rally adopted, the only difference being in 
the method of engineering, by adopting a 
lofty and strong wall carried over heights 
instead of low mounds running through the 
valleys. This new wall was made to start 
from the stations Avhich already existed, and 
thus the trouble and expense of erecting new 
stations were saved. This will also account 
for the circumstance of inscriptions being 
found in them bearing the name of Hadrian. 

C. THE COMES LITTOPJS SAXONICL 

Lappenberg, Kemble, and several modern 
writers maintain that this officer derived his 
name, not from defending the coast which 
was exposed to the invasions of the Saxon 
pirates, bvit from his commanding the Saxons 
who were settled along the coasts of Britain 
before the arrival of Hengist and Horsa in 
450. But there seems no objection to the or- 
dinary interpretation which has been adopt- 
ed in the text. Dr. Guest correctly remarks 
that, as the Welsh marches in Shropshire 
and the Scotch marches in Northumberland 



Chap. I. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



17 



were so called, not because they were inhab- 
ited by Welshmen or Scotchmen, but because 
they were open to the incursions of these two 
races, and were provided with a regular mil- 
itary organization for the purpose of repel- 
ling their incursions, so, for precisely similar 
reasons, the southeastern coast of Britain 
was called the Saxon Shore, or Frontier. In 
the Notiiia the Saxon Shore is also called 
the Saxon Frontier (Limes Saxonicus). 

^ - D. THE SCOTS AND PICTS. 

From the second to the eleventh centuiy 
the Scots are mentioned as the inhabitants 
of Ireland, and that island bore the name of 
Scotia.- This is clearly proved by the author- 
ities collected by Zeus, Die Deutschen und 
die Nachbarstiimme, p. 568. Thus Glaudian 
says: 

"Scotorum camulos flevit glacialis lerne." 

De IV. Cons. Hon., 33. 
"Me juvit StUicho, totam cum Scotus lernen 
Movit." He Laud. Stihch., ii., 251. 

The Gaelic spoken by the Scotch High- 
landers is the same language as the Erse 
spoken by the Irish, and there can be no 
doubt that it Avas brought into Britain by 
the Irish Scots. 

That the Picts were Celts, and akin to the 
Welsh rather than to the Gael, appears from 
the names of their kings, of whom a genuine 
list, from the fifth century downward, has 
been presei-ved. Almost the only Pictish 
word given as such by an ancient writer is 
Pen val^ the name given by the Picts to the 
eastern termination of the vallum of Anto- 
ninus. Pen is decidedly Welsh. The name 
of the OcMl Hills in Perthshire, in the coun- 
try of the Picts, is to be explained from the 
Welsh ualiel^ ''high." Again, the Welsh 
prefix aher in local names in the Pictish ter- 
ritory was changed into the Gaelic inver aft- 
er the occupation of the countrj^ by the Gaelic 
Scots: thus Inverin and Invernethy were 
previously Aberin and Ahernethy. — See Gar- 
nett. Transactions of the Philological Society, 
vol. i., p. 119. 

E. GOVERNMENT AND DIVISIONS OF 
BRITAIN UNDER THE ROMANS. 

Britain, like the other distant provinces 
of the empire, was under the immediate su- 
perintendence of the emperor, and not of the 
senate. It was formed into a Roman prov- 
ince by the Emperor Claudius after the cam- 
paign of A.B. 43, and was governed at first 
by a Legatus of consular rank : its financial 
affairs were administered by a procurator. 
It was subsequently divided by Septimius 
Severus into two parts, Britannia Superior 
and Inferior, each governed bj' a Prseses. 

The later organization of Britain is con- 
tained in the Notitia hrqycrii., a document 
corupiled about a.d. 400. When Diocletian 
divided the empire into four prefectures, 
Britain formed the third great diocese in the 
prefecture of the Gauls, of which the Prte- 
fectus Prsetorio resided, first at Treves, and 
afterward at Aries. Britain was governed by 
a Vicarius^ who resided at Eboracum (York), 
and was subdivided into four pi'ovinces, Bri- 
tannia Prima, Britannia Secunda, Maxima 



Csesariensis, Flavia : to which a fifth, Valen- 
tia, was added by Theodosius in a.d. 309. 
The situation of these provinces is to some 
extent uncertain, and rests mainly upon the 
authority of Richard of Cu'encester, a monk 
of the 14th century, whose testimony must 
be received with suspicion. 

I. Beitannia Prima, govei-ned by a Pr£e- 
ses, the country south of the Thames and 
Bristol Channel. 

n. Beitannia Sectinda, governed by a 
Prteses, the country between the Severn and 
the Dee — Wales, Herefordshire, Monmouth- 
shire, and parts of Shropslm-e, Gloucester- 
shire, and Worcestershire. 

lU. Flavia C-esaeiensis, governed by a 
Prajses, the country north of the Thames, 
east of the Severn, south of the Mersey and 
the Humber. 

IV. Maxima C^sakiensis, governed by a 
Consularis, north of the Mersey and the 
Humber to the wall of Severus. 

V. Vaxentia or Valentiana, governed by 
a Consularis, the country between the wall 
of Severus and the rampart of Antoninus, 
the south part of Scotland, Northumberland, 
and part of Cumberland. 

The country north of the rampart of Anto- 
ninus was never long in the power of the 
Romans. Richard of Cirencester gives the 
name of Vespasiana to the district subdued 
by Agricola between the rampart and a line 
drawn from the Moray Frith to the mouth 
of the Clyde. 

Roman Towns. The following is the list 
of Richard of Cirencester: 1. Municipia, 
two in number. Eboraeiim, York. Veru- 
lamium., St. Albans. 

2. Colonic, colonies of Roman citizens, 
nine in number. Londinium^ with the sur- 
name of Axigusta^ London. Ccmialodummi^ 
Colchester or Maldon. Rlmtuiiias., Richbor- 
ough. Thermce or Aquce SoMs., Bath. Isca 
Silurum^ Caerleon. Deva^ Chester. Glevum 
or Claudia., Gloucester. Lindum., Lincoln. 
Camboricum., either Cambridge or Chester- 
ford, or Icklingham, in Suffolk. 

3. CiviTATES Latio juee DONATE,* ten in 
number. Dumomagus or Bitrobnce., Castor 
on Nene, or Water Newton. CataiTactomim., 
Catterick in Yorkshire. Cambodunum , Slack 
in Yorkshire. Cocchtm., Ribchester in Lan- 
cashire. Luguvallium., Carlisle. Pteroton., 
Burgh head in Morayshire, Scotland. Vic- 
toria., Dealgin Ross in Perthshire. Corinium^ 
Cirencester. Sorbiodunum., Old Sarum. 

4. Stipendiaelb Civitates, twelve in 
number. Ventai Belgarurn., Winchester. 

* Those cities possessed nearly the same privileges , 
as colonies. On the distinction between them, see 
Smith's Diet, of Antiquities, art. Colonia. 

t Venta comes from the Celtic word Gwent, a cham- 
paign country, of which there are several in Britaiii. 
The Romans obtained their name for many of the cap- 
ital towns by turning Gwent into a feminine substan- 
tive { Venta), and then adding the name of the race 
which inhabited the district. The Saxons also used 
the name as a feminine substantive, Winte, gen. 
Wintan ; and they called the capital of such district 
Wintan ceasfer, " the city of the Winte." Sometimes, 
instead of this genitive form, they used the compound 
Winte ceaster, whence Winchester. See Guest " On 
the Early English Settlements in South Britain, "pub- 
lished in the "Proceedings of the Archaeological In- 
stitute," held at Salisbury, 1S49. 



18 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. I. 



Veiita Icenorum^ Caister, near Norwich. 
Ve7ita Siluruvi^ Oaer-went, or Caer-gwent, 
in Monmouthshire. Segontium^ Caer-Seiont, 
near Caernarvon. Muridunum^ Seaton, near 
Colyton, Devon. Ragce^ Leicester. Canti- 
opolis^ or Dtiroverniim^ Canterbury. Diiri- 
nuvi^ or Diinmm^ Dorchester. Isca^ Exeter. 
BrevLenium^ Riechester, Northumberland. 
Vindomim^ near Andover, Hants. Duro- 
brivce^ Rochester. 

Roman Military Commanders. The mil- 
itary forces were originally under the com- 
mand of the Legatus, but after the separation 
of the civil and military administration of the 
provinces by Diocletian, they were placed 
under three chief military officers, who bore 
the titles of Comes Britannimnmi, Comes 
Littoris Saxonici per Britafiniam, and Dux 
Bntanniarum. The title of Comes^ or Com- 
panion^ was the highest, and the Comes 
Britanniarum had the chief command of the 
militaiy forces in Britain. The Comes lit- 
toris Saxonici has been already spoken of. 
The Diix Britannianim had charge of the 
wall of Severus, and the command of the 
troops in the northern part of the province. 



At the time of the Notitia the Roman army 
in Britain consisted of 20,000 men. 

F. AUTHORITIES. 

Some of the classical authorities respecting 
the early history of Britain have been alluded 
to in the preceding pages, and all the pas- 
sages bearing on the subject in the Greek 
and Latin writers, as well as in the ancient 
English authors, will be found collected in 
the '•'■Monumenta Historica Britannica," vol. 
i., 1S4S. The most unportant modern works 
on Roman Britain are: Camden's Britan- 
nia; Horsley's Britannia Romana; Stuke- 
ly's Stonehenge; Whittaker's History of 
Manchester; Lappenberg's History of En- 
gland^ translated by Thoi-pe ; Algernon Her- 
bert's Britannia under the Romans; Bruce's 
Roman Wall; Booking's Notes on the Notitia 
Dignitatum^ vol. ii. , p. 496. ; Guest On the 
Early English Settlements in Soiith Britain^ 
published in the Proceedings of the ArcliJBo- 
logical Institute held at Salisbury, 1849 ; the 
article Britannia in the Penny Cyclopaedia ; 
and an article in the Edinburgh Revieu\ vol. 
xciv., p. 17T, seq.^ on the condition of Britain 
under the Romans. 




_ NOBTH 
m TOiJ£Z.VNI> 



r gOTTtr 



-vfap of the Isle of Thanet at the time of the landing of the Saxons. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE REIGN OP EGBERT. 

§ 1. The Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. § 2. Manners and Religion of the 
Anglo-Saxons. § 3. Their Ships and Arms. § 4. First Settlement of 
the German Invaders — in Kent. British Traditions. § 5. Saxon Ac- 
coimt. § 6. Second Settlement of the German Invaders — in Sussex. 
§ 7. Third Settlement of the German Invaders — in Wessex. § 8. Fourth 
Settlement of the German Invaders — in Essex and Middlesex. § 9. Fifth 
Settlement of the German Invaders — in Norfolk and Suffolk. § 10. Sixth 
Settlement of the German Invaders — in Northumhria. § 11. The King- 
dom of Mercia. § 12. The Heptarchy. British States. § 13. The Bret- 
waldas, Ella of Sussex, Ceawlin of Wessex. § 14. Ethelbert of Kent, 
third Bretwalda. Introduction of Christianity. § 15. Death of Ethel- 
bert. Redwald of East Anglia, fourth Bretwalda. Adventures of Edwin 
of Northumhria. § 16. Edwin, fifth Bretwalda. His Conversion to 
Christianity. § 17. History of Northumhria. Oswald, sixth Bretwalda. 
§ 18. Oswy of Northumhria, seventh Bretwalda. Decline of the King- 
dom of Northumhria. § 19. History of Wessex. Ina and Egbert. § 20. 
History of Mercia. Ethelbald and Offa. § 21. Conquests of Egbert, 
who becomes sole King of England. 

§ 1. The people now called in by the Britons to their assist- 



20 THE SAXONS.— THE ANGLES. Chap. U. 

ance, and who ultimately succeeded in establishing themselves in 
the country which they were required to defend, were a Germanic 
race, who, under the general name of Saxons, inhabited the north- 
western coast of Germany from the Cimbric Chersonesus, or pres- 
ent Denmark, to the mouths of the Rhine. At the period of 
which we are speaking, we find them divided into three principal 
tribes, the Saxons proper, the Angles, and the Jutes. 

I. The Saxons.^ — This people are first mentioned in the second 
century by Ptolemy, who places them upon the narrow neck of 
the Cimbric Chersonesus, and in three islands opposite the mouth 
of the Elbe. From thence their power extended westward as far 
as the mouths of the Rhine. Among the tribes subject to them 
were the Frisians, who probably formed the majority of the Saxon 
invaders of England, though they are only mentioned under the 
general name of Saxons.f The southern parts of the island were 
occupied by the Saxons proper or Frisians, who founded the king- 
doms of the South Saxons (South-sexe, whence Sussex), of the 
West Saxon ( Wes-sex), and of the East Saxons (Essex), the last 
including the territories of the Middle Saxons (whence Middle- 
sex). The Germanic tribes have always been divided into two 
great branches, to which modern writers have given the name of 
High German (the people in the interior or higher parts of Ger- 
many) and Low German (the people in the lower parts of the coun- 
try near the coast). The Saxons belonged to the Low Germanic 
branch, and their language was closely allied to that of the modern 
Dutch. 

II. The Angles ov Engle, who accompanied or followed the Sax- 
ons, seem to have been a more numerous and powerful race, as 
they peopled a larger district of Britain, and at length gave their 
name to the whole land.| They settled in East Anglia, or the 
eastern counties, north of Essex ; Mercia, or the midland counties ; 
and Northumhria, or all the counties north of the Humber. They 
are first mentioned by Tacitus§ among the obscure tribes of the 
Suevic race, and they are placed by Ptolemy on the western bank 
of the Elbe near the Lower Saale. Thence they migrated ncrth 
of the Elbe to the Cimbric Chersonesus, where they inhabited a 
district called Angeln, which lay between the Saxons and the Jutes. 

* Their name is usually derived from the short sword, salis or s«x, which 
they carried. Some critics connect their name Avith that of the SaccB in 
the East; while others maintain that the word meant nothing more than 
seamen. f See Notes and Illustrations (A). 

X The Saxon kingdom of Wessex afterward obtained the political su- 
premacy, and hence the name of Anglo-Saxon was given to the whole na- 
tion ; but it must be borne in mind that this title does not mean the Angles 
and Saxons, but the Saxons of England, as distinguished from the Saxons 
of the Continent. § Germania, c. 40. 



Chap. II. MANNERS AND RELIGION OF ANGLO-SAXONS. 21 

There is still a district which bears this name between the Eiver 
Slie and the Flensborger Fiord; but anciently it. must have com- 
prised a much larger territory. The Angles, like the Saxons, were 
originally a Low Germanic race ; but, as their first settlements were 
upon the upper part of the Elbe in the neighborhood of High Ger- 
man tribes, and their second seats were in the proximity of the 
Danes, their language appears to have been affected to some ex- 
tent by their neighbors, and several peculiarities in the northern 
dialects of England bear traces of the High German and Danish 
languages. 

in. The Jutes. — These invaders were not so numerous even as 
the Saxons, and possessed only Kent, the Isle of Wight, and part 
of Hampshire. They came from the peninsula of Jutland, which 
is now inhabited by the Danes ; but it is probable that the pos- 
sessions of the Germans, who people at present the southern part 
of the peninsula, extended farther north in ancient times, and there 
are some reasons for believing that the Jutes were Goths, who, 
like the Saxons and Angles, were also a Low Germanic race. 

§ 2. The German races who invaded Britain were pagan bar- 
barians. Their religion, which was common to them with the 
Scandinavians, seems to have been a compound between the wor- 
ship of the celestial bodies and that of deified heroes. This fact 
will best appear from the names they applied to the days of the 
week, which custom has still retained among us. Thus Sun- 
nandceg and Afonandceg, Sunday and Monday, were named after 
the two great luminaries ; but it must be observed that the sex 
of those deities was the reverse of that ascribed to them by the 
Greeks and Romans, the sun being considered by the Germans as 
feminine and the moon as masculine. The name of Tuesday is 
by some derived from Tiue, probably the same as the Tuisco of 
Tacitus, the national and eponymous deity of the Teutons, while 
others identify it with Tyr, one of the twelve companions of Odin. 
Wodnesdceg or Wednesday, was sacred to Woden or Odin, the 
god of war, common to all the Teutonic and Scandinavian races. 
That he must have been a deified hero and king appears from the 
circumstance that those leaders, whose kindred formed the royal 
houses among the Anglo-Saxons, for the most part derived their 
descent from Woden. Thorsdceg, or Thursday, was named after 
the god Thor, the thunderer, equivalent to the Greek Zeus, and 
the Roman Jove, who wielded a hammer instead of a thunderbolt. 
Freyadag, or Friday, was sacred to the goddess Freya, the consort 
of Woden and northern Venus. Lastly, Saturday derived its name 
from Scetes, who, from the attributes with which he is represented, 
viz., a fish and a bucket, appears to have been a water-god. Be- 
sides these, the Anglo-Saxons had many other deities. They be- 



22 SHIPS OF ANGLO-SAXONS. Chap. II. 

lieved in the immortality of the soul and the existence of a super- 
natural world ; but their worship, though fanciful and supersti- 
tious, was not tainted with so much cruelty as disfigured that of 
the Druids. Their sensual ideas of a future state were calculated, 
like those of the Mohammedans, to inspire them with a contempt of 
death. They believed that if they obtained the favor of Woden by 
their valor (for they made less account of the other virtues) they 
should be admitted after their death into his hall ; and, reposing 
on couches, should satiate themselves with ale from the skulls of 
their enemies whom they had slain in battle. Incited by this idea 
of paradise, which gratified at once the passion of revenge and that 
of intemperance, the ruling inclinations of barbarians, they despised 
the dangers of war, and increased their native ferocity against the 
vanquished by their religious prejudices. 

§ 3. The ships, or keels {ceolas), of the Saxons appear at an an- 
cient period to have been rudely constructed of a few planks sur- 
mounted with wattled osiers and covered with skins ; and in these 
frail vessels they fearlessly trusted themselves without a compass 
to the winds and waves of the stormy ocean which washed their 
shores. We may infer, however, from the number of men which 
they conveyed to Britain, that in the fifth century their ships must 
have been much enlarged in size and improved in solidity of construc- 
tion. The arms of the Anglo-Saxons were targets Avorn on the left 
arm, spears, bows and arrows, swords, battle-axes, and heavy clubs 
furnished with spikes of iron. Sidonius, the Bishop of Clermont, 
has described the terror which these barbarians inspired. " We 
have not," he says, " a more cruel and dangerous enemy than the 
Saxons. • They overcome all who have the courage to oppose them. 
Tliey surprise all who are so imj^rudent as not to be prepared for 
their attack. When they pursue, they inevitably overtake : when 
they are pursued, their escape is certain. They despise danger : 
they are inured to shipwreck : they are eager to purchase booty 
with the peril of their lives. Tempests, which to others are so 
dreadful, to them are subjects of joy. The storm is their protec- 
tion when they are pursued by the enemy, and a cover for their 
operations when they meditate an attack. Before they quit their 
own shores, they devote to the altars of their gods the tenth part 
of the principal captives ; and when they are on the point of re- 
turning, the lots are cast with an affectation of equity, and the im- 
pious vow is fulfilled."* Such were the barbarians who were now 
approaching the British shores. 

§ 4. First settlement of. the German invaders, a.d. 4'50. — The 
first arrival of the Saxon tribes in England is commonly placed 
either in the year 449 or 450, of which dates the latter is the 
* Sidon., viii.. 6, quoted by Lingard, i.. p. 73. 



A.D. 450. SETTLEMENTS OF GERMAN INVADERS. £3 

more correct.* Respecting the manner of their coming and their 
first proceedings in the island we find two sets of traditions, those 
of the British, and those of the Saxon writers, which vary in many 
important particulars. According to the former, the two Jutish 
leaders, Hengist and Horsa, being banished from their native 
country, and wandering about with their followers in three vessels 
in quest of new seats, were invited by Vortigern, the British king- 
before mentioned, to assist him against the Scots and Picts ; and 
in reward for the services which he had rendered, Hengist and his 
followers were presented with the Isle of Thanet for a settlement, 
which at that time was separated by a broad estuary from the rest 
of Kent-t Hengist now sent over to his native country for re-en- 
forcements, and also caused his daughter Rowena, who was cele- 
brated for her beauty, to be conveyed to the land of his adoption. 
At a great feast given by the Saxons, Vortigern beheld Rowena, 
received from her hands the wassail cup, and, captivated by her 
charms, renounced Christianity for her sake, and ceded to Hengist 
the remainder of Kent in return for her hand. His indignant 
subjects now deposed Vortigern, and placed his son Vortimer on 
the throne, who defeated Hengist in three gTcat battles, and com- 
pelled him to retire for some years from Britain. Rowena having 
contrived to poison Vortimer, Vortigern again ascended the throne, 
and recalled his father-in-law Hengist ; but as the Britons refused 
to reinstate him in his possessions, a conference of 300 of the chiefs 
of each nation was appointed to be held at Stonehenge in order to 
settle the points in dispute. In the midst of the discussion Hengist 
suddenly exclaimed to his followers, " Nimath eowre seaxas" (take 
your knives), and 299 Britons fell dead upon the floor. Vortigern 
alone was spared, for whose ransom three provinces, afterward 
known as Essex, Sussex, and Middlesex, were demanded. Over 
these Hengist reigned, and was succeeded by his son Ochta. 

In this narrative British and Roman traditions are confounded, 
together with the old Saxon Saga of the manner in which the 
Saxons gained possession of Thuringia. The principal assertion 
of the narrative, that Hengist received the three provinces men- 
tioned as the ransom of Vortigern, is the least true of all, as they 
did not fall under the Saxon dominion till a much later period. 
These stories seem to have been invented by the "Welsh authors 
in order to palliate the weak resistance made at first by their coun- 
trymen, and to account for the rapid progress and licentious dev- 
astations of the Saxons. 

§ 5. The accounts of the conquerors themselves, as recorded in 

* The invasion took place in the first year of the reign of the Emperor 
Marcian, which corresponds to a.d. 450. 
t See Notes and Illustrations (B). 



24 SETTLEMENTS OF GERMAN INVADERS. Chap. II. 

the Saxon Chronicle, and by Beda and others, are more to be re- 
lied upon.* According to these authorities, Hengist and Horsa, 
two Jutish leaders, and descendants of Woden, landed with the 
crews of three ships at Ypwines-fleet (Ebbes Fleet) in Kent in the 
year 450, in compliance with a request made by Vortigern to the 
athelings or chiefs of the Saxons, for aid against the Picts and 
Scots, who had already advanced into Lincolnshire. After an easy 
triumph the victorious Jutes invited their countrymen beyond the 
sea to come and take possession of a fertile island, which the sloth 
and cowardice of the inhabitants rendered them unable to defend. 
A fleet of 16 sail immediately brought over a large body of war- 
riors; to whom and to the former band, as a reward for their past 
services, and as a gage for their future exertions in defense of the 
island, the Britons assigned settlements in Kent. The story of 
Rowena is adverted to, but only as a British tradition. Several 
battles were subsequently fought. In the battle of .^geles-ford, 
the present Aylesford (a.d. 455), Horsa was slain : according to 
Beda, the monument of Horsa was still to be seen in his time in 
the eastern part of Kent ; and two miles north of Aylesford, at a 
place called Horsted, a collection of flint-stones is still pointed out 
as the tomb of Horsa. Two years afterward (a.d. 457) another 
great battle was fought between the Saxons and Britons at Crec- 
canford (Crayford) in Kent, Avhen the Saxons, led by Hengist and 
his son Eric, surnamed JEsc, or the Ash, gained a signal victory. 
The Britons were completely driven out of Kent, and Hengist and 
his son assumed the kingly power. Hengist died in the 40th year 
after his arrival in Britain, and was succeeded by Eric, who reign- 
ed 24 years, and won more territory from the Britons. He was 
the founder of the dynasty of the ^scings, or Ashings,t sons of the 
Ash tree, the name given to the kings of Kent. Ethelbert, fourth 
in descent from ^sc, who began to reign in a.d. 568, was the first 
Christian king in England, and one of the most powerful princes 
of his time ; but the Kentish kingdom soon afterward sank into 
obscurity. 

§ 6. Second settlement of the German invaders, a.d. 477. — In 
the year 477, and therefore during the lifetime of Hengist, Ella 

* The most recent English historians, Lappenberg, Sir Francis Palgi-ave, 
and Kemble, regard the whole account of the Anglo-Saxon conquest as of 
no historical value, and maintain that we have no real history of the Anglo- 
Saxons till their conversion to Christianity, 150 years later. Hengist and 
Horsa, it is said, are mythical personages, Hengist (Hengst) and Hcrsa (Moss) 
being the Teutonic names for stallion and horse. There are, however, good 
reasons for believing the commonly-received account of the conquest to be 
based upon historical facts. See Dr. Guest in the Proceedings of the Ar- 
chaeological Institute for 1849. 

t The termination -i72g is the sign of the Anglo-Saxon patronymic. 



A.D. 450-519. SETTLEMENTS OF GERMAN INVADERS. 25 

(JEUa), with his three sons, Cymen, Wlencing, and Cissa, landed 
with a body of Saxons from three ships at the place afterward 
called Cymen's Ora, upon the eastern-side of Chichester harbor in 
Sussex ; but the Britons were not expelled till defeated in many 
battles by their warlike invaders. After the capture of the old 
Roman town of Anderida, or Andredes-ceaster (Pevensey), in 490, 
when the whole British garrison was put to the sword, Ella as- 
sumed the title of king of the South-Sexe or Sussex, and extended 
his dominion over the modern county of Sussex and a great part 
of Surrey. Ella is said to have died between 514 and 519, and 
was succeeded by his son Cissa ; in whose line the kingdom of 
Sussex remained for a long period, though we know not even the 
name of any of his successors. The capital of this kingdom was 
Chichester, which derives its name from Cissa (Cissa-ceaster, 
the Chester or city of Cissa). To these German invaders is due 
the division of Sussex into rapes, which again ai'C divided into 
hundreds. 

§ 7. Third settlement of the German invaders, a.d. 495. — The 
third body of German invaders were, like the last, also Saxons. 
They landed in 495 under the command of Cerdic and his son 
Cynric, at a place called Cerdic's Ora, which was probably at the 
mouth of the Itchin River along the eastern side of the Southamp- 
ton Water. None of the invaders met with such vigorous resist- 
ance, or exerted such valor and perseverance in pushing their 
conquests. Cerdic did not make much progress till six years 
later, after calling in from Germany the aid of Port ; from whom 
the town of Portsmouth is said to derive its name, as being the 
place where Port landed and defeated the Britons. In 514 Cer- 
dic was re-enforced by the arrival of his nephews, Stuf and Wiht- 
gar, who are also represented as Jutish leaders. Cerdic's power 
now became more formidable ; many districts were conquered, 
and among them the 'Isle of Wighty which Cerdic bestowed on his 
nephews. It was not, however, till his great victory over the 
Britons at Cerdices-ford (or Charford, in Hampshire) in 519 that 
Cerdic assumed the royal title and erected the kingdom of the 
West-Sexe or Wessex. Cerdic's farther progi-ess toward the west 
was checked by a great defeat which he received in the following 
year at Mount Badon* jfrom Arthur, prince of the Damnonii, 
whose heroic valor now sustained the declining fate of his coun- 
try. This is that Arthur so much celebrated in the songs of Brit- 
ish bards, and whose military achievements have been blended 
with so many fables as even to give occasion for entertaining a 

* Mount Badon is usually identified with Bath ; but Dr. Guest adduces 
strong reasons for believing it to be Badbury in Dorsetshire. {^Ut supra, 
p. 63.) 



26 SETTLEMENTS OF GERMAN INVADERS. Chap. II. 

doubt of his real existence. But poets, though they disfigure the 
most certain history by their fictions, and use strange liberties 
■with truth where they are the sole historians, as among the 
Britons, have commonly some foundation for their wildest exag- 
gerations. 

Cerdic died in 534, leaving his dominions to his son Cynric, 
who ruled till his death in 560, and considerably extended his 
kingdom, the capital of which was Winton-ceaster, or Winches- 
ter, the ancient Venta Belgarum. Cynric was succeeded by his 
son Ceawlin. 

§ 8. Fourth settlement of the Gerinan invaders, a.d. 527. — These 
invaders were also Saxons. They founded the kingdom of the 
East-Sexe or Essex, to which the Middle-Sexe or Middlesex also be- 
longed. .u9Escevine or Ercemvine was the first king of Essex ; 
but his son Sleda, who married a daughter of Ethelbert of Kent, 
appears as a subject of his father-in-law; and Essex, though 
styled a kingdom, seems always to have been subject to the neigh- 
boring kings. 

§ 9. Fifth settlement of the German invaders. — The four preced- 
ing invasions had been made by the Jutes and Saxons ; but the 
next two settlements consist of Angles. Toward the middle or 
end of the 6th century, for the exact date is unknown, some 
Angles, apparently divided into two tribes, the North-Folk and 
the South-Folk, founded the kingdom of East Anglia, comprising 
the modern counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and parts of Cam- 
bridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. Hardly any thing is known of 
the history of East Anglia. Uffa is said to have been the first 
king, and his descendants were styled Ufiingas, just as the race of 
Kentish kings were called ^scingas. 

§ 10. Sixth Settlement of the German invaders, ahout a.d. 547. — 
The country to the north of the Humber had been early separated 
into two British states, namely, Deifyr (Deora rice), extending 
from the Humber to the Tyne, and Berneich (Beorna rice), lying 
between the Tyne and the Forth. These names, afterward Latin- 
ized into Deira and Bernieia, were retained till a late period. The 
two countries were separated by a vast forest occupying the dis- 
trict between the Tyne and the Tees, or the modern bishopric of 
Durham. According to some traditions, Hengist had penetrated 
as far as these countries, and founded states there for his son Ochta, 
and for Ebusa the son of Horsa ; but it seems more probable that 
his expeditions were not carried beyond Lincolnshire. It can not 
be doubted, however, that the Angles were settled in parts of Nor- 
thumbria at an early period ; though it was not till the arrival 
of Ida, who landed at Flamborough Head in 547, with a power- 
ful body of Anglian warriors, that the Angles obtained the su- 



A.D. 519-626. THE HEPTARCHY. 27 

preraacy in the north of the island. Ida became King of Bernicia, 
and transmitted his power to his son ; and a separate Anglian 
kingdom was founded in Deira by Ella. These two kingdoms 
remained for some years in a state of hostility wdth one another ; 
but they were united in the person of Ethelfrith or .^delfrid, 
grandson of Ida, who had married a daughter of Ella, and who 
expelled her infant brother Edwin. It was not, however, till the 
accession of Edwin in 617 that the united kingdoms seem to have 
assumed the name of Northumbria, which was long the most pow- 
erful of the Anglo-Saxon states. 

§ 11. The country to the west of East Anglia and Deira was 
known by the name of the March or boundary, and was conquered 
by Anglian chieftains, who were for some time subject to the kings 
of Northumbria. It was erected into an independent state by 
Penda about 626, under the name of the March or Mercia, which 
was subsequently extended to the Severn, and comprised the whole 
of the centre of England. It was divided by the Trent into North 
and South Mercia. 

§ 12. Thus after a century and a half was gradually establish- 
ed in Britain what has been called the Heptarchy,'or seven Saxon 
kingdoms, namely, Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, East Anglia, Mer- 
cia, and Northumbria. But this term is incorrect: there were 
never exactly seven independent kingdoms coexistent ; and if the 
smaller and dependent ones are reckoned, the number must be con- 
siderably increased. The Britons, or ancient Celtic inhabitants, 
had been driven into the western parts of the island, and formed 
several small states. In the extreme southwest lay Damnonia, 
called also West Wales, the kingdom of Arthur, occupying at first 
the present counties of Cornwall and Devonshire, but limited at 
a later period, after the separation of Cernau, or Cornwall, to Dyv- 
naint, or Devonshire. In Somersetshire, Wiltshire, and Dorset- 
shire, which had been occupied by the Saxons at an early period, 
a large native population still maintained its ground, as was like- 
wise the case in Devonshire long after its occupation by the Sax- 
ons ; whence the inhabitants of that district obtained the name of 
the "Welsh kind." Cambria, or Wales, was divided into several 
small kingdoms or principalities. The name of Welsh ( Wdlsch), it 
may be observed, is the Saxon term for foreigners, and is still ap- 
plied by the Germans to the Italians. The history of the Celts, 
who dwelt in Cumhrki, to the north of Wales, is involved in ob- 
scurity. Cumbria, or Cumberland, properly so called, included, 
besides the present county, Westmoreland and Lancashire, and ex- 
tended into Northumbria, probably as far as the modern Leeds. 
Caerleol, or Carlisle, was its chief city. North of Cumbria, be- 
tween the two Roman walls, and to the east of the kingdom of 



28 



THE HEPTARCHY. 



Chap.H. 




Map of Britain, showing the Settlements of the Anglo-Saxons. 

Bernicia, were situated two other British kingdoms : Reged, in the 
southern portion of the district, nearly identical perhaps with An- 
nandale, in Dumfriesshire ; and Strathclyde, embracing the coun- 
ties of Dumbarton, Renfrew, and Dumfries, and probably also 
those of Peebles, Selkirk, and Lanark. These kingdoms were 
sometimes united under one chief, or Pendragon, called also Tyern, 
or tyrannus, who, like other British princes, regarded himself as the 
successor, and even as the descendant, of Constantine or Maximus. 
Besides those Britons who found shelter in these western and 
mountainous regions from the fury of the Saxon invaders, great 
numbers of them, under the conduct of their joriests and chieftains, 



A.D. 626. THE BRETWALDAS. 29 

abandoned altogether their native shores, and settled in Armorica, 
on the western coast of France, which from them derived its sub- 
sequent name of Bretagne, or Brittany. 

Nothing can more evidently show the completeness of the con- 
quest made by the Anglo-Saxons than the fact that their language 
forms to this day the staple of our own ; but with regard to their 
treatment of the conquered land, and their relations toward the 
natives, we are almost entirely in the dark. It is usually stated, 
that the Saxons either exterminated the original population, or 
drove it into the western parts of the island ; but there are good 
reasons for believing that this was not completely the case ; and 
we may conclude from the Welsh traditions, and from the number 
of Celtic words still existing in the English language, that a con- 
siderable number of the Celtic inhabitants still remained upon the 
soil as the slaves or subjects of their conquerors.* 

§ 13. To detail the obscure and often doubtful history of the 
several Anglo-Saxon states would afford neither amusement nor 
instruction, and we shall therefore content ourselves with selecting 
the more remarkable events that occurred down to the time when 
all the kingdoms were united under the authority of Egbert. The 
dignity of Bretwalda, that is, supreme commander or emperor of 
Britain, which was often the subject of contention among the dif- 
ferent Anglo-Saxon sovereigns, affords some slight bond of connec- 
tion to their histories, and it is to this point that we shall first di- 
rect our attention. I 

The institution of a Bretwalda among the Anglo-Saxons was 
probably neither derived from their native customs, nor an as- 
sumption of the Roman imperial power before exercised in the 
island, but rather a measure sometimes adopted from the necessity 
of uniting under a common chief against the Britons, the Picts, 
and the Scots. The dignity was perhaps an elective one. The 
first who held the office, according to Beda, was Ella, king of the 
South Saxons ; but we know not on what account, nor by what 
means, he obtained the dignity. Ceawlin, King of the West Sax- 
ons, or Wessex, the grandson of Cerdic, was the second Bretwalda. 
The -^scing, Ethelbert of Kent, disputed the title with him, but 
was overthrown in a great battle at Wibbandun (Wimbledon in 
Surrey). Ceawlin was a conqueror, and united many districts to 
his kingdom ; but from some unknown cause, the termination of 
his reign was singularly unprosperous. His own subjects, and 

* This subject is more fiilly discussed in the Notes and Illustrations (C). 

t The existence of the Bretwaldas, at least in the earlier times, is disputed 
by Mr. Hallam and Mr. Kemble. But they are expressly mentioned by Beda, 
who calls their dignity ducatus or leadership, in the Saxon Chronicle, where 
these princes are termed Bretwaldas, and in charters. 



30 THE BRETWALDAS. Chap. 11. 

even his own relations, united against him with the Britons and 
Scots ; he was defeated in a great battle at Wodnesbeorg, in the 
year 591, and died in exile two years afterward. 

§ 14. After the expulsion of Ceawlin, Ethelbert of Kent obtain- 
ed the dignity of Bretivalda, to which he had for so many years 
aspired. The most memorable event of his reign was the intro- 
duction of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons, for the reception 
of which faith the mind of Ethelbert had been prepared through 
his marriage with the Christian princess Bertha, daughter of Cari- 
bert, King of Paris. But the immediate cause of its introduction 
was a casual incident which occurred at Rome. It happened that 
Gregory, who, under the title of the Great, afterward occupied the 
papal chair, had observed in the market-place of Rome three Sax- 
on youths exposed to sale, whom the Roman merchants, in their 
trading voyages to Britain, had bought of their mercenary parents.*^ 
Struck with the beauty of their fair complexions and blooming 
countenances, Gregory asked to what country they belonged ; and 
being told they were Angles, he replied that they ought more prop- 
erly to be denominated angels : it were a pity that the prince of 
darkness should enjoy so fair a prey, and that so beautiful a front- 
ispiece should cover a mind destitute of internal grace and right- 
eousness. Inquiring farther concerning the name of their prov- 
ince, he was informed that it was Deira, a district of Northumbria. 
" Deira," replied he, " that is good ! They are called to the mercy 
of God from his anger (de ira). But what is the name of the 
king of that province?" He was told it was .^lla, or Alia. 
"AUelujah!" cried he; "we must endeavor that the praises of 
God be sung in their country." Moved by these allusions, which 
appeared to him so happy, he determined to undertake himself a 
mission into Britain, and, having obtained the Pope's approbation, 
prepared for the journey; but his popularity at home was so great, 
that the Romans, unwilling to expose him to such dangers, op- 
posed his design ; and he was obliged for the present to lay aside 
all farther thoughts of executing that pious purpose. 

After his accession to the pontificate, Gregory, anxious to con- 
vert the British Saxons, pitched on Augustine, a Roman- monk, 
and sent him, with forty associates, to preach the gospel in this 
island. These missionaries, terrified with the danger which might 
attend their proposing a new doctrine to so fierce a people, of 
whose language they were ignorant, stopped some time in France, 
and sent back Augustine to lay the hazards and difficulties before 

* The celebrated story is told by Beda (ii., 89), and is copied from him, 
with slight variations, by all other medieval writers. It is related more fully 
and accm-ately by Mr. Stanley (Historical Memorials of Canterbury, p. 7, 
seq.) than by any other modern writer. 



A.D.597. ETHELBERT— INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 31 

the Pope, and crave his permission to desist from the undertak- 
ing. But Gregory exhorted them to persevere in their purpose ; 
and Augustine, on his arrival in Kent in the year 597, found the 
danger much less than he had apprehended. Ethelbert, already 
well disposed toward the Christian faith, assigned him a habita- 
tion ill the Isle of Thanet, and soon after admitted him to a con- 
ference. Augustine, encouraged by his favorable reception, and 
seeing now a prospect of success, proceeded with redoubled zeal 
to preach the gospel to the Kentish Saxons. Numbers were con- 
verted and baptized, and the king himself was persuaded to sub- 
mit to the same rite. Augustine was consecrated Archbishop of 
Canterbury, was endowed by Gregory with authority over all the 
British churches, and received the pall, a badge of ecclesiastical 
honor, from Rome. Christianity was soon afterward introduced 
into the kingdom of Essex, whose sovereign, S^eberht, or Sebert, 
was Ethelbert's nephew ; and, through the influence of Ethelbert, 
Mellitus, who had been the apostle of Christianity in Essex, was 
appointed to the bishopric of London, where a church dedicated 
to St. Paul was erected, on the site of a former temple of Diana. 
Sebert also erected on Thorney Island, which was formed by the 
branches of a small river falling into the Thames, a church dedi- 
cated to St. Peter, which is now Westminster Abbey. In Kent 
the see of Rochester was founded by Augustine, and bestowed 
upon Justus. 




Silver Penny of Ethelbert II., King of Kent, and Bretwalda. 
Obverse: edilbeeht . . .; bust right. Reverse: eex; Ayolf and twins. (This coin, if 
genuine, is an evident imitation of those of Rome : compare the coin of Carausius, p. 12.) 

§ 15. The marriage of Ethelbert with Bertha, and, much more, 
his embracing Christianity, begat a connection of his subjects with 
the French, Italians, and other nations on the Continent, and tend- 
ed to reclaim them from that gross ignorance and barbarity in 
which all the Saxon tribes had been hitherto involved. Ethel- 
bert also enacted, with the consent of the states of his kingdom, 
a body of laws, the first written laws promulgated by any of the 
northern conquerors ; and his reign was in every respect glorious 
to himself and beneficial to his people. He governed the king- 
dom of Kent 50 years, and, dying in 616, left the succession to 
his son Eadbald. But he possessed neither the abilities nor the 
authority of his father ; and the Saxon princes refused to ac- 
knowledge him as Bretwalda, That dignity passed to Redwald, 



32 EDWIN OF NORTHUMBRIA. Chap. II. 

King of the East Angles, who holds the fourth place in the series 
of these princes. The protection afforded by Redwald to young 
Edwin, the rightful heir of the kingdom of Deira, brought him 
into collision with ^delfrid, King of Northumbria. It has been 
already mentioned that -^delfrid had united Deira with Bernicia 
by seizing upon it at the death of Ella, whose daughter he had 
married, and expelling her infant brother Edwin. Redwald in- 
vaded the kingdom of Northumbria, and fought a battle with 
^delfrid on the banks of the Idle in Nottinghamshire, in which 
that monarch was defeated and killed ; his sons, Eanfrid, Oswald, 
and Oswy, yet infants, were carried into Scotland, and Edwin ob- 
tained possession of the crown. 

§ 16. Edwin subsequently became the fifth Bretwalda, and all 
the Anglo-Saxon states, with the exception of Kent, acknowledged 
his supremacy. He distinguished himself by his influence over 
the other kingdoms, and by the strict execution of justice in his 
own dominions. He reclaimed his subjects from the licentious 
life to which they had been accustomed; and it was a common 
saying that during his reign a woman or child might openly carry 
every where a purse of gold without any danger of violence or 
robbery. There is a remarkable instance transmitted to us of the 
affection borne him by his servants. Cuichelme, King of Wessex, 
was his enemy ; but, finding himself unable to maintain open war 
against so gallant and powerful a prince, he determined to use 
treachery against him, and he employed one Eumer for that crim- 
inal purpose. The assassin, having obtained admittance by pre- 
tending to deliver a message from Cuichelme, drew his dagger 
and rushed upon the king. Lilla, an officer of his army, seeing 
his master's danger, and having no other means of defense, inter- 
posed with his own body between the king and Eumer' s dagger, 
which was pushed with such violence, that, after piercing Lilla, it 
even wounded Edwin ; but before the assassin could renew his 
blow he was dispatched by the king's attendants. 

This event, as well as the birth of a daughter about the same 
time, is said to have hastened Edwin's conversion to Christianity. 
After the death of his first consort, a Mercian princess, Edwin 
had married Ethelburga, the daughter of Ethelbert, King of Kent. 
This princess, emulating the glory of her mother Bertha, who had 
been the instrument for converting her husband and his people 
to Christianity, carried Paulinus, a learned bishop, along with 
her ; and besides stipulating a toleration for the exercise of her 
own religion, which was readily granted her, she used every ef- 
fort to persuade the king to embrace it. Her exertions, seconded 
by those of Paulinus, were successful. Edwin was baptized on 
Easter-day, a.d. 627, at York, in a wooden church hastily erected 



A.D. 597-795. OSWALD— OSWY—INA OF WESSEX. 33 

for the occasion, and dedicated to St. Peter. Subsequently York 
was erected into an archbishopric; Paulinus was appointed the 
first northern metropolitan, and a handsome church of stone was 
built for his cathedral. From hence, as a centre, Christianity was 
propagated, though not without some vicissitudes, in the neigh- 
boring Anglo-Saxon countries. 

§ 17. Evil days were now approaching for Northumbria. Ed- 
win was slain in battle by Penda, the powerful king of Mercia. 
Northumbria was divided into two separate kingdoms, and the 
people, with their monarchs, relapsed into paganism. At length, 
in 634, Oswald, the son of ^delfrid, again united the kingdoms 
of Northumbria, and restored the Christian religion in his domin- 
ions. Oswald was also acknowledged as the sixth Bretwalda, 
and reigned, according to the expression of Beda, over the four 
nations of Britain — the Angles, the Britons, the Picts, and the 
Scots. His reign, however, was short. He became involved in 
a war with Penda, a.d. 642, and, like his brother, was defeated 
and slain. His corpse w^as treated with great brutality by Penda ; 
but he was canonized by the Church as a saint and martyr ; his 
scattered members were collected as relics, and were held to be 
endowed with miraculous powers. Penda penetrated as far as 
Bamborough, the residence of the Northumbrian princes on the 
coast of Yorkshire, but after a fruitless siege was obliged to retire 
and evacuate the kingdom. 

§ 18. On the death of Oswald his brother Oswy succeeded to 
his kingdom and the dignity of Bretwalda, He defeated and 
slew the formidable Penda in a great battle fought near Leeds in 
656. 

The reign of Oswy was rendered memorable by a most destruc- 
tive pestilence calledthe yellow plague, which, commencing in 664, 
ravaged the whole island twenty years, with the exception of the 
Highlands of Scotland. Oswy died in 670, and with him expired 
for a time the dignity of Bretwalda. 

It is unnecessary to pursue the obscure and uninteresting reigns 
of Oswy's successors in the kingdom of Northumbria, which, for 
the most part, present little more than a series of seditions, usurp- 
ations, and murders. Agriculture was neglected, the land was 
desolated by famine and pestilence, and, to fill up the measure of 
its calamities, the Northmen landed in 793 on Lindisfarne, and in 
the following year at Egferths-Minster (probably Wearmouth), 
and plundered and destroyed the churches and monasteries at 
those places. After the death of Ethelred (a.d. 795) universal 
anarchy prevailed in Northumbria ; and the people, having by so 
many fatal revolutions lost all attachment to their government 
and princes, were well prepared for subjection to a foreign yoke. 

B2 



34 EGBERT. Chap.il 

This was finally imposed upon them by Egbert, King of Wessex ; 
to the history of which kingdom, as finally swallowing up all the 
rest, we must now hasten. 

§ 19, The history of the kings of Wessex presents nothing re- 
markable till we arrive at the reign of Ina, who ascended the 
throne in 688, and who was remarkable for his justice, policy, 
and prudence. He treated the Britons of Somersetshire and the 
adjoining districts (the Wealas, or Welsh kind), whom he had 
subdued, with a humanity hitherto unknown to the Saxon con- 
querors. He allowed the proprietors to retain possession of their 
lands, encouraged marriages and alliances between them and his 
ancient subjects, and gave them the privilege of being governed 
by the same laws. These laws he augmented and ascertained ; 
and though he was disturbed by some insurrections at home, his 
long reign of thirty-seven years may be regarded as one of the most 
glorious and most prosperous reigns of the Anglo-Saxon princes. 
In the decline of his age he made a pilgrimage to Rome, where 
he shut himself up in a cloister. The year of his death is un- 
known. 

Egbert was the fourth in descent from Ingild, Ina's brother; 
and, being a young man of the most promising hopes, gave great 
jealousy to Brithric, the reigning prince, both because he seemed 
by his birth better entitled to the crown, and because he had ac- 
quired to an eminent degree the affections of the people. Eg- 
bert, sensible of his danger from the suspicions of Brithric, secret- 
ly withdrew into France, where he was well received by Charle- 
magne. By living in the court and serving in the armies of that 
prince, the most able and most generous that had appeared in 
Europe during several ages, he acquired those accomplishments 
which afterward enabled him to make such a shining figure on 
the throne. 

It was not long ere Egbert had opportunities of displaying his 
natural and acquired talents. Brithric was accidentally killed 
by partaking of a cup of poison which his wife Eadburga, daugh- 
ter of OfFa, King of Mercia, had mixed for a young nobleman who 
had acquired her husband's friendship, and had on that account 
become the object of her jealousy. Egbert was now recalled from 
France by the nobility of Wessex, and ascended the throne of his 
ancestors in the last year of the 8th century. The royal families 
had at this period become extinct in all the Anglo-Saxon king- 
doms except that of Wessex, and Egbert was the sole descendant 
of those first conquerors who subdued Britain, and who enhanced 
their authority by claiming a pedigree from Woden, the supreme 
divinity of their ancestors. But, though his lineage might have 
afforded a pretense to make attempts on the neighboring Saxons, he 



A.D. 688-796. HISTORY OF MERCIA— OFFA. 35 

gave them for some time no disturbance, and rather chose to turn 
his arms against the Britons in Cornwall and Wales, whom he 
defeated in several battles. He was recalled from these conquests 
by an invasion of his dominions by Beornwulf, King of Mercia. 
But in order to explain that event, and to close the history of the 
other Anglo-Saxon states, we must here take a retrospective 
glance at that of Mercia. 

§ 20. After the death of Penda the history of Mercia presents 
little of importance till we arrive at the long reign of Ethelbald 
(716-755). That sovereign appears to have possessed as much, 
power as any of the Bretwaldas, though he did not enjoy that 
title. He distinguished himself by many successful conflicts with 
the Britons, against whom he united under his standard East 
Anglia, Kent, Essex, and for a while also Wessex. At one pe- 
riod he asserted his supremacy over all England south of the 
Humber, and in a charter of the year 736 signs himself " King 
of Britain." But he was subsequently defeated in two battles 
against the West Saxons; in the latter of which he fell (a.d. 
755). Ethelbald, after a short period of usurpation by Beornred, 
was succeeded by Offa, the most celebrated of all the Mercian 
princes. After gaining several victories over the other Anglo- 
Saxon princes, this monarch turned his ayms against the Britons 
of Cambria, whom he repeatedly defeated. He settled all the 
level country to the east of the mountains, between the Wye and 
the Severn, with Anglo-Saxons ; for whose protection he con- 
structed the mound or rampart between the mouth of the Dee 
and that of the Wye, known as Offa's Dike, traces of which may 
be still discerned. The King of Mercia was now become so con- 
siderable, that the Emperor Charlemagne entered into an alliance 
and friendship with him. That emperor being a great lover of 
learning and learned men, Offa, at his desire, sent Alcuin to him, 
a clergyman much celebrated for his knowledge, who received 
great honors from Charlemagne, and even became his preceptor 
in the sciences. Charlemagne, on his side, made Offa many cost- 
ly presents, which seem to have chiefly consisted of the spoils 
which that emperor had taken from the Huns. But the glory 
and successes of Offa were stained by the treacherous murder of 
Ethelbert, King of the East Angles, while sojourning at his court, 
and by his violent seizing of that kingdom in the year 792. Over- 
come by remorse, Offa endeavored to atone for his crime by liber- 
ality to the Church. He gave the tenth of his goods to the clergy, 
and engaged to pay the sovereign pontiff a yearly donation for the 
support of an English college at Rome : for which purpose he 
imposed the tax of a penny on each house possessed of thirty 
pence a year. Offa's liberality, however, was perhaps only a 



36 CONQUESTS OF EGBERT. Chap. II- 

confirmation of that of Ina, King of the West Saxons, who is 
also said to have founded a school at Rome, and to have laid for 
its support a tax of one penny, under the name of Rom-feoh, or 
Rome-scot, on every house in the kingdom. This imposition, be- 
ing afterward levied on all England, was commonly denominated 
Peter'' s-pence : and though conferred at first as a gift, was after- 
ward claimed as a tribute by the Roman pontiff. 

Offa died in 796. The reigns of his successors on the Mercian 
throne, who were all either murdered or violently deposed, deserve 
not to arrest our attention. Mercia, instead of continuing to be 
the leading state among the Anglo-Saxons, was, through its in- 
ternal dissensions, falhng fast into decay, and was thus easily re- 
duced by the arms of Egbert, to whose history we must now return. 

§ 21. Egbert had already possessed the throne of Wessex near- 
ly a quarter of a century, when the invasion of his dominions be- 
fore referred to, by Beornwulf, King of Mercia, took place. Egbert 
defeated the invaders, and subdued with facility the tributary king- 
doms of Kent and Sussex, Avhile the East Angles, from their hatred 
to the Mercian government, immediately rose in arms, and put 
themselves under the protection of Egbert. In order to engage 
the Mercians more easily to submission, he allowed Wiglaf, their 
countryman, to retain the title of king, while he himself exercised 
the real power of sovereignty. The anarchy which prevailed in 
Northumbria, as already related, tempted him to carry still farther 
his victorious arms ; and the inhabitants, unable to resist his power, 
and desirous of possessing some established form of government, 
were forward, on his first appearance, to send deputies, who sub- 
mitted to his authority, and swore allegiance to him as their sov- 
ereign. Egbert, however, still allowed to Northumbria, as he had 
done to Mercia and East Anglia, the power of electing a king, who 
paid him tribute and was dependent on him. These three subor- 
dinate kingdoms remained under their own sovereigns, as vassals 
of Egbert, till they were swallowed up by the Danish invasion. 
Egbert and his successors, down to Alfred the Great, commonly 
assumed only the title of kings of Wessex, and Alfred's son, Ed- 
ward the Elder, seems to have been the first who regularly adopted 
the title of " Rex Anglorum," or King of the English. 

Thus all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were nominally united into 
one state, nearly 400 years after the first arrival of the Saxons in 
Britain, This event is placed in the year 827. 



Chap, II. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATION; 



37 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMAEKABLE EVENTS. 



450. First arrival of the Saxons in England 

under Hengist and Horsa. 
47T. Ella lands in Sussex. 
495. Cerdic lands in Hampshii'e. 
519. Cerdic founds the kingdom of "Wessex. 
52T. The Saxons land in Essex. 
547. The Angles under Ida settle in Bernicia. 
59T. Augustine preaches Christianity in Kent. 



61T. Kingdom of Northumbria under Edwin. 

626. Kingdom of Mercia founded by Penda. 

627. Conversion of Ed'win. Church at York. 
664. Yellow plague. 

793. The Northmen land on Lindisfame. 
800.- Accession of Egbert in Wessex. 
827. Egbert unites all the Anglo-Saxon king- 
doms. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. THE FRISIANS TOOK PART IN THE 
SAXON INVASION OF BPJTAIN. 

This appears from the following facts : 1. 
Procopius says (BeU. Goth., iv., 20) that Brit- 
ain was inhabited in his time (the 6th cen- 
tury) by three races, the Angles, Frisians, 
and Britons. The omission of the Saxons, 
and the substitution of the Frisians, can be 
accounted for only on the supposition that 
Frisians and Saxonsvrere convertible terms. 

2. The traditions of the Frisians and Flem- 
ings claim Hengist as their ancestor, and re- 
late that he was banished from then* country. 

3. In old German poetry it is expressly stated 
that the Frisians were formerly called Sax- 
ons. 4. Many English words and some gram- 
matical forms are more closely allied to those 
of the old Friesic than to those of any other 
German dialect. For instance, the English 
sign of the iniinitive mode, io, is found in the 
old Friesic, and not in any other German 
dialect. On this subject see Da-vies " On the 
Races of Lancashire," in the "Transactions 
of the Philological Society" for 1855. 

B. THE ISLE OF THANET. 

The Isle of Thanet was in Anglo-Saxon 
times, and long afterward, separated from 
the rest of Kent by a broad strait, called by 
Bede the Wcmt&umu. The Stoui-, instead of 
being a narrow stream, as at present, was 
then a broad river, opening into a wide estu- 
ary between SandT\ach and Deal, in the di- 
rection of Pegwell Bay. Ships coming from 
France and Germany sailed up this estuary, 
and through the river, out at the other side 
by Reculver. Ebb's Fleet -is the name given 
to a farm-house on a strip of high gi'ound 
rising out of Minster Marsh (Stanley, Memo- 
rials of Canterbuiy, p. 13). Thanet is the 
German name of the island. The Welsh 
name was Ruivi^ which probably signified a 
foreland, and is still presei-ved rn the com- 
pound Ramsgate. In East Kent the gaps in 
the line of cliff which lead down to the shore 
are called gates ; hence Ramsgate is the gate 
or pass leading into Ruim (Guest, in Pro- 
ceedings of the Archaeological Institute for 
1S49, p. 32). 

C. CELTIC WORDS IN THE ENGLISH 
LANGUAGE. 

IVIr. Davies, in the valuable paper already 
referred to, remarks, "The stoutest assertor 
of a pure Anglo-Saxon or Norman descent is 
convicted by the language of his daily life 



of belonging to a race that partakes largely 
of Celtic blood. If he calls for his coat (W. 
eota^ Germ, o-ock), or teUs of the basket of 
fish he has caught (W. basgaivd^ Germ, ^•o/•6), 
or the cart he employs on "his land (W. cart^ 
from cch\ a drag or sledge. Germ, xvagen)^ or 
of the -pranks of his youth or the 2>rancinrj 
of Ms horse (W. j^raiik^ a trick; 2}rancio^ to 
frolic), or declares that he was Ziapjjy when 
a gownsman at Oxford (W. hap^ fortune, 
chance; Germ, gluck; W. gwn)^ or that liis 
servant is jiert (W. jjerf, spnice, dapper, in- 
solent), or, descending to the language of the 
vulgar, he affii-ms that such assertions are 
balderdash^ and the claim a sham (W. bal- 
dorddus^ idle, prating; s/'o??;, from shom^ a 
deceit, a sham), he is unconsciously main- 
taining the truth he would deny. Like the 
M. Jourdain of Moliere, who had been talking 
prose all his life without knowing it, he has 
been speaking very good Celtic without any 
suspicion of the fact." 

A long list of Celtic words in the English 
language wiH be found in Mr. Davies' s essay, 
and also in another valuable paper by the 
late INIr. Gamett, likewise published in the 
"■Transactions of the Philological Society" 
(vol. L , p. 171). It appears that a considera- 
ble proportion of the English words relating 
to the ordinary arts of life, such as agricul- 
tm'e, carpentry, and in general indoor and 
outdoor service, come from the Celtic. The 
following, which might be multiplied almost 
indefinitely, may serve as samples : 



English. 
basket, 
bran, , 

crock, crockery, 
drill, 
flannel, 
gown, 
hem, 
lath, 
mattock, 
pail, 
peck, 
pitcher, 
ridge, 
solder, 
tackle, 



Welsh. 
basgawd. 

bran (a skin of wheat), 
crochan (a pot), 
rhill (a row). 

gwlanen (from gwlan, wool), 
gwn (a robe), 
hem (a border). 
Hath (a rod), 
matog. 
paeol. 

piser (a jug). 

rhic, rhig. 

sawduriaw (to join, cement). 

tacl (instrument, tool). 



Mr. Davies also calls attention to the fact 
that in the Lancashire dialect (and the same 
holds good of other dialects) many low, bur- 
lesque, or obscure words can be traced to a 
Celtic source, and this circumstance, togeth- 
er with the fact that no words connected 
with law, or government, or the lirsuiies of 
life, belong to this class, is distinct evidence 
that the Celtic race was held in a state of de- 
pendence or inferiority. 




The Eaising of Lazarus. Sculpture of the IXth or Xth century from Selsey, now in 

Chichester Cathedral. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE ANGLO-SAXONS FROM THE UNION OP ENGLAND UNDER EGBERT TILL 
THE REIGN OE CANUTE THE DANE. 

5 1. State of the Kingdom. §2. Invasion of the Danes. Death of Egbert. 
§ 3. Reign of Ethelwolf. His Journey to Rome. § 4. Revolt of Ethel- 
bald. § 5. Reigns of Ethelbald, Ethelbert, Ethelred. Continued Inva- 
sions of the Danes. § 6. Accession of Alfred. Successes of the Danes. 
Flight of Alfred. § 7. Alfred defeats the Danes. Their Settlement in 
East Anglia. The Danelagh. § 8. Wise Regulations of Alfred. New 
Danish War. Death of Alfred. § 9. His Character. His Love of 
Learning. § 10. His Policy and Legislation, § 11. Reign of Edward 
the Elder. § 12. Reign of Athelstane. His Conquests, Power, and for- 
eign Connections. § 13. Reign of Edmund I. His Assassination. § 14. 
Reign of Edred. St. Dunstan ; his Character and Power, § 15. Reign 
ofEdwy. His Quarrel with St. Dunstan. §16. Reign of Edgar. His 
good Fortune. § 17. Reign of Edward. His Assassination. § 18. Reign 



A.D. 827-836. EGBERT. 



39 



of Ethelred II, Invasion of the Danes, Danegelt. §19. Massacre of 
the Danes, § 20. Conquest of England by Swejn. Flight of Ethelred. 
§ 21. Death of Sweyn, and Return of Ethelred. Invasion of Canute. 
Death of Ethelred. § 22. Division of England between Canute and Ed- 
mond Ironside. Murder of the latter. 

§ 1. Egbert, a.d. 827-836. — Although England was not firmly- 
cemented into one state under Egbert, as is usually represented, 
yet the power of this monarch and the union of so many provinces 
opened the prospect of future tranquillity ; and it appeared more 
probable that the Anglo-Saxons would thenceforth become formid- 
able to their neighbors, than be exposed to their inroads and dev- 
astations. Indeed in the following year Egbert led his victorious 
army into North Wales, laid waste the country as far as Snowdon, 
penetrated into Denbighshire, and reduced the Isle of Anglesey to 
subjection. Of all the territory that had been comprised in Roman 
Britain, Strathclyde and Cumbria alone were free from vassalage 
to the crown of Egbert. But these flattering views were soon 
overcast by the appearance of the Northmen, who during some 
centuries kept the Anglo-Saxons in perpetual disquietude, com- 
mitted the most barbarous ravages upon them, and at last reduced 
them to grievous servitude. 

§ 2. These pirates and freebooters inhabited the Scandinavian 
kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden ; and the hordes 
which plundered England were drawn from all parts of the Scan- 
dinavian peninsula. It was, however, chiefly the Danes who di- 
rected their attacks against the coasts of England ; the Norwegians 
made their descents for the most part upon Scotland, the Hebrides, 
and Ireland ; while the Swedes turned their arms against the east- 
em shores of the Baltic. These Scandinavians were in race and 
language closely connected with the Anglo-Saxons. The languages 
of all the Scandinavian nations differ only slightly from the dia- 
lects of the Germanic tribes ; and both nations originally worship- 
ed the same gods, and were distinguished by the same love of en- 
terprise and freedom. But, while the Anglo-Saxons had long since 
abjured their ancient faith, and had acquired the virtues and vices 
of civilization, their Scandinavian kinsmen still remained in their 
savage independence, still worshiped Odin as their national god, 
and still regarded the plunder of foreign lands as their chief occu- 
pation and delight. In the ninth century they inspired the same 
terror which the Anglo-Saxons had done in the fifth. Led by the 
younger sons of royal houses, the Vikings* swarmed in all the 
harbors and rivers of the surrounding countries. Their course 
was marked by fire and bloodshed. Buildings sacred and profane 
were burnt to the ground ; and great numbers of people were mur- 
* ViJcing is in Danish a naval warrior, a pii-ate. 



40 ETHELWOLF. Chap. III. 

dered or dragged away into slavery. The terrified inhabitants fled 
at their approach, and beheld in them the judgment of God fore- 
told in the prophets. Their national flag was the figure of a black 
raven, woven on a blood-red ground, from whose movements the 
Northmen augured victory or defeat. When it fluttered its wings, 
they believed that Odin gave them a sign of victory ; but if the 
wings hung down, they imagined that the god would not prosper 
their arms. Their swords were longer and heavier than those of 
Anglo-Saxons, and their battle-axes are mentioned as formidable 
weapons. 

These terrible Northmen appeared at the same time upon the 
coasts of England, France, and Russia. They wrested from the 
French monarch one of his fairest provinces, which was called 
Normandy after them ; and they founded in Russia a dynasty 
which reigned over the country above 700 years. Their first ap- 
pearance upon the English coasts is placed in the Saxon Chronicle 
under the year 787 ; but it was not till the latter part of Egbert's 
reign that they commenced their regular and systematic ravages 
of the country. At first they merely made brief and rapid de- 
scents upon the coasts, returning to their northern homes with 
the plunder they had gained ; but they soon began to take up their 
abode in England for the winter, and renewed their devastations in 
the spring. While England was trembling at this ncAV evil, Egbert, 
who alone was able to provide effectually against it, unfortunately 
died (a.d. 836), and left the government to his son Ethelwolf. 

§ 3. Ethelwolf, 836-858. — This prince had neither the abil- 
ities nor vigor of his father, and was better qualified for governing 
a convent than a kingdom. He began his reign with making a 
partition of his dominions, and delivering over to his eldest son, 
Athelstane, the newly conquered provinces of Essex, Kent, and 
Sussex. But no inconvenience seems to have arisen from this 
partition, as the continual terror of the Danish invasions prevent- 
ed all domestic dissension. These incursions now became almost 
annual, and, from their sudden and unexpected nature, kept the 
English in continual alarm. The unsettled state of England hin- 
dered not Ethelwolf from making a pilgrimage to Rome, whither 
he carried his fourth and favorite son, Alfred, then only six years 
of age. He passed there a twelvemonth in exercises of devotion, 
and in acts of liberality to the Church. Besides giving presents 
to the more distinguished ecclesiastics, he made-.a perpetual grant 
of 300 mancuses* a year to that see ; one third to support the lamps 
of St. Peter's, another those of St. Paul's, a third to the Pope him- 
self. But that Ethelwolf first established tithes in England, as is 
maintained by some writers, seems to be founded on a misinter- 
* The mancus was a silver coin of about the weight of a half-crown. 



A.D. 836-871. 



E-THELBALD. 



41 




pretation of some ancient charters. Tithes were most probably 
earlier instituted in this country ; but Ethelwolf appears to have 
established the first poor-law, by imposing on every ten hides of 
land the obligation of maintaining one indigent person. 

§ 4. On his return from Rome Ethelwolf 
married Judith, daughter of the French 
king, Charles the Bald, though she was then 
only twelve years of age ; but on his land- 
ing in England he met with an opposition 
which he little looked for. His eldest son, 
Athelstane, being dead, Ethelbald, his sec- 
ond son, who had assumed the government, 
formed, in concert with many of the nobles, 
the project of excluding his father from a 
thi'one which his weakness and superstition 
seem to have rendered him so ill qualified Golden Pdi^gof Ethei^if inthe 
to fill. The people were divided between British Museum it is dec- 

^ . ^ ^ ^ Til ••! orated with a Dluish-black 

the two prmces, and a bloody civil war, enamel, firmly incorporated 

joined to all the other calamities under i^to the metal by fusion, 
w^hich the English labored, appeared inevitable ; when Ethelwolf 
had the facility to yield to the greater part of his son's preten- 
sions. He made with him a partition of the kingdom ; and tak- 
ing to himself the eastern part, wliich was always at that time 
esteemed the least considerable, as well as the most exposed to 
invasion, he delivered over to Ethelbald the sovereignty of the 
western half 

§ 5. Ethelbald, Ethelbeet, and Ethelred, a.d. 858-871. 
— Ethelwolf died about 858. He was succeeded by his sons 
Ethelbald and Ethelbert, whose short reigns present nothing of 
importance. On the death of the latter, Ethelred, another son 
of Ethelwolf, ascended the throne in the year 866. Under these 
monarchs the Danes continued their ravages with renewed vigor, 
and penetrated into the very heart of the country. In the course 
of their devastations they defeated and took prisoner Edmund, 
the King of East Anglia (871), to whom they proposed that he 
should renounce the Christian faith and rule under their suprema- 
cy. But Edmund having rejected this proposal wdth scorn and 
horror, the Danes bound him naked to a tree, scourged and shot 
at him with arrows, and finally beheaded him. The constancy 
with which Edmund met his death caused him to be canonized as 
a saint and martyr : the place where his body was buried took 
the name of Bury St. Edmund's, and a splendid monastery was 
erected there in his honor. 

§ 6. Alfred, 871-901. — Ethelred died of a wound received in 
battle against the Danes (871), and was succeeded by his brother 



42 ACCESSION OF ALFRED. Chap. III. 

Alfred. This monarch, who was born at Wantage in 849, and 
was now 22 years of age, gave very early marks of those great 
virtues and shining talents by which he saved his country from 
utter ruin and subversion. He distinguished himself, during the 
reign of his brother Etheh-ed, in several engagements against the 
Danes. His genius was first roused by the recital of Saxon 
poems : he soon learned to read those compositions, and proceeded 
thence to acquire the knowledge of the Latin tongue, in which he 
met with authors that better prompted his heroic spirit, and di- 
rected his generous viewa. Absorbed in these elegant pursuits, 
he regarded his accession \to royalty rather as an object of regret 
than triumph ; but, being Called to the throne in preference to his 
brother's children, as well by the will of his father as by the vows 
of the whole nation and the urgency of public affairs, he exerted 
himself in the defense of his people. 

The first seven years of his reign were spent in incessant strug- 
gles against the Danes, over whom he gained some victories ; but 
fresh swarms of Northmen continually poured into the kingdom, 
and Alfred, overpowered by superior numbers, was at length 
obliged (878) to relinquish the ensigns of his dignity, to dismiss his 
servants, and to seek shelter in the meanest disguises from the pur- 
suit and fury of liis enemies. He concealed himself under a peas- 
ant's habit, and lived some time in the house of a neatherd, who 
had been intrusted with the care of some of his cows. The wife 
of the neatherd was ignorant of the condition of her royal guest ; 
and observing him one day busy by the fireside in trimming his 
bow and arrows, she desired him to take care of some cakes which 
were toasting, while she was employed elsewhere in other domes- 
tic affairs. But Alfred, whose thoughts were otherwise engaged, 
neglected this injunction, and the good woman on her return, find- 
ing her cakes all burnt, rated the king very severely, and upbraid- 
ed him that he always seemed very well pleased to eat her warm 
cakes, though he was thus negligent in toasting them. 

§ 7. By degrees, Alfred, as he found the search of the enemy 
become more remiss, collected some of his retainers and retired 
into the centre of a bog formed by the stagnating waters of the 
Thone and Parret, in Somersetshire. He here found two acres 
of firm ground, and, building a habitation on them, rendered him- 
self secure by its fortifications, and still more by the unknown and 
inaccessible roads which led to it, and by the forests and morasses 
with which it was every way environed. This place he called 
-3i)thelingay, or the Isle of Nobles ; and it now bears the name of 
Athelney.* He thence made frequent and unexpected sallies upon 

* A beautiful gold enameled jewel foiind at this spot, and noAV in the Ash- 
molean Museum at Oxford, has the inscription " jElfred mec heht gewur- 



A.D. 871-878. ALFRED IN THE DANISH CAMP. 43 

the Danes, who often felt the vigor of his arm, but knew not from 
what quarter the blow came. He subsisted himself and his fol- 
lowers by the plunder which he acquired ; he procured them con- 
solation by revenge ; and from small successes he opened their 
minds to hope that, notwithstanding his present low condition, 
more important victories might at length attend his valor. But 
before he would assemble them in arms, or urge them to any at- 
tempt which, if unfortunate, might in their present despondency 
prove fatal, he resolved to inspect himself the situation of the en- 
emy, and to judge of the probability of success. For this purpose 
he entered their camp under the disguise of a harper, or glee-man, 
and passed unsuspected through every quarter. He so entertain- 
ed them with his music and facetious humors, that he met with 
a welcome reception, and was even introduced to the tent of 
Guthrum, their prince, where he remained some days. He remark- 
ed the supine security of the Danes, their contempt of the English, 
their negligence in foraging and plundering, and their dissolute 
wasting of what they gained by rapine and violence. Encour- 
aged by these favorable appearances, he secretly sent emissaries to 
the most considerable of his subjects, and summoned them to a 
rendezvous, attended by their warlike followers, at Brixton, on 
the borders of Selwood Forest. The English, who had hoped to 
put an end to their calamities by servile submission, now found 
the insolence and rapine of the conqueror more intolerable than 
all past fatigues and dangers ; and at the appointed day they joy- 
fully resorted to their prince. He instantly conducted them to 
Ethandun (perhaps Eddington, near Westbury), where the Danes 
were encamped ; and, taking advantage of his previous knowledge 
of the place, he directed his attack against the most unguarded 
quarter of the enemy. The Danes, surprised to see an army of 
English, whom they considered as totally subdued, and still more 
astonished to hear that Alfred was at their head, made but a faint 
resistance, notwithstanding their superiority of number, and were 
soon put to flight with great slaughter. The remainder of the 
routed army, with their prince, was besieged by Alfred in a forti- 
fied camp to which they fled ; but, being reduced to extremity by 
want and hunger, they had recourse to the clemency of the victor, 
and offered to submit on any conditions. The king gave them 
their lives, and even formed a scheme for converting them from 
mortal enemies into faithful subjects and confederates. He knew 
that the kingdom of East Anglia was totally desolated by the fre- 
quent inroads of the Danes, and he now proposed to repeople it by 
settling there Guthrum and his followers, who might serve him as 

can" (Alfred ordered me to be wrought). According to the testimony of 
his biographer, Asser, Alfred encouraged goldsmiths. 



44 REGULATIONS OF ALFRED. Chap.IIL 

a rampart against any future incursions of their countrymen. But, 
before he ratifi-ed these mild conditions with the Danes, he required 
that they should give him one pledge of their submission, and of 
their inclination to incorporate with the English, by declaring their 
conversion to Christianity. Guthrum and thirty of his officers 
had no aversion to the proposal, and, without much instruction, or 
argument, or conference, they were all admitted to baptism (a.d. 
878). The king answered for Guthrum at the font, gave him the 
name of Athelstane, and received him as his adopted son. The 
success of this expedient seemed to correspond to Alfred's hopes, 
and the greater part of the Danes settled peaceably in their new 
quarters. The Danes had for some years occupied the towns of 
Derby, Leicester, Stamford, Lincoln, and Nottingham, and were 
thence called the Fif or Five Burghers. Alfred now ceded a con- 
siderable part of the kingdom of Mercia, retaining, however, the 
western portion, or country of the Hiwiccas. It would, however, 
be an error to suppose that the Danes became really the subjects 
of Alfred. On the contrary, they continued to form an independ- 
ent state down to the latest times of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy. 
The general boundary between the Danes and Saxons was the old 
Roman road called Watling Street, which ran from London across 
England to Chester and the Irish Channel, the province of the 
Danes lying to the north and east of that road, which was hence 
called Danelagh, the Danes' community. The Danes continually 
received fresh accessions of numbers from their own country, and 
were able to bid defiance to all the efforts of the Anglo-Saxon 
monarchs to reduce them to subjection. 

§ 8. After the treaty with Guthrum, Alfred enjoyed tranquil- 
lity for some years. He employed this interval in restoring order 
to the state, which had been shaken by so many violent convul- 
sions ; in establishing civil and military institutions ; in composing 
the minds of men to industry and justice ; and in providing against 
the return of like calamities. After rebuilding the ruined cities, 
particularly London, which had been destroyed by the Danes in 
the reign of Ethelwolf, he established a regular militia for the de- 
fense of the kingdom. He increased his fleet both in number and 
strength, and trained his subjects in the practice as well of sailing 
as of naval action. He improved the construction of his vessels, 
which were higher, swifter, and steadier than those of the Danes, 
and nearly double the length, some of them having more than 60 
rowers. A fleet of 120 ships of war was stationed upon the coast ; 
and, being provided with warlike engines, as well as with expert 
seamen, both Frisians and English — for Alfred supplied the defects 
ofliis own subjects by engaging able foreigners in his service — 
maintained a superiority over those smaller bands with which En- 



A.D. 878-901. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF ALFRED. 45 

gland had so often been infested. But in the year 893 the north- 
ern provinces of France, into which Hasting, the famous Danish 
chief, had penetrated, being afflicted with a grievous famine, the 
Danes set sail from Boulogne with a powerful fleet under the com- 
mand of Hasting, landed upon the coast of Kent, and began to 
commit the most destructive ravages. It would be tedious to nar- 
rate the events of this new Danish war, which occupied the atten- 
tion of Alfred for the next few years. It is sufficient to relate 
that, after repeated defeats in different parts of the island, the 
small remains of the Danes either dispersed themselves among their 
countrymen in Northumberland and East Anglia, or had recourse 
again to the sea, where they exercised piracy under the command 
of Siegfrid, a Northumbrian ; and that Alfred finally succeeded in 
restoring full tranquillity in England. He died (a.d. 901) in the 
vigor of his age and the full strength of his faculties, after a glo- 
rious reign of twenty-nine years and a half, in which he deserved- 
ly attained the appellation of Alfred the Great, and the title of 
Founder of the English Monarchy. 

§ 9. The merit of this prince, both in private and public life, 
may with advantage be set in opposition to that of any monarch 
or citizen which the annals of any age or any nation can jDresent 
us. His civil and his military virtues are almost equally the ob- 
jects of our adiniration ; excepting only that the former, being 
more rare among princes, as well as more useful, seem chiefly to 
challenge our applause. Nature also, as if desirous that so bright 
a production of her skill should be set in the fairest light, had 
bestowed on him every bodily accomplishment, vigor of limbs, 
dignity of shape and air, with a pleasing, engaging, and open coun- 
tenance. When Alfred came to the throne he found the nation 
sunk into the grossest ignorance and barbarism, proceeding from 
the continual disorders in the sfovernment, and from the ravasres 
of the Danes. The monasteries were destroyed, the monks butch- 
ered or dispersed, their libraries burned ; and thus the only seats 
of erudition in those ages were totally subverted. Alfred him- 
self complains that on his accession he knew not one person south 
of the Thames who could so much as interpret the Latin service ; 
and very few in the northern parts who had reached even that 
pitch of erudition. But this prince invited over the most cele- 
brated scholars from all parts of Europe ; he established schools 
every where for the instruction of his people ; and he enjoined 
by law all freeholders possessing two hides of land, or more, to 
send their children to school for their instruction. The founda- 
tion, or, at least, the restoration, of the University of Oxford, has 
sometimes been ascribed to him, but for this pretension there 
seems to be no satisfactory evidence. But the most eflfectual ex- 



46 CHARACTER OF ALFRED. Chap.IIL 

pedient employed by Alfred for the encouragement of learning 
was his own example, and the assiduity with which, notwith- 
standing the multiplicity and urgency of his affairs, he employed 
himself in the pursuits of knowledge. He usually divided his 
time into three equal portions : one was employed in sleep and 
the refection of his body by diet and exercise ; another in the 
dispatch of business ; a third in study and devotion ; and that he 
mio-ht more exactly measure the hours, he made use of burning 
tapers of equal length, which he fixed in lanterns, an expedient 
suited to that rude age, when the geometry of dialing and the 
mechanism of clocks and watches were totally unknown. And 
by such a regular distribution of his time, though he often labor- 
ed under great bodily infirmities, this martial hero, who fought in 
person fifty-six battles by sea and land, was able, during a life of 
no extraordinary length, to acquire more knowledge, and even to 
compose more books, than most studious men, though blessed 
with the greatest leisure and application, have, in more fortunate 
ages, made the object of their uninterrupted industry. He trans- 
lated into Saxon the histories of Orosius and of Bede ; to the 
former of which he prefixed a description of Germany and the 
north of Europe, from the narratives of the travelers Wulfstan 
and Ohthere. He also executed a version of Boethius's " Conso- 
lation of Philosophy," besides several other translations which 
he either made or caused to be made from the Confessions of St. 
Augustine, St. Gregory's Pastoral Instructions, Dialogues, etc. 
Nor was he negligent in encouraging the more vulgar and me- 
chanical arts. He invited from all quarters industrious foreign- 
ers to repeople his country, which had been desolated by the rav- 
ages of the Danes. He introduced and encouraged manufac- 
tures ; and no inventor or improver of any ingenious art did he 
suffer to go unrewarded. He prompted men of activity to betake 
themselves to navigation, to push commerce into the most remote 
countries, and to acquire riches by propagating industry among 
their fellow-citizens. He set apart a seventh portion of his own 
revenue for maintaining a number of workmen, whom he con- 
stantly employed in rebuilding the ruined cities, castles, palaces, 
and monasteries. Hence, both living and dead, Alfred was re- 
garded by foreigners, no less than by his own subjects, as the 
greatest prince after Charlemagne that had appeared in Europe 
during several ages, and as one of the wisest and best that had 
ever adorned the annals of any nation. 

§ 10. The great reputation of Alfred, however, has caused 
many of the institutions prevalent among the Anglo-Saxons, the 
origin of which is lost in remote antiquity, to be ascribed to his 
wisdom : such as the division of England into counties, hundreds, 



A.D. 901-940. EDWARD THE ELDER— ATHELSTANE. 47 

and tithings ; the law of frankpledge ; trial by jury, etc. ; some 
of which were probably anterior, and others subsequent, to the 
time of Alfred. Even the code of laws which he undoubtedly 
promulgated was little more than a new collection of the laws of 
Ethelbert, Offa, and Ina ; into which, with the assistance of his 
witan, or council, he inserted only a few enactments of his own. 
The great merit of Alfred as a ruler lies not so much in his leg- 
islation as in his strict and vigorous administration of the laws 
Avhich already existed. 

§ 11. Alfred had by his wife, Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian 
earl, three sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Edmund, 
died without issue in his father's lifetime. The third, Ethel ward, 
inherited his father's passion for letters, and lived a private life. 
The second, Edward, succeeded to his power, being the first of that 
name who sat on the English throne. 

Edwaed, 901-925. — Immediately on his accession, Edward, usu- 
ally called Edward the Elder, had to contend with Ethelwold, son 
of King Ethelred, the elder brother of Alfred, who, insisting on his 
preferable title to the throne, armed his partisans and took pos- 
session of Winburne. On the approach of Edward, however, 
Ethelwold fled first into Normandy and thence into Northumber- 
land, where the people declared for him ; and having thus con- 
nected his interests with the Danish tribes, he went beyond sea, 
and, collecting a body of these freebooters, excited the hopes of all 
those who had been accustomed to subsist by rapine and violence. 
He was also joined by the East Anglian Danes and the Five 
Burghers ; but Edward overthrew them in several actions, recov- 
ered the booty which they had made, and compelled them to re- 
tire into their own country. All the rest of Edward's reign was 
a scene of continued and successful action against them, in which 
he was assisted by the activity and prudence of his sister Ethel- 
fleda, widow of Ethelbert, Earl of Mercia. Edward died in the 
year 925, and was succeeded by Athelstane, his natural son — his 
legitimate children being of too tender years to rule a nation so 
much exposed both to foreign invasion and to domestic convul- 
sions. 

§ 12. Athelstane, 925-940. — This monarch likewise gained 
numerous victories over the Danes, and is justly regarded as one 
of the ablest and most active of the Anglo-Saxon princes. He 
passed many good laws, which for the most part were really new 
enactments, and not, like many of those of preceding kings, mere 
repetitions from older customs or codes. Among them was the 
remarkable one, that a merchant who had made three long voy- 
ages on his own account should be admitted to the rank of a thane 
or gentleman. This shows that commerce was now more honor- 



48 EDMUND I.— EDRED. Chap. III. 

ed and encouraged than it had formerly been, and implies at the 
same time that some of the English cities had reached a consider- 
able pitch of prosperity and importance. At the same time a 
more extensive intercourse existed with the Continent, as display- 
ed by the manifold relations of Athelstane with foreign courts. 
Several foreign princes, were intrusted to his guardianship and 
educated at his court, among whom was his own nephew Louis, 
son of his sister Edgiva and Charles the Simple, King of France. 
The latter, from his long residence in England, obtained the name 
of Louis d' Outreme7\ Besides his sister married to the King of 
France, Athelstane had also bestowed the hand of three others on 
foreign princes. Eadhild, or Ethilda, was married to Hugo the 
Great, Count of Paris, the founder of the Capetian dynasty ; an- 
other, Edgitha, became the consort of Otho, Emperor of Germany ; 
and a third, Elgiva, espoused Louis, Duke of Aquitaine. 

§ 13. Edmund L, called the Elder, 940-946. — Athelstane died 
in the year 940, and was succeeded by his second brother, Edmund. 
According to some accounts, Athelstane had caused the death of 
Edwin, the eldest of his legitimate brothers, whom he suspected 
of aspiring to the crown, by sending him out to sea in an old crazy 
boat without oars, and accompanied only by his armor-bearer. 
Whatever may be the truth of this story, it is at all events certain 
that Edwin perished at sea. 

The short reign of Edmund I. is distinguished by two important 
events. In order to insure tranquillity, he used the precaution 
of removing the Five Burghers from the towns of Mercia, because 
it was always found that they took advantage of every commotion, 
and introduced the rebellious or foreign Danes into the heart of 
the kingdom. He also conquered Cumberland from the Britons, 
and conferred that territory on Malcolm, King of Scotland, on 
condition that he should do him homage for it, and protect the 
north from all future incursions of the Danes. Edmund was as- 
sassinated in the year 946, by Leofu, a notorious robber, whom he 
had sentenced to banishment, but who had the boldness to enter 
the hall where he himself dined, and to sit at table with his at- 
tendants. On his refusing to leave the room when ordered, the 
king leaped on him, and seized him by the hair ; but the ruffian, 
pushed to extremity, drew his dagger, and gave Edmund a wound 
of which he immediately expired. 

§ 14. Edred, 946-955. — Edmund left male issue, but so young 
that they were incapable of governing the kingdom; and his 
brother Edred was elected to the throne by the witan. The reign 
of this prince, as those of his predecessors, was disturbed by the 
rebellions and incursions of the Danes. After subduing them, 
Edred, instructed by experience, took greater precautions against 



A.D. 940-958. ST. DUNSTAN— EDWY. 49 

their future revolt. He fixed English garrisons in their most 
considerable towns, and placed over them an English governor, 
■\\4io might watch all their motions, and suppress any insurrection 
on its first appearance. 

Edred, though not unwarhke nor unfit for active life, had 
blindly delivered over his conscience to the guidance of Dunstan, 
commonly called St. Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury, whom he ad- 
vanced to the highest offices, and who covered under the appear- 
ance of sanctity the most violent ambition. Dunstan was born 
of noble parents in the west of England ; and, being educated 
under his uncle Aldhelm, then Archbishop of Canterbury, had 
betaken himself to the ecclesiastical life, and had acquired some 
character in the court of Edmund. He was, however, represented 
to that prince as a man of licentious manners ; and, finding his 
fortune blasted by these suspicions, his ardent ambition prompted 
him to repair his indiscretions by running into an opposite ex- 
treme. He secluded himself entirely from the world ; he framed 
a cell so small that he could neither stand erect in it nor stretch 
out his limbs during his repose ; and he here employed himself 
perpetually either in devotion or in manual labor. By these sol- 
itary occupations his head was filled with chimeras which might 
almost pass for insanity. But we may perceive, from many ex- 
amples, the intimate connection that exists between fanaticism 
and cunning ; and Dunstan's future life shows that there was at 
least considerable method in his madness. Supported by the 
character obtained in his retreat, Dunstan appeared again in the 
world, and gained such an ascendant over Edred as made him 
not only the director of that prince's conscience, but his coun- 
selor in the most momentous affairs of government. Finding 
that his advancement had been owing to the opinion of his aus- 
terity, he professed himself a partisan of the rigid monastic rules. 
A mistaken piety had produced in Italy a new species of monks, 
called Benedictines, who excluded themselves entirely from the 
world, renounced all claim to liberty, and made a merit of the 
most inviolable chastity. Then* practices and principles, which 
superstition at first engendered, were greedily embraced and pro- 
moted by the policy of the court of Rome, which perceived that 
the celibacy of the clergy could alone break off entirely their con- 
nection with the civil power, and, depriving them of every other 
object of ambition, engage them to promote, with unceasing in- 
dustry, the grandeur of their own order- Dunstan, after intro- 
ducing that reformation in the convents of Glastonbury and Ab- 
ingdon, endeavored to render it universal in the kingdom. 

The progress of the monks was somewhat retarded by the death 
of Edred, their partisan, who expired in 955. after a reign of nine 

C 



50 ATROCITIES OF THE MONKS. Chap. III. 

years. His children being infants, his nephew Edwy, son of Ed- 
mund, was elected to the throne. 

§ 15. Edwy, 955-958. — Edwy, at the time of his accession, 
was not above sixteen or seventeen years of age, was possessed 
of the most amiable figure, and was even endowed, according to 
authentic accounts, with the most promising virtues. He would 
have been the favorite of his people had he not, unhappily, at the 
commencement of his reign, been engaged in a controversy with 
the monks, who have pursued his memory with the same unre- 
lenting vengeance which they exercised against his person and 
dignity during his short and unfortunate reign. There was a 
beautiful princess of the royal blood, called Elgiva, who had made 
impression on the tender heart of Edwy ; and he had ventured, 
contrary to the advice of his gravest counselors, to espouse her, 
though she was within the degrees of affinity prohibited by the 
canon law. On the day of his coronation, his nobility were as- 
sembled in a great hall, and were indulging themselves in that 
riot and disorder which, from the example of their German an- 
cestors, had become habitual to the English, when Edwy, attract- 
ed by his fondness for his wife, retired into the queen's apart- 
ment. Dunstan conjectured the reason of the king's retreat ; and 
carrying along with him Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, over 
whom he had gained an absolute ascendant, he burst into the 
apartment, upbraided Edwy with his absence, probably bestowed 
on the queen the most opprobrious epithet that can be applied to 
her sex, and, tearing him from her arms, pushed him back in a 
disgraceful manner into the banquet of the nobles. Edwy, though 
young, and opposed by the prejudices of the people, found an op- 
portunity of taking revenge for this public insult. He question^ 
ed Dunstan concerning the administration of the treasury, at the 
head of which he had been placed by his predecessor ; a reckon- 
ing which Dunstan deemed it advisable to evade by flying to 
Ghent. 

In these transactions it is impossible not to see more than the 
history of a mere personal quarrel between the young king and 
the Abbot of Glastonbury. A revolution was evidently in prog- 
ress — a struggle between the high church or Roman party, who 
wished to seize the supreme power in the state, and introduce a 
new system of ecclesiastical discipline, and those who were for 
abiding by the old order of things. Dunstan and his party, who 
were the innovators, sought support in the Danish parts of the 
kingdom, which were the most ignorant and uncivilized, and al- 
ways discontented with the government ; and having excited a 
rebellion in Mercia and East Anglia, and shortly afterward in 
Northumberland, they proclaimed Edgar, the younger brother of 



A.D. 958-975. EDGAR. 51 

Edwy, as king. Dunstan now returned into England, and took 
upon himself the government of Edgar and his party. With the 
consent of a witena-gemot assembled at Bradford, Dunstan re- 
ceived from the hands of Edgar the sees of London and Worces- 
ter, and had the effrontery, or rather the profanity, to justify this 
violation of the canons by the examples of St. John and St. Paul. 
Even in the southern provinces, the" ecclesiastical party now gain- 
ed the ascendency. Archbishop Odo sent into the palace a party 
of soldiers, who seized the queen, and, having burned her face 
with a red-hot iron, in order to destroy that fatal beauty which 
had seduced Edwy, they carried her by force into Ireland, there 
to remain in perpetual exile. Edwy, finding it in vain to resist, 
was obliged to consent to his divorce, which was pronounced by 
Odo ; and a' catastrophe still more dismal awaited the unhappy El- 
giva. That amiable princess, being cured of her wounds, and hav- 
ing even obliterated the scars with which Odo had hoped to deface 
her beauty, returned into England, and was flying to the embraces 
of the king, whom she still regarded as her husband, when she 
fell into the hands of a party whom the primate had sent to in- 
tercept her. Nothing but her death could now give security to 
Odo and the monks, and the most cruel death was requisite to 
satiate their vengeance. She was hamstrung, and expired in a 
few days after at Gloucester, in the most acute torments. The 
unhappy Edwy himself, who had been excommunicated, died 
shortly afterward at the same place (a.d. 958), whether naturally 
or through the machinations of his enemies is uncertain ; and 
thus the triumph of the clergy and Benedictines was complete. 
He was succeeded by his brother Edgar. 

§ 16. Edgar, 958-975. — One of the first acts of Edgar after 
his accession was to promote Dunstan to the archbishopric of 
Canterbury. In fact, Edgar, who was only about sixteen years 
of age at the time of his accession, was completely governed by 
Dunstan and the monks, who had placed him on the throne, and 
who, by their pretensions to superior sanctity and purity of man- 
ners, had acquired an ascendant over the people. Of the first 
five years of his reign we have no memorials, except of his pas- 
sive co-operation in the ecclesiastical revolution then in progress. 
To please the monks he depreciated and degraded the secular 
clergy ; he favored their scheme for dispossessing the secular can- 
ons of all the monasteries ; and he bestowed preferment on none 
but their partisans. Above forty Benedictine convents are said 
to have been founded by Edgar. These merits have procured 
him the highest panegyrics from the monkish historians, and he 
is transmitted to us not only under the character of a consum- 
mate statesman and an active prince, but also under that of a 
great saint and a man of virtue. 



52 EDGAR— EDWARD II. Chap. HI. 

If we consider Edgar's fortunate reign, he may, perhaps, be in 
some degree entitled to the former portion of this eulogy. His 
reign was undisturbed by any domestic tumult or foreign invasion 
of the Danes; a result which was probably in part owing to the 
large armament, both military and naval, which he constantly 
kept on foot, and also to the fact that the Danes had now obtain- 
ed establishments in the north of France, which it required all 
their superfluous population to people and maintain. Being thus 
freed from disturbance on this side, Edgar was enabled to employ 
his vast armaments against the neighboring sovereigns ; . and the 
King of Scotland, the princes of Wales, of the Isle of Man, of the 
Orkneys, and even the Northmen in Ireland, were reduced to pay 
submission to so formidable a monarch. But Edgar was arro- 
gant and vainglorious, and abused his prosperity by degrading 
and insulting his conquered foes. On the annual occasion of his 
voyage round England, he once appointed eight vassal kings to 
attend him at Chester, and to row his barge upon the Dee to the 
abbey of St. John the Baptist, he himself acting as the steers- 
man ; whence, after offering up their prayers, they returned in 
the same order. 

The saintly part of Edgar's character he appears to have owed 
to the unscrupulous gratitude of the monks toward their benefac- 
tor: for his conduct was licentious in the highest degree, and 
violated every law, human and divine. Among other feats of the 
same kind, he broke into a convent, and carried off Editha, a nun, 
by force. 

The extirpation of wolves in England was a remarkable inci- 
dent of this reign, which was chiefly effected by converting the 
money payment imposed upon the Welsh princes into an annual 
tribute of three hundred wolves' heads. 

§ 17. Edgar died in the year 975, in the thirty-third y.ear of 
his age, leaving two sons : Edward, aged thirteen, whom he had 
had by his first wife, Ethelfleda ; and Ethelred, his offspring by 
Elfrida, then only seven. There can be no doubt that the former 
had the best claim to the succession ; and, though Elfrida at- 
tempted to raise her son to the throne, Edward was crowned at 
Kingston by the vigorous policy of Dunstan. 

Edward II., called the Martyr, 975-979. — The kingdom was 
now again divided into two parties, and the short reign of Ed- 
ward presents nothing memorable except the struggles between 
Dunstan and the Benedictines on the one hand, and the secular 
clergy on the other, who in some parts of Mercia succeeded in ex- 
pelling the monks. To settle this controversy several synods 
were held, in which Dunstan is said to have worked sundry 
miracles. 



A.D. 975-1001. " ETHELRED II. 53 

The death of young Edward was memorable and tragical. He 
was hunting one day in Dorsetshire, and being led by the chase 
near Corfe Castle, where his step-mother, Elfrida, resided, he took 
the opportunity of paying her a visit, unattended by any of his 
retinue, and thereby presented her with the opportunity which 
she had so long wished for. After he had mounted his horse he 
desired some liquor to be brought him ; while he was holding 
the cup to his mouth, a servant of Elfrida approached and gave 
him a stab behind. The prince, finding himself wounded, put 
spurs to his horse; but, becoming faint by loss of blood, he fell 
from the saddle, his foot stuck in the stirrup, and he was dragged 
along by his unruly horse till he expired. Being tracked by the 
blood, his body was found and was privately interred at Ware- 
ham by his servants. The youth and innocence of this prince, 
with his tragical death, obtained him the appellation of " Mar- 
tyr," though his murder had no connection with any religious 
principle or opinion. 

§ 18. Ethelred II., 979-1016.— Ethelred II., the son of El- 
frida, called by historians " the Unready," now ascended the 
throne, at the early age of ten. Dunstan put the crown on the 
young monarch's head at Kingston ; but pronounced, it is said, a 
curse instead of a blessing. The haughty prelate lived ten years 
longer, still retaining the dignity of primate, but without so much 
influence as he had formerly enjoyed. A period, however, was 
approaching, in which the heat of ecclesiastical disputes gave 
place to a more important question respecting the very existence 
of the nation. Two or three years after Ethelred's accession, the 
Danes and Northmen, who could no longer disburden themselves 
on Normandy, began to renew their incursions in England ; and 
Etheli^d's long reign presents little else than a series of struggles 
with those piratical invaders. He adopted the foolish and shame- 
,ful expedient of buying oiF their attacks, and thus only excited 
the hopes of the Danes of subduing a people who defended them- 
selves by their money, which invited assailants, instead of by their 
arms, which repelled them. In the year 993 the northern in- 
vaders, having by their previous incursions become well acquaint- 
ed with the defenseless condition of England, made a powerful 
descent under the command of Sweyn, King of Denmark, and 
Olave, King of Norway;, and, sailing up the Humber, spread on 
all sides their destructive ravages. In the following year they 
ventured to attack the centre of the kingdom, and, entering the 
Thames in ninety-four vessels, laid siege to. London, and threaten- 
ed it with total destruction. But the citizens, alarmed at the 
danger, and firmly united among themselves, made a bolder de- 
fense than the nobility and gentry ; and the besiegers, after suf- 



54 MASSACRE OF THE DANES— SWEYN. Chap. III. 

fering the greatest hardships, were finally frustrated in their at- 
tempt. They then carried their devastations into other quarters, 
till they were bought off with 16,000 pounds of silver. But in a 
few years they again returned, and in 997, and the following year, 
committed dreadful devastations in various parts, till bought off 
again with the payment *of 24,000 pounds. This tribute gave 
rise to an odious and oppressive impost, which, under the name 
of Danegelt, or Dane-money, continued to be levied on the laity 
long after the occasion for its imposition had ceased. Observing 
the close connections maintained among all the Danes, however 
divided in government or situation, Ethelred, being now a widow- 
er, made his addresses to Emma, sister to Eichard II., Duke of 
Normandy, in the hope that such an alliance might serve to 
check the incursions of the Northmen. Pie succeeded in his 
suit; the princess came over to England and was married to 
Ethelred in 1001. 

§ 19. Shortly after this marriage, Ethelred, from a policy inci- 
dent to weak princes, formed the cruel resolution of murdering the 
Danes throughout his dominions. But, though almost all the an- 
cient historians speak of this massacre as if it had been universal, 
this representation of the matter is absolutely impossible, as the 
Danes were almost the sole inhabitants in the kingdoms of Nor- 
thumberland and East Anglia, and were very numerous in Mercia. 
The animosity between the inhabitants of English and Danish race 
had, from repeated injuries, risen to a great height ; and especially 
through the conduct of those Danish troops which the English 
monarchs, from the superiority of their military qualities, had long 
been accustomed to keep in pay. These mercenaries, who were 
quartered about the country, and committed many violences, had 
attained to such a height of luxury, according to the old English 
writers, that they combed their hair once a day, bathed themselves 
once a week, and changed their clothes frequently. Secret orders 
were given to commence the massacre on the festival of St. Brice 
(November 13th, 1002). The rage of the populace, excited by so 
many injuries, sanctioned by authority, and stimulated by example, 
spared neither sex nor age, and was not satiated without the tor- 
tures as well as death of the unhappy victims. Even Gunilda, 
sister to the King of Denmark, who had married Earl Paling, and 
had embraced Christianity, was seized and condemned to death 
by Ethelred, after seeing her husband and children butchered be- 
fore her face. This unhappy princess foretold in the agonies of 
despair that her murder would soon be avenged by the total ruin 
of the English nation. 

§ 20. Never was prophecy better fulfilled, and never did bar- 
t)arous policy prove more fatal to its authors. Sweyn and his 



A.D. 1002-1016. EDMOND IRONSIDE. 55 

Danes appeared the next year off the western coast, and took full 
revenge for the slaughter of their countrymen ; and Ethelred was 
twice reduced to the infamy of purchasing a precarious peace. At 
length, toward the close of 1013, Sweyn, being virtually sovereign 
of England, and the English nobility every where swearing alle- 
giance to him, Ethelred, equally afraid of the violence of the ene- 
my and of the treachery of his own subjects, fled into Normandy, 
whither he had sent before him Queen Emma and her two sons 
Alfred and Edward. 

§ 21. The king had not been above six weeks in Normandy when 
he heard of the death of Sweyn, who expired at Gainsborough be- 
fore he had time to establish himself in his newly-acquired domin- 
ions. The English prelates and nobility, taking advantage of this 
event, sent over a deputation to Normandy inviting Ethelred to 
return, with which he complied, and was joyfully received by the 
people, in the spring of 1014. On his death-bed at Gainsborough, 
Sweyn, with the approbation of the assembled Danes, named his 
son Canute,* who had accompanied him in the expedition, as his 
successor. But, on the approach of Ethelred, who displayed on 
this occasion an unwonted celerity, Canute embarked with his 
forces for Denmark. A ray of hope seemed now to dawn on En- 
gland, but it was only transient. Ethelred soon relapsed into his 
usual incapacity and indolence ; and the government became a 
scene of internal feud, treachery, and assassination. In 1015 Ca- 
nute returned with a large fleet and landed in the west of En- 
gland. Edmond, the king's eldest son, made some fruitless at- 
tempts to oppose his progress ; but, not being supported by his fa- 
ther and the nation, was obliged to disband the greater part of his 
army, and to retire with the remainder to London, where Ethel- 
red had shut himself up. Hither also Canute directed his course, 
in the hope of seizing Ethelred's person ; but the king expired be- 
fore his arrival, after an unhappy and inglorious reign of 35 years. 

§ 22. Edmond Ironside, 1016. — By the small party who had 
remained faithful to the royal cause, Edmond was now elected 
king, whose hardy valor procured him the name of Ironside. 
Meanwhile, Canute had arrived at London, where, as the bridge 
impeded his operations, he caused a canal to be dug on the south 
bank of the river, through which he conveyed his ships ; and also 
surrounded the city on the land-side with a deep trench, thus hop- 
ing to cut off all the supplies. But these measures, as well as a 
general assault, having failed, Canute proceeded into the western 
districts, where Edmond was engaging the Danes with consider- 
able success. At length the Danish and English nobihty, equally 

* Knut is the proper orthography of the name, Canute is a corruption, 
and should be .pronounced with the accent on the last syllable. 



56 



CHRONOLOGY. 



Chap. 111. 



harassed with these convulsions, obliged their kings to come to a 
compromise, and to divide the kingdom between them by treaty. 
Canute obtained Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumberland, which 
he had entirely subdued ; the southern parts were left to Edmond. 
This prince was murdered about a month afterward on the 30th 
of November, through the machinations of Edric, the Duke of 
Mercia, who thereby made Avay for the succession of Canute the 
Dane to the crown of all England. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.I). 

86T. Descent of the Danes. 

871. Accession of Alfred. 

8T8. Alfred's treaty with the Danes. 

901. Death of Alfi-ed. 

958. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. 



A.D. 

993. 

1002. 
1016. 



Descent of the Danes under Sweyn 
and Olave. 

Massacre of the Danes. 

Canute shares the kingdom with Ed- 
mond Ironside. 



Chap. III. GENEALOGY. 57 



GENEALOGICAL TABLE OE THE HOUSE OF CEEDIC. 

Ceebic, the ancestor of the kings of England of the Saxon line, and the ninth in descent 
from Woden, founded the kingdom of Wessex, a.i). 519. Cerdic died in 534; and from 
him Egbert, the first King of England, is descended as follows : 1. Cynric, King of Wessex 
(r. 534-560). Ceawlin, King of Wessex (r. 560-591). 8. Cuthwine. 4. Cutha. 5. Ceol- 
wald. 6. Cenred. T. IngUd. 8. Eoppa. 9. Eafa. 10. Ealhmund, King of Kent, whose 
son Egbert was elected to succeed Brithric in the kingdom of Wessex, a.d. 800, The line 
then proceeds as follows : 

EGBERT, 

r. 800-836. 
m. Rsedburh. 

ETHELWOLF, 

r. 836-858. 
m. 1. Osburh. 2, Judith. 



Athelstane ETHELBALD, ETHELBERT, ETHELRED, ' Ethelwyth. ALFRED, 
(k. of S.E. of r. 858-860. r. 860-866. r. 866-8T1. r. 811-901. 

Eng. d. 854). m. Ealhswith. 



EDWARD the ELDER, 5 other chMren. 

r. 901-925. 
m. 1, Ecgwyn. 2. AeWasd. 3. Edgiva. 
By Ms three marriages Edward left 15 children, by 3 of whom he was succeeded. 



ATHELSTANE, EDMUND, EDRED, 

r. 925-940. r. 940-946. r. 946-955. 

m. 1. Elgrva. 2. EtheMsed. 



)WY, 



EDWY, EDGAR, 

r. 955-958. r. 958-975. 

m. 1. Ethelflged. 2. .^Ifthryth. 3. Wulfthryth. 



EDWARD the MARTYR, ETHELRED, Edgyth. 

r. 975-9T9. r. 979-1016. 

m. 1. ^Wfed. 2. Emma of Normandy. 
By these two marriages Ethelred had 14 children, of whom it ivill here be necessary 
only to mention 3, viz., Edmond, his eldest son by .^Elflped; Alfred, his eldest son by 
Emma, murdered by Earl Godwin; and Edward, surnamed the Confessor, his second eon 
by the same wife. 



EDMOND IRONSroE, Alfred, EDWARD the CONFESSOR, 

r. April to Nov. 1016. ob. 1086. r. 1042-1066. 

m. Sigeferth. m. Edgitha. 

(The succession interrupted by the 
Danish line.) 



Edmond. Edward, 

m. Agatha (d. 105T). 



Edgar Atheling Margaret, Christina 

(in whom the m. Malcolm, k. (a nun), 
male Saxon of Scotland. 

line became | 

extinct). Matilda. 

m. Heney I., k. of England 
(thus uniting the Saxon and Norman lines). 

C 2 




Seal of Edward the Confessor. (British Museum.) 
BiGiLLVM EADWAEDi ANGLOEVM BAsiLEi ; King Seated Avith sceptre and sword. 



CHAPTER IV. 

DANES AND ANGLO-SAXONS FROM THE EEIGN OF CANUTE TO THE NOE- 

MAN CONQUEST. 

§ 1. Accession of Canute. First Acts of his Reign. Marries Emma of 
Normandy. § 2. Rise of Earl Godwin. § 3. Canute's Devotion. His 
Reproof of his Courtiers. ^ 4. He reduces the King of Scotland. His 
Death. § 5. Division of the Kingdom. Reign of Harold Harefoot. 
§ 6. Reign of Hardicanute. § 7. Accession of Edward the Confessor. 
§ 8. Influence of the Normans. Revolt and Banishment of Earl Godwin. 
§ 9. William, Duke of Normandy, visits England. Return of Earl God- 
win ; his Death. Rise of Harold. § 10. Siward restores Malcolm, King 
of Scotland. § 11. Edward invites his Nephew from Hungary. § 12. 
Harold's Visit to Normandy. § 13. Harold reduces Wales ; condemns 
his Bi'other Tosti. Aspires to the Succession. Death of Edward. § 14. 
His Character. § 15. Accession of Harold. William assembles a Eleet 
and Army. Invasion of Tosti and of Harold Hardrada. Battle of Stan- 
ford Bridge. § 16. Norman Invasion. Battle of Hastings. Death of 
Harold. 

§ 1. Canute, 1016-1039. — Edmond Ironside left a brother, 
Edwy, who died in 1017, and two half-brothers, Alfred and Ed- 
ward, the sons of Ethelred by his second wife, Emma of Norman- 
dy ; as well as two infant sons of his own, Edmond and Edward. 
But immediately after his death Canute convened a general as- 



A.D. 1016-1019. ACCESSION OF CANUTE. 59 

sembly of the states at London, and, having suborned some nobles 
to declare that Edmond had never designed his kingdom to pass 
to his brothers, and had appointed himself to be tutor to his chil- 
dren, the states put him in possession of the government. Canute 
sent Edmond' s children to his half-brother Olave, King of Sw^eden, 
it is said with a secret request to put them to death ; but Olave, 
too generous to comply, transmitted them to Stephen, King of 
Hungary, to be educated at his court. 

In order to secure his elevation, Canute had been obliged to 
gratify the chief of the nobility by bestowing on them the most 
extensive governments and jurisdictions. He also found himself 
compelled to load the people with heavy taxes in order to reward 
his Danish followers : he exacted from them at one time the sum 
of 72,000 pounds, besides 11, 000 which he levied on London alone. 
But, like a wise prince, being determined that the English should 
be reconciled to the Danish yoke by the justice and impartiality 
of his administration, he sent back to Denmark as many of his 
followers as he could safely spare : he restored the Saxon customs 
in a general assembly of the states : he made no distinction between 
Danes and English in the distribution of justice ; and he took 
care, by a strict execution of law, to protect the lives and proper- 
ties of all his people. 

Alfred and Edward, who were protected and supported by their 
uncle Richard, Duke of Normandy, still gave Canute some anxiety. 
In order to acquire the friendship of the duke, he paid his ad- 
dresses to Queen Emma, sister of that prince, and promised that 
he would leave the children whom he should have by that mar- 
riage in possession of the crown of England. Richard complied 
with his demand, and sent over Emma to England, where she was 
soon after married to Canute, notwithstanding that he had been 
the mortal enemy of her former husband. 

§ 2. When Canute had settled his power in England beyond all 
danger of a revolution, he appears in 1019 to have made a voyage 
to Denmark ; and the necessity of his affairs caused him frequent- 
ly to repeat it, in order to make head against the Wends,* as well 
as against the kings of Sweden and Norway. On one of these 
occasions, Earl Godwin, observing a favorable opportunity, attack- 
ed the enemy in the night, drove them from their trenches, and 
obtained a decisive victory over them. Next morning, Canute, 
seeing the English camp entirely abandoned, imagined that those 
disaffected troops had deserted, and was agreeably surprised to find 
that they were engaged in pursuit of the discomfited enemy. He 
was so pleased with this success, and with the manner of obtain- 

* The name of Wends is given by the Germans and Scandinavians to their 
Sclavonic neighbors. 



60 HIS REPROOF TO HIS COURTIERS. Chap. IV. 

ing it, that he bestowed his daughter in marriage upon Godwin, 
and treated him ever after with entire confidence and regard. 

§ 3. This semi-barbarous monarch, who had committed num- 
berless murders and waded through slaughter to a throne, but who 
had nevertheless many of the qualities of a great sovereign, sought " 
to regain the favor of Heaven by employing himself in those ex- 
ercises of piety which the monks represented as most meritorious. 
He built churches, endowed monasteries, and even undertook a 
pilgrimage to Rome. It appears, from a letter which he address- 
ed to the English clergy, that he must have been in that city in 
the year 1027, when Conrad, Emperor of Germany, was also there 
for the purpose of his coronation. He appears from the same let- 
ter to have obtained some privileges for English pilgrims to Rome, 
and an abatement of the large sums exacted from the archbishops 
for their palls ; but, on the other hand, he enforced a strict pay- 
ment of St. Peter's pence and other ecclesiastical dues. 

Canute's celebrated reproof of his courtiers exhibits more moral 
elevation. Some of his flatterers, breaking out one day in admira- 
tion of his grandeur,' exclaimed that every thing was possible for 
him ; upon which the monarch, it is said, ordered his chair to be 
set on the sea-shore while the tide was rising, and as the waters 

approached he commanded them to 
retire, and to obey the voice of him 
who was lord of the ocean. He 
feigned to sit some time in expecta- 
tion of their submission ; but when 
the sea still advanced toward him, 
suver Penny of Canute. and began to wasli him with its bil- 

Obverse:cNVTREcx; bust, left, with a lows, he tumcd to his courticrs, and 

triangular flag, seen on other coins of , ■, + +1, +1 + 

Danish kings. Eeverse : BKinTEEB on remarKea lo tncm tuat every crea- 
LVN, cross. "ture in the universe was feeble and 

impotent, and that power resided with one Being alone, in whose 
hands were all the elements of nature, who could say to the ocean, 
Thus far shalt thou go and no farther ; and who could level with 
his nod the most towering piles of human pride and ambition. 

§ 4. The only memorable action which Canute performed after 
his return from Rome was an expedition against Malcolm, King 
of Scotland, and his nephew, Duncan, King of Cumberland, whom 
he reduced to subjection (1030). Canute died at Shaftesbury, in 
1035, leaving by his first marriage two sons, Sweyn and Harold, 
and by Emma another son, named, from his bodily strength, Har- 
di-Canute. To the last he had given Denmark ; on Sweyn he 
had bestowed Norway; and Harold was in England at the time 
of his death. 

§ 5. Harold I, Haiiefoot, 1Q35-1040. — According to Canute's 




A. D. 1019-1042. HAROLD I.— HARDICANUTE. 61- 

marriage contract with Erama, Hardicanute should have succeed- 
ed him on the EngHsh throne ; but the absence of that prince in 
Denmark, as well as his unpopularity among the Danish part of 
the population, caused him to lose one half of the kingdom. 
Leofric, Earl of Mercia, asserted the pretensions of Harold, whose 
presence in England was of great service to his cause, while the 
powerful Earl Godwin embraced that of Hardicanute. A civil 
war was, however, averted by a compromise : it was agreed that 
Harold should enjoy, together with London, all the provinces 
north of the Thames, while the possession of the south should re- 
main to Hardicanute, and, till that prince should appear and 
take possession of his dominions, Emma fixed her residence at 
Winchester, and established her authority over her son's share of 
the partition. 

Alfred and Edward, Emma's sons by Ethelred, still cherished 
the hope of ascending the throne. Edward sailed with 40 ships 
from Barfleur, and made a descent at Southampton, but, meeting 
with no sympathy from the people, was obliged to return. Alfred 
subsequently landed in Kent at the head of about 600 followers ; 
but being deceived by Earl Godwin, who pretended to espouse his 
cause, was by him decoyed to Guildford, where nearly all his fol- 
lowers were murdered in the most cruel manner, he himself was 
taken prisoner, his eyes were put out, and he was conducted to 
the monastery of Ely, where he died soon after. This is the only 
memorable action performed in the reign of Harold, who, from his 
agility, apparently his only accomplishment, obtained the name of 
Harefoot. He died on the 17th March, 1040. 

§6. Hardicanute, 1040-1042. — On the intelligence of his 
brother's death, Hardicanute immediately proceeded to London, 
where he was acknowledged king of all England without opposi- 
tion. He was a poor intemperate sot, without any generous and 
regal, or even manly qualities. His first act was to disinter the 
body of his brother Haroldj with whom he was enraged for de- 
priving him of his share of the kingdom : the corpse, after decap- 
itation, was thrown into the Thames ; but being found by a fish- 
erman, was buried by the Danes of London in their cemetery at 
St. Clements. Little memorable occurred in the short reign of 
Hardicanute. He renewed the imposition of Danegelt, and obliged 
the nation to pay a great sum of money to the fleet which brought 
him from Denmark. The discontents in consequence ran high in 
many places, and especially at Worcester, which was set on fire 
and plundered by the soldiers. Hardicanute died suddenly about 
two years after his accession, while in the act of raising the cup to 
bis lips at a marriage festival at Lambeth (a.d. 1042). 

§ 7. Edward the Confessor, 1042-1066. — The death of 



62 EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. Chap. IV. 

Hardicanute seemed to present to the English a favorable oppor- 
tunity for recovering their liberty, and for shaking off the Danish 
yoke. Prince Edward was in England on his half-brother's de- 
mise ; and though the children of Edmond Ironside were the true 
heirs of the Saxon family, yet their absence in so remote a coun- 
try as Hungary appeared a sufficient reason for their exclusion, to 
a people like the English, so little accustomed to observe a regu- 
lar order in the succession of their monarchs. The claims of Ed- 
Avard were supported by Earl Godwin, who only stij)ulated that 
Edward should marry his daughter Editha, which he afterward 
performed. Edward was crowned king with every demonstration 
of duty and affection ; and, by the mildness of his character, he 
soon reconciled the Danes to his administration. 

One of the first acts of Edward w^as to strip his mother Emma, 
the queen dowager, of the immense treasures which she had 
amassed. He confined her, during the remainder of her life, in a 
monastery at Winchester, but carried his rigor against her no far- 
ther. He had hitherto lived on indifferent terms with that prin- 
cess, whom he accused of neglecting himself and his brother dur- 
ing their adverse fortune ; and as she was unpopular in England, 
the king's severity, though exposed to some censure, met not with 
very general disapprobation. 

§ 8. But, though freed from the incursions of the Danes, the 
nation was not yet delivered from the dominion of foreigners. 
The king had been educated in Normandy, and had contracted 
many intimacies with the natives of that country, as well as an 
affection for their manners. The court of England was soon fill- 
ed with Normans, who, being distinguished both by the favor of 
Edward, and by a degree of cultivation superior to that which 
was attained by the English in those ages, soon rendered their 
language, customs, and laws fashionable in the kingdom. Above 
all, the Church felt the influence of those strangers ; several were 
appointed to prelacies and other high dignities, and Robert, a 
Norman also, was promoted to the see of Canterbury. Thus the 
subsequent Norman conquest was in a great degree facilitated. 
These proceedings excited the jealousy of the English, and par- 
ticularly of Earl Godwin. This powerful nobleman, besides the 
southern parts of Wessex, had the counties of Kent and Sussex 
annexed to his government. His eldest son, Sweyn, possessed 
the same authority in the northern part of Wessex, or the coun- 
ties of Oxford, Berks, Gloucester, Somerset, and Hereford ; and 
Harold, his second son, was Duke of East Anglia, and at the 
same time Governor of Essex. The great authority of this fam- 
ily was supported by immense possessions and powerful alli- 
ances ; and the abilities, as well as ambition, of Godwin himself, 
contributed to render it still more dangrerous. 



A.D. 1042-1051. REVOLT OF EARL GODWIN. g3 

It T\'as not long before his animosity against the Xonnan^ favor- 
ites broke into action. Eustace, Count of Boulogne, haviug paid 
a visit to the king, passed by Dover in his return : one of his 
train, being refused entrance to a lodging which had been assign- 
ed him, attempted to make his vraj bv force, and in the contest 
wounded the master of the house. The inhabitants flew to assist 
the wounded man ; a tumult ensued, in which nearly 20 persons 
were killed on each side ; and Eustace, being overpowered by 
numbers, was obliged to save his life by flight from the fury of 
the populace. On the complaint of Eustace, the king gave orders 
to Godwin, in whose government Dover lay, to punish the in- 
habitants ; but Godwin, who desired rather to encourage than to 
repress the popular discontents r^gainst foreigners, refused obedi- 
ence, and endeavored to throw the whole blame of the riot on the 
Count of Boulogne and his retinue. Edward, touched in so sens- 
ible a point, saw the necessity of exerting the royal authority, and 
threatened Godwin, if he persisted in his disobedience, to make 
him feel the utmost effects of his resentment. 

Whatever may have been the faults or crimes of Godwin, he 
had the good fortune, or rather, perhaps, the good policy, to ap- 
pear in the present conjuncture as the patriotic defender of the 
English cause against the foreign predilections of the sovereign. 
He had now gone too far to retreat, and therefore he and his sons, 
Sweyn and Harold, assembled their forces for the purpose of over- 
awing the king, and forcing redress of the grievances of the na- 
tion. But, besides the Godwin family, England was divided by 
two other mighty earls, or dukes :* Leofric, whose government 
embraced the ancient kingdom of Mercia ; and Siward, whose 
sway extended over the kingdom of Northumberland. These 
powerful noblemen, from jealousy of Godwin, embraced the king's 
cause, and assembled a numerous army ; and when the southern 
earl and his sons approached London with their forces to attend 
the iciiena-gemot appointed to be held there, they found themselves 
outnumbered. Sweyn was declared an outlaw by the ivitan ; 
Godwin and Harold were summoned to take their trial, but. re- 
fusing to appear unless hostages were given for their safety, they 
were ordered to leave the country within five days. Baldwin, 
Earl of Flanders, gave protection to Godwin and his three sons, 
Sweyn, Gurth, and Tosti, the last of whom had married the 
daughter of that prince : Harold and Leofwin, his two other sons, 
took shelter in Ireland. The estates of the father and sons were 
confiscated ; their governments wer^ given to others ; Queen Edi- 
tha was confined in a monastery at AYarewel ; and the greatness 
of this family, once so formidable, seemed now to be totally sup- 
planted and overthrown (1051). 

* At this period the Latin title dux alternates with the Danish jiar/ (earl). 



64 HIS DEATH— HAROLD— MACBETH. Chap. IV. 

§ 9. The Norman influence was now again in the ascendant ; 
and, before the end of the year, William, Duke of Normandy, paid 
a visit to Edward with a large retinue. But Godwin had fixed 
his authority on too firm a basis, and he was too strongly sup- 
ported by alliances both foreign and domestic, not to occasion 
farther disturbances, and make new efforts for his re-establish- 
ment. Having fitted out a fleet in the Flemish harbors, and be- 
ing joined at the Isle of Wight by his son Harold with a squad- 
ron collected in Ireland, h.e entered the Thames, and, appearing 
before London, where the people seemed favorably disposed to- 
ward him, threw every thing into confusion (1052). The king 
alone seemed resolute to defend himself to the last extremity ; 
but the interposition of the English nobility, many of whom fa- 
vored Godwin's pretensions, made Edward hearken to terms of 
accommodation, and it was agreed that hostages should be given 
on both sides. At this news the Frenchmen fled in various di- 
rections : the Archbishop of Canterbury, and bishops of London 
and Dorchester,, succeeded in escaping into Normandy. At a 
great witena-gemot held outside the walls of London, Godwin and 
his sons were declared innocent of the charges laid against them, 
and were restored to their honors and possessions ; and thus the 
authority of the crown was almost entirely annihilated. God- 
win's death, which happened soon after while he was sitting at 
table with the king, prevented him from farther establishing the 
authority which he had acquired, and from reducing Edward to 
still greater subjection. His son Sweyn had died on a pilgrim- 
age to Jerusalem ; and Godwin was therefore succeeded in his 
governments and oflices by his son Harold, who was actuated by 
an ambition equal to that of his father, and was superior to him 
in address, in insinuation, and in virtue. By a modest and gentle 
demeanor he acquired the good-will of Edward, and, gaining ev- 
ery day new partisans by his bounty and aflability, he proceeded 
in a more silent, and therefore a more dangerous manner to the 
increase of his authority. 

§ 10. The death of Siward, Duke of Northumberland, in 1055, 
made the way still more open to his ambition. Siward, besides 
his other merits, had acquired honor to England by his successful 
conduct in the only foreign enterprise undertaken during the reign 
of Edward. Duncan, King of Scotland, the successor of Malcolm, 
was a prince of a gentle disposition, but possessed not the genius 
requisite for governing a country so turbulent, and so much in- 
fested by the intrigues and ail^mosities of the great. Macbeth, a 
subordinate king, and nearly allied to the crown, not content with 
curbing the king's authority, carried still farther his pestilent am- 
bition : he put his sovereign to death ; chased Malcolm Kenmore, 



A.D. 1051-1057. HAROLD'S VISIT TO NORMANDY. 65 

his son and heir, into England ; and usurped the crown. Siward, 
whose daughter was married to Duncan, embraced, by Edward's 
orders, the protection of this distressed family: he marched an 
army into Scotland ; and having defeated and killed Macbeth in 
battle, together with several Normans who had taken refuge with 
him, he restored Malcolm to the throne of his ancestors. Soon 
after this achievement Siward died ; and as his son, Waltheof, ap- 
peared too young to be intrusted with the government of North- 
umberland, Harold's influence obtained that dukedom for his own 
brother Tosti. 

§ 11. Meanwhile, Edward, feeling himself far advanced in the 
decline of life, began to think of appointing a successor, and sent a 
deputation to Hungary to invite over his nephew Edward, called 
the " Outlaw," son of his elder brother, Edmond Ironside, the 
only remaining heir of the Saxon line. That prince, whose suc- 
cession to the crown would have been easy and undisputed, came 
to England with his children, the atheling Edgar, Margaret, and 
Christina ; but his death, which happened a few days after his ar- 
rival (1057), threw the king into new difficulties. He saw that 
the great power and ambition of Harold had tempted him to as- 
pire to the throne, and that Edgar, on account of his youth and 
inexperience, was very unfit to oppose the pretensions of so popular 
and enterprising a rival. In this uncertainty he secretly cast his 
eye toward his kinsman, William, Duke of Normandy, as the only 
person whose power, and reputation, and capacity could support 
any destination which he might make in his favor, to the exclusion 
of Harold and his family. 

§ 12. According to some accounts, Edward chose Harold him- 
self as his embassador to communicate to "William the designs 
w^hich he entertained in his favor, and to deliver a sword and a 
ring as pledges of his intention ; but, though we may gather in 
general that Harold paid a visit to the court of the Duke of Nor- 
mandy, the circumstances attending it, and even the date, are in- 
volved in the greatest obscurity. 

William employed this opportunity to extort from Harold a 
promise that he would support his pretensions to the English 
throne, and made him swear that he would deliver up the castle 
of Dover, and all the other strongholds in his earldom then gar- 
risoned by Norman soldiers ; and in order to render the oath more 
obligatory he employed an artifice well suited to the superstition 
of the age. He secretly conveyed under the altar, on which Harold 
agreed to swear, the relics of some of the most revered martyrs ; 
and when Harold had taken the oath, he showed him the relics, 
and admonished him to observe religiously an engagement which 
had been ratified by so tremendous a sanction. The English no- 



66 HAROLD ASPIRES TO THE SUCCESSION. Chap. IV. 

bleman was astonished ; but, dissembling his concern, he renewed 
the same professions, and was dismissed with all the marks of con- 
fidence by the Duke of Normandy, who promised to maintain him 
in all his possessions, and also to give him his daughter Adeliza 
in marriage. 

§ 13. In what manner Harold observed this oath, which had 
been extorted from him by fear, and which, if fulfilled, might be 
attended with the subjection of his native country to a foreign 
power, we shall presently see. Meanwhile, he -continued to prac- 
tice every art of popularity ; and fortune threw two incidents in 
his way by which he was enabled to acquire general favor and to 
increase the character, which he had already attained, of virtue 
and abilities. The first of these was the reduction of Wales. The 
second related to his brother Tosti, who had been created Duke 
of Northumberland, but had acted with such cruelty and injustice 
that the inhabitants, led by Morcar and Edwin, grandsons of the 
great duke Leofric, rose and expelled him (1065). To Harold, 
who had been commissioned by the king to reduce and chastise 
the Northumbrians, Morcar made so vigorous a remonstrance 
against Tosti's tyranny, accompanied with such a detail of well- 
supported facts, that Harold found it prudent to abandon his 
brother's cause ; and, returning to Edward, he persuaded him to 
pardon the Northumbrians and to confirm Morcar in the govern- 
ment to which they had elected him. He even married the sister 
of that nobleman ; and by his interest procured Edwin, the younger 
brother, to be elected into the government of Mercia. Tosti in 
rage departed the kingdom, and took shelter in Flanders with Earl 
Baldwin, his father-in-law. 

By this marriage almost all England was engaged in the inter- 
ests of Harold ; and as he himself possessed the government of 
Wessex, Morcar that of Northumberland, and Edwin that of Mer- 
cia, he now openly aspired to the succession. Edward, broken 
with age and infirmities, saw the difficulties too great for him to 
encounter ; and though his inveterate prepossessions kept him from 
seconding the pretensions of Harold, he took but feeble and ir- 
resolute steps for securing the succession to the Duke of Norman- 
dy. "While he continued in this uncertainty he was surprised by 
sickness, which brought him to his grave on the 5th of January, 
1066, in the 65th year of his age and 25th of his reign. By some 
authorities he is said, on his death-bed, to have appointed Harold 
his successor. 

§ 14. This prince, who about a century after his death wns 
canonized with the surname of " the Confessor," by a bull of Pope 
Alexander HI. , was the last of the Saxon line that ruled in En- 
gland. Though his reign was peaceable and fortunate, he owed 



A.D. 1057-1066. ACCESSION OF HAROLD. 67 

his prosperity less to his OAvn abilities than to the conjunctures of 
the times. The Danes, employed in other enterprises, attempted 
not those incursions which had been so troublesome to all his 
predecessors, and so fatal to some of them. The facility of his dis- 
position made him acquiesce under the government of Godwin and 
his son Harold ; and the abilities, as well as the power, of these 
noblemen enabled them, while they were intrusted Avith authorityj 
to preserve domestic peace and tranquillity. The most commend- 
able circumstance of Edward's government was his attention to 
the administration of justice, and his compiling, for that purpose, 
a body of laws, which he collected from the laws of Ethelbert, Ina, 
and Alfred. This compilation, though now lost — for the laws 
that pass under Edward's name were composed afterward — was 
long the object of affection to the English nation. Edward was 
buried in Westminster Abbey, which was consecrated only a few 
days before his death. This church was erected by Edward and 
dedicated to St. Peter, in pursuance of the directions of Pope Leo 
IX., as the condition of his release from a pilgrimage to Rome. 
Its site was, as we have said, previously occupied by a church 
erected by Sebert, King of Essex, which had long gone to ruin. 
Kino; Edward was the first sovereign who touched for the evil. 

§ 15. Harold IL, 1066. — Harold's accession to the throne was 
attended with as little opposition and disturbance as if he had 
succeeded by the most undoubted hereditary title. On the day 
after Edward's death he was crowned and anointed king by Aldred, 
Archbishop of York ; and the whole nation seemed joyfully to 
acquiesce in his elevation. But in Normandy the intelligence of 
Harold's intrigues and accession had moved William to the high- 
est pitch of indignation. He sent an embassy to England, up- 
braiding that prince with his breach of faith, and summoning 
him to resign immediately possession of the kingdom. Harold 
not only refused to comply with this demand, but also expelled 
all the Normans settled in England, whom King Edward had es- 
tablished in fiefs and castles. This answer was no other than 
William expected, and he had previously fixed his resolution on 
making an attempt upon England. He assembled a fleet of near- 
ly 1000 vessels, great and small, and an army of 60,000 men. 
Several of the European princes declared in favor of his claim ; 
but his most important ally was the Pope, Alexander IL, who 
hoped that the French and Norman barons, if successful in their 
enterprise, might import into England a more devoted reverence 
to the holy see, and bring the English churches to a nearer con- 
formity with those of the Continent. He pronounced Harold a 
perjured usurper ; denounced excommunication against him and 
his adherents ; and, the more to encourage the Duke of Normandy 



68 INVASION OF TOSTI— NORMAN INVASION. Chap. IV. 

in his enterprise, he sent him a consecrated banner, and a ring 
with one of St. Peter's hairs in it. Thus were all the ambition 
and violence of that invasion covered over safely with the broad 
mantle of religion. 

The first blow was, however, struck by Harold's brother Tosti. 
That nobleman filled the court of his father-in-law Baldwin with 
complaints of the injustice which he had suffered, and engaged the 
interest of that family against his brother. In the spring of the 
year Tosti sailed with a considerable fleet from the Flemish ports, 
and committed some ravages on the southern and eastern coasts 
of England ; but, being repulsed by earls Morcar and Edwin, took 
refuge with the Scottish king, Malcolm Kenmore. Here he enter- 
ed into negotiations with Harold Hardrada, King of Norway, 
promising him half of England as the price of his assistance ; but 
how far he was acting for himself alone, or in William's interests 
also, it appears uncertain. In the summer a Norwegian fleet of 
300 sail appeared on the Yorkshire coast ; Scarborough was taken 
and burned, and the earls Edwin and Morcar defeated in a bloody 
battle at Fulford on the Ouse, near Bishopsthorpe. Harold now 
hastened with a large army into the north ; and as soon as he 
reached the enemy at Stanford Bridge, called afterward Battle 
Bridge, he found himself in a condition to engage them. A bloody 
but decisive action was fought on the 25th of September, which 
ended in the total rout of the Norwegians, together with the death 
of Tosti and Harold Hardrada. But Harold had scarcely time to 
rejoice for this victory when he received intelligence that the 
Duke of Normandy had landed with a great army in the south of 
England. 

§ 16. The Norman fleet sailed from St. Yalery on the Somme 
on the 27th of September, and arrived safely at Pevensey, in Sus- 
sex, on the eve of the feast of St. Michael. The army quietly 
disembarked. The duke himself, as he leaped on shore, happened 
to stumble and fall ; but had the presence of mind, it is said, to 
turn the omen to his advantage, by calling aloud that he had taken 
possession of the country. 

Harold hastened by quick marches to reach this new invader ; 
but though he was re-enforced at London and other places with 
fresh troops, he found himself also weakened by the desertion of 
his old soldiers, who, from fatigue and discontent at Harold's re- 
fusing to divide the Norwegian spoil among them, secretly with- 
drew from their colors. His brother Gurth, a man of bravery 
and conduct, began to entertain apprehensions of the event, and 
remonstrated with the king that it would be better policy to pi-o- 
long the war ; urging that, if the enemy were harassed with small 
skirmishes, straitened in provisions, and fatigued with the bad 



A.D. 1066. BATTLE OF HASTINGS. gg 

weather and deep roads during the winter season, which was ap- 
proaching, they must fall an easy and a bloodless prey. Above 
all, he exhorted his brother n6t to expose his own person ; but 
Harold was deaf to all these remonstrances ; elated with his past 
prosperity, as well as stimulated by his native courage, he resolved 
to give battle in person, and for that purpose he drew near to the 
Normans, who had removed their camp and fleet to Hastings, 
where they fixed their quarters. 

After some fruitless messages on both sides, the English and 
Normans prepared themselves for the combat. According to the 
monkish historians, the aspect of things on the night before the 
battle was very different in the two camps ; the English spending 
the time in riot, and jollity, and disorder ; the Normans in silence 
and in prayer, and in the other functions of their religion. In the 
morning the duke called together the most considerable of his 
commanders, and made them a speech suitable to the occasion. 
He next divided his army into three lines : the first consisted of 
archers and light-armed infantry; the second was composed of 
his bravest battalions, heavy armed and ranged in close order ; his 
cavalry, at whose head he placed himself, formed the third line, 
and were so disposed that they stretched beyond the infantry, and 
flanked each Aving of the army. He ordered the signal of battle 
to be given, and the whole army, moving at once, and singing the 
hymn or song of Roland, the famous peer of Charlemagne, ad- 
vanced in order and with alacrity toward the enemy. 

Harold had seized the advantage of a rising ground, and hav- 
ing likewise drawn some trenches to secure his flanks, he resolved 
to stand on the defensive. The Kentishmen were placed in the 
van, a post which they had always claimed as their due ; the Lon- 
doners guarded the standard ; and the king himself — accompanied 
by his two valiant brothers, Gurth and Leofwin — dismounting, 
placed himself at the head of his infantry, and expressed his res- 
olution to conquer or to perish in the action. The battle raged 
for some time with doubtful success, till William commanded his 
troops to make a hasty retreat, and to allure the enemy from their 
ground by the appearance of flight. The English, heated by the 
action, and sanguine in their hopes, precipitately followed the 
Normans into the plain, when William ordering the infantry to 
face about upon their pursuers, and the cavalry to make an as- 
sault upon their wings, the English were repulsed with great 
slaughter ; but, being rallied by the bravery of Harold, they were 
able still to maintain their post. The duke tried the same strata- 
gem a second time with the same success ; but even after this sec- 
ond advantage he still found a great body of the English who 
seemed determined to dispute the victory to the last extremity. 



70 DEATH OF HAROLD. Chap. IV. 

He ordered his heavy-armed infantry to make an assault upon 
them, while his archers, placed behind, should gall the enemy, who 
were exposed by the situation of the ground, and who were intent 
on defending themselves against the swords and spears of the as- 
sailants. By this disposition he at last prevailed. Harold was 
slain by an arrow, while he was combating with great bravery at 
the head of his men ; his two brothers shared the same fate ; and 
the English, discouraged by the fall of those princes, gave ground 
on all sides, and were pursued with gr«at slaughter by the victo- 
rious Normans. Thus was gained by William, Duke of Norman- 
dy, the great and decisive victory of Hastings,* after a battle which 
was fought from morning till sunset, and which seemed worthy, 
by the heroic valor displayed by both armies and by both com- 
manders, to decide the fate of a mighty kingdom. It took place 
on the 14th of October, 1066. The loss was very great on both 
sides. The dead body of Harold was found among the slain, and 
was allowed by the Conqueror to be buried in the Abbey of 
Waltham, which was founded by the Saxon king. This is the 
more probable account, but other authorities relate that William, 
in scorn, ordered the corpse to be buried on the sea-shore. 




IsormaQ Knights at the Battle of Hastings, i'roni the Bayeux Tapestry. 

The battle of Hastings is depicted on the Bayeux tapes try,f 
from which the preceding illustration is taken. Two Norman 
knights are represented, clad in chain armor, the former bearing 
the chief banner of the army, and the latter a flag with five tongues 

* Thongh this battle is commonly called the Battle of Hastings, the real 
field was at Senlac, about nine miles from that place. 

f This curious piece of needlework, 214 feet long and 19 inches broad, 
which is still preserved at Bayeux, represents the whole history of the ex- 
pedition, as well as the battle. According to tradition, it was worked by 
Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror ; but, though it is probably of 
later date, it may be regarded as a faithful representation of the costume of 
the period. 



Chap. IV. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



71 



or points, and with a cross in it. The bird figured in the chief 
banner is probably the celebrated raven,* which the Northmen 
preserved as their national ensign after their conversion to Chris- 
tianity. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1017. Accession of Canute. 
1030. Canute reduces the kings of Scotland 
and Cumberland. 

1035. Death of Canute. Accession of Harold 

Harefoot. 

1036. Alfred and Edward make attempts 

upon England. 

1039. Death of Harold Harefoot. Accession 
of Hardicanute. 

1042. Death of Hardicanute. Accession of 
Edward the Confessor. 

1051. Tumult at Dover. Revolt and ban- 
ishment of Earl God^vin. Wil- 



liam, Duke of Normandy, visits En- 
gland. 

1052. Return of Godwin, who is pardoned. 

1054. Earl Siward defeats Macbeth, and re- 
stores Malcolm, King of Scotland. 

1063. Earls Harold and Tosti reduce Wales. 
Tosti condemned by Harold. 

1066. Death of Edward the Confessor. Ac- 
cession of Harold. 
" Invasion of Tosti and Harold Hardra- 
da. Battle of Stanford Bridge. In- 
vasion of the Normans, and battle of 
Hastings. 



GENEALOGY OF THE ANGLO-DANISH KINGS OF ENGLAND. 

Harald Blatand, 
d. 985. 

I 

Sweyn TveskJEeg, 

d. 1014. 

I 

CANUTE, 

r. 1016-1035. 

m. 1. Elgiva. 2. Emma, widow of Ethetred. 



Sweyn 

(k. of Norway), 

d; 1036. 



HAROLD HAREFOOT, 
r. 1035-1040. 



HARDICANUTE, 

r. 1040-1042 

(on his death the Saxon line 

restored in Edward the Confessor), 



Gunhild. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A.— THE GOVERNMENT, LAVfS, AND 
INSTITUTIONS OF THE ANGLO- 
SAXONS. 

1. Introduction. — The completeness of the 
Anglo-Saxon conquest has been already de- 
duced from the exclusive establishment of 
their language in England. Even the Brit- 
ish names of places yielded to Anglo-Saxon 
ones, with some few exceptions, and those 
chiefly in the border counties and in Corn- 
wall. "• No one traveling through England," 
says Mr. Hallam (Middle Ages, ch. viii, note 
4), "would discover that any people had ever 
inhabited it before the Saxons, save so far as 
the mighty Rome has left traces of her em- 
pire in some enduring walls, and a few names 
that betray the colonial city, the Londinium, 



the Camalodunum, the Lindum." Hence it 
follows that the laws and customs of England 
were also entirely of German origin ; and, in- 
deed, several of them may be traced back to 
the ancient German usages recorded by 
Tacitus. 

2. The King and Royal Familji. — Among 
the latter was the nature of the kingly pow- 
er. The Teutonic tribes that invaded Brit- 
ain, like their ancestors in the wilds and 
woods of Germany, had no regular and per- 
manent king, but elected a supreme head as 
occasion required, who, as his office chiefly 
consisted in directing their warlike expedi- 
tions, obtained the name of Heretoga^ or 
army-leader. Among the Saxons and Fri- 
sians of the Continent this state of things con- 
tinued much longer than in England, where 



* See above, p. 40. 



72 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



the more settled and pennanent nature of 
the Anglo-Saxon possessions early introduced 
a regular monarchical form of government. 
Ella of Sussex was the first who assumed the 
title of Cyning, or king.* Throughout the 
whole of the Anglo-Saxon period the kingly 
dignity remained elective; and though the 
crown was generally retained in one family, 
there was no rule of hereditary succession. 
Regard was still had to the original purpose 
for Avhich a king was chosen — that he should 
be a person capable of carrying on the gov- 
ernment and conducting the enterprises of 
the nation. If the eldest son of the deceased 
monarch was qualified for this, he commonly 
had the preference, but still not without 
election by the great council. But if he was 
a minor, or otherwise disqualified, he was fre- 
quently set aside, and another appointed, 
who, however, was usually a member of the 
reigning family. Thus we have seen the 
lineal succession broken by Alfred, Athel- 
stane, Edred, and other monarchs. The 
right of election appears to have belonged to 
the whole nation, though attempts wei^ 
sometimes made to confine it to the clergy 
and nobility. By degrees the kingly power 
grew stronger in England, especially after 
the separate kingdoms became merged into 
one. The kings then began to assume more 
high-flown titles : as that of Basileus — which 
was borrowed from the Byzantine court — 
Primicerius, Flavins, Augustus, etc. ; some 
of which are not very intelligible, and were 
probably not very well understood by the 
bearers themselves. Egbert, however, and his 
five immediate successors, contented them- 
selves with the title of kings of Wessex. Ed- 
ward the Elder assumed the style of "■King 
of the English" (rex Anglorum), while Athel- 
stane called himself "King of all Britain" 
(totius Britannise monarchus, rex, or rector), 
and was the first to introduce the Greek 
name of basikiis. Edwy and Edgar are re- 
markable for their pompous titles. The king, 
like the rest of his subjects, bad a iver-gild^ 
or fixed price for his life, ^e amount of 
which varied in different kingdoms, but was 
of course considerably higher than that of his 
most distinguished subjects. Alfred made 
the compassing of the king's death a capital 
offense, attended with confiscation. Tiie 
king's sons, or, in their default, those who 
had the next pretensions to the succession, 
were called athelings^ or nobles.t The con- 
sort of an Anglo-Saxon king Avas styled em- 
phatically "the wife" iciven\ "the lady" 
{hloefdige). She was crowned and conse- 
crated like him, had a separate court, and a 
separate property, besides her dowry, or 
" morning gifts" (inorgen-cp'fu). 

3. Division of ranks. — The whole free pop- 
ulation of England under the rank of royalty 
may be divided into two main classes of eorls 
(earls) and ceorls (churls); that is, gentle 
and simple, or nobles and yeomen. 

* Cyning probably means the son of the nation, 
cyn meaning race, and ing being the well-known 
Anglo-Saxon patronymic. 

t Atheling is a patronymic from Atliel or Ethel 
(noble), which forms the prefix of so many of the 
names of the Anglo-Saxon kings. 



Ealdormen. — In ancient times the affairs 
of each tribe were directed by the eldest 
(ealdormmi^i alderman), which name thus be- 
came synonymous with chief. Hence ealdor- 
vian was the chief title of nobility among the 
Anglo-Saxons, and was applied to any man 
in authority, but more especially to the gov- 
ernor of a shire or large district. In the 11th 
century, under the Danish monarchs, an im- 
portant change was introduced in the appel- 
lation of ranks. The word eorl or earl lost 
its general sense of goqd birth, and became 
an official title, equivalent to alderman, and 
was applied to the governor of a shire or 
province. The term earl as a general des- 
ignation of nobility Avas now supplanted by 
thane; and hence in the later period of 
Anglo-Saxon monuments we find thane op- 
posed to ceo7'l., as eorl is in the earlier (Hal- 
lam's Middle Ages, vol. ii., p. 360, 361). The 
ealdorman, or earl, and bishop were of equal 
rank, while the archbishop was equal to the 
atheling., or member of the royal house. Aft- 
er the Norman conquest the title of aldemian 
seems to have been restricted to the magis- 
trates of cities and boroughs. 

Thanes. — Next in degree to the alderman 
was the thang (A. S. thegn., from thegnian. to 
serve, minister). There were different de- 
grees of thanes, the highest being those called 
king's thanes. It was necessary that the 
lesser thane should have five hides of land 
(about 600 acres) ; while the qualification of 
the alderman was forty, or eight times as 
much. Nobility in England first arose from 
office or service ; but subsequently the hered- 
itary possession of land produced an heredi- 
taiy nobility; and at length it became so 
much dependent upon property, that the 
mere possession of five hides of land, together 
with a chapel, a kitchen, a hall, and a bell, 
converted a churl into a thane. In like man- 
ner, as we have seen, by a law of Athelstane 
(which, however, Avas perhaps only a confirm- 
ation of a more ancient charter), a merchant 
who had made three voyages on his o\ra ac- 
coubt became a thane. The thane Avas liable 
to military sei"vice on horseback, and was, 
therefore, on a par with the eques., or knight. 
He probably had a vote in the national 
council. 

Ceorls or churls, — Between the thane and 
the serf, or slave, Avas the churl or freeman 
(sometimes also called frigman ; in Lat. vil- 
lanus; Norm, villain). But every man Avas 
obliged by laAv to place himself under the 
protection of some lord, failing Avhich he 
might be seized as a robbei*. The ceorls Avere 
for the most part not independent freehold- 
ers, and cultivated the lands of their lords, 
on Avhich they Avere bound to reside, and 
could not quit, though in other respects they 
Avere freemen. But there Avere several con- 
ditions of ceorls, who in the Domesday-Book 
foi-m 2-5ths of the registered inhabitants. 
We have already seen that the ceorl might 
acquire land, and that, if he obtained as much 
as five hides, he became forthAvith a thane. 
Hence there must have been many ceorls in 
England Avho Avere independent freeholders 
possessing less than this quantity of land, 
probably the Socmanni or Socmen of Domes- 



I 



Chap. IV. 



DIVISION OF THE SOIL. 



73 



day-Book, and -whom Mr. Hallam describes 
as "■ the root of a noble plant, the free socage 
tenants, or English yeomaniy, whose inde- 
pendence has stamped with peculiar features 
both our constitution and our national char- 
acter." (Europe during the JVIiddle Ages, 
vol. ii, p. 274.) 

Serfs. — The lowest class vrere the serfs, or 
servile population (theoicas, esna-s), of whom 
25,000 are registered in Domesday-Book, or 
nearly 1-llth of the registered population. 
Slaves were of two kinds — hereditary or penal 
slaves. A free Anglo-Saxon could become a 
slave only through crime, or default of him- 
self or forefathers in not paying a luergild; 
or by voluntaiy sale — the father having power 
to sell a child of seven, and a child of thir- 
,teen having power to sell himself. The great 
majority of slaves probably consisted of cap- 
tured Celts or their descendants : a conclu- 
sion which seems to be corroborated by the 
fact that this class was by far mast numer- 
ous toward the Welsh borders, and that sev- 
eral Celtic words presei'ved in our language 
relate to some menial employment. 

Clergy. — The clergy occupied an inflifen* 
tial station in society. They took a great 
share in the proceedings of the national coun- 
cil ; and in the court of the shire the bishop 
presided along with the alderman. This in- 
fluence was a natural result of their superior 
learning in those ignorant ages, as well as of 
the veneration paid to the sacerdotal char- 
acter. 

4 The witena-getnbt. — The great national 
council, the assent of which was necessary 
for all the laws of the Anglo-Saxon kings, 
was called witena-gemot., assembly of the 
icitaivs or wise men. Of its constitution we 
know little or nothing. It was composed of 
bishops, abbots, aldennen, and, according to 
the general expression, of the noble and wise 
of the kingdom ; but who these last were is 
uncertain. They probably comprised the 
royal thanes ; and it is not improbable that 
even aU the^ lower thanes were privileged to 
attend, though they may not often have ex- 
ercised their- right. But it is now generally 
admitted that the ceorls had not the smallest 
share in the deliberation of the national as- 
sembly; that no traces of elective deputies, 
either of shires or cities, exist ; and that the 
Saxon witena-gemot can not therefore be 
considered as the prototype of the modem 
parliament. 

5. Division of the soil. Folc-land and 
Boc-land. — The soil of England was distrib- 
uted in the manner usual among the Ger- 
mans upon the Continent. Part of the land 
remained the property of the state, and part 
Was granted to individuals in perpetuity as 
freeholds. The former was called Folc-land., 
the land of the folk, or the people, and might 
either be occupied in common, or parceled 
out to individuals for a term, on the expira- 
tion of which it reverted to the state. The 
land detached from the Folc-land, and grant- 
ed to individuals in perpetuity as freehold, 
was called Boc-land., from boc, a book or 
writing, because, after the introduction of 
writing, such estates were conveyed by a 
deed or charter. Previously they were con- 



D 



veyed by some token, such as a piece of turf, 
the branch of a tree, a spear, a drinking- 
horn, etc. ; and in the case of lands granted 
to the Church, these tokens were solemnly 
deposited upon the altar. Conveyances of 
this kind M'ere even continued after the in- 
troduction of writing, and there are instances 
of them as late as the Conquest. The title to 
land thus conveyed seems to have been equal- 
ly valid with that of hocland ; but the latter 
name can be applied with propriety only to 
such land as was conveyed by writing. Boc- 
land was exempt from all public burdens, 
except those called the trinoda necessitas., or 
liability to military service, and of contrib- 
uting to the repair of fortresses and bridges 
ifi/rd., bwh-hot., and hrycge-bof). Bocland 
was gi-anted by the king with the consent of 
the witan ; it could be held by freemen of all 
ranks, and even bequeathed to females ; but 
in the latter case only in usufnict, reverting 
after the death of a female holder to the male 
line. After the Norman conquest Ave hear 
no more of folc-land ; what remained of it at 
that period became terra regis., or crown- 
land : except a remnant., of which there are 
traces in the common lands of the pres- 
ent day. This was a consequence of the 
feudalism introduced by the Normans, by 
which all England was regarded as the de- 
mesne of the king, held under him by feudal 
tenure. 

6. Shires. — The tenitorial division of shires 
or counties is a very ancient one, being men- 
tioned in the laws of King Ina, long before 
the time of Alfred; though that monarch 
may perhaps have rectified their boundaries. 
The smaller kingdoms and their subdivisions 
fell naturally into shires, as Kent, Sussex, 
Surrey, Essex, and Norfolk and Suffolk in 
East Anglia. At what time the complete 
distribution of counties was effected is un- 
known; but they existed in their present 
state at the time of the Conquest. The coun- 
ties of York and Lincoln, apparently from 
their great size, were divided into thirds, 
called treSSngs., which, under the corrupt 
name of mdings., still exist in the former. 
In the later Anglo-Saxon times a scir-gemot 
(shire-mote, or county court) was held twice 
a year — in the beginning of May and Octo- 
ber — in which all the thanes were entitled to 
a seat and to a vote. Its functions were ju- 
dicial, and it was presided over by the ealdor- 
man, or earl, and by the bishop ; for origin- 
ally the ecclesiastical dioceses were identical 
with the counties. Hume justly remarks 
that, among a people who lived in so simple 
a manlier as the Anglo-Saxons, the judicial 
power is always of more importance than the 
legislative ; and the thanes were mainly in- 
debted for the preservation of their liberties 
to their possessing the judicial power in their 
own county courts. The scir-gerefa (shire- 
reeve, sheriff) was the executive officer ap- 
pointed by the king to carry out the decrees 
of the court, to levy distresses, take charge of 
prisoners, etc. The sheriff was at first only 
an assessor, but in process of time became a 
joint president, and ultimately sole presi- 
dent. Tliis court survived the Conquest; 
and it is the opinion of Mr. Hallam that it 



74 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



contributed in no small degree to fix the lib- 
erties of England by curbing the feudal aris- 
tocracy. (Middle Ages, vol. ii., p. 2T7.) 

7. Hundreds. — -The territorial division into 
hundreds was very ancient among the Teu- 
tonic races, and is mentioned by Tacitus 
(Gei-m., 6 and 12). In England the constitu- 
tion of the hundreds is so anomalous that it 
is impossible to ascertain the principle on 
•which it was founded. Some of the smaller 
shires present the greatest number of hund- 
reds; but this may have arisen from their 
being more densely populated. Some writers 
have supposed that the hundreds consisted of 
100 families of freemen; but the hypotheses 
on the subject are little better than guesses. 
In the time of Edward the Confessor tlie 
hundreds of Northamptonshire seem to have 
consisted of 100 hides of land. In the noi'th 
of England the wapentake corresponded to 
the hundred of the southern districts. The 
name, which literally signifies the touching 
of arms, was derived from the ceremony 
wliich took place on the inauguration of the 
chief magistrate, when, having dismounted 
from his horse, he fixed his spear in the 
ground, which Avas then touched with the 
spears of those present. We have here the 
militaiy origin of the hundred, as adverted 
to by Tacitus, who, however, also mentions 
its civil or judicial destination. The hund- 
red-mote, or court of the hundred, Avas held 
by its own hundred-man under the sheriff's 
writ, and was a court of justice for suitors 
within the hundred. But all important cases 
were decided by the county court; and in 
course of time the jurisdiction of the court 
of the hundred was confined to the punish- 
ment of petty offenses and the maintenance 
of a local police. 

8. Tijthings. Frankpledge. — In the later 
Anglo-Saxon times, and in the southern dis- 
tricts of England, we also find another small- 
er subdivision, the teothing., or tything^ syn- 
onymous with ward. Every man, whose rank 
and pi-operty did not afford an ostensible 
guarantee for his good condiSfet, was com- 
pelled, after the reign of Athelstane, to find 
a surety (borh). This surety was afforded by 
the tythings, the members of which formed, 
as it were, a pei^petual bail for one another's 
appearance in cases of crime, with, apparent- 
ly, an ultimate responsibility if the criminal 
escaped, or if his estate proved inadequate to 
defray the penalty incurred. In this view 
the tythings were also c&lled frith-borhs., or 
securities for the peace ; a term which, hav- 
ing been corrupted into friborg., gave rise to 
the Norman appellation of frankpledge. The 
institution seems to have existed only par- 
tially in the north of England, where it was 
called tienvianna tale (tenman's tale). 

9. Punishments. — In considering the pun- 
ishments of the Anglo-Saxons we can hardly 
fail to be struck by their mercenary spirit, 
a characteristic, however, which they shared 
in common Av^ith the jurisprudence of many 
other barbarous or semi-civilized nations. 
Almost every offense could be expiated with 
money; and in cases of murder and bodily 
injurie:^, not only Avas a price set upon the 
corpse, called loergild., or hodgild., or simply 



toer or lead.,* but there was also a tailff for 
every part of the body, doAvn to the teeth 
and nails. Considerable value seems to have 
been set on personal appearance, as the loss 
of a man's beard Avas valued at 20 shillings, 
the breaking of a thigh at only 12; the loss 
of a front tooth at 6 shillings, the breaking 
of a rib at only half that sum. In the case 
of a freeman this price was paid to his rela- 
tives, in that of a slave to his master. In 
this regulation Ave see but little advance upon 
that barbarous state of society in Avhich, in 
the absence of any public or general laAV, 
each family or tribe avenges its own injuries. 
The wergild is merely a substitute for per- 
sonal A'engeance. The amount of the Aver- 
gild varied according to the rank and prop- 
erty of the individual, and in this sense eveiy 
man had truly his price. For this purpose 
all society beloAV the rank of the royal family 
and of an ealdorman Avas divided into three 
classes :' first, the tyAvhind man or ceorl, 
Avhose lyer, according to the laAVS of Mercia, 
Avas 200 shillings ; secondly, the sixhind man, 
or lesser thane, whose wei- Avas COO shillings ; 
and thirdly, the royal thane whose death 
could not i3e compensated under 1200 shil- 
lings. The loer of an ealdorman was twice as 
much as that of a royal thane; that of an 
atheling three times, that of a king common- 
ly six times as much. But a regulation still 
more calculated to defeat the true ends of 
justice Avas that by which the value of a 
man's oath Aras also estimated by his proper- 
ty. The evidence of a thane in a court of 
justice counterbalanced that of 12 ceorls, and 
that of an ealdorman the oath of 6 thanes. 
In accordance Avith this mercenary spirit we 
are not surprised to hear that the fountains 
of justice Avere often corrupted at their source, 
and that the ealdorman on his bench, and 
even the monarch on his throne, were not al- 
ways inaccessible to a bribe. In cases of foul 
or Avillful murder (morth)., arson, and theft, 
capital punishment Avas sometimes inflicted, 
if the injured party preferi'ed it to the accept- 
ance of a ivergild. Banishment Avas a cus- 
tomary punishment for atrocious crimes. The 
banished criminal became an outlaw, and Avas 
said to bear a wolf's head; so that if he re- 
turned and attempted to defend himself it 
was.laAvful for any one to slay him. Cutting 
off the hands and feet Avas another punish- 
ment for theft. Adultery, though a penal 
offense, might be expiated, like murder, with 
a fine. 

10. Courts of justice. — The two principal 
courts of justice Avere the shire-mote, or coun- 
ty court, and the hundred-mote, of the con- 
stitution of both of which we have already 
spoken. From the county court an appeal 
lay to the king in council. In the county 
court, as observed above, all the thanes had 
a right to vote ; but as so large and tumult- 
uous an assembly was found inconvenient, it 
gi'adually became the custom to intrust the 
finding of a verdict to a committee usually 
consisting of 12 of the principal thanes, but 
sometimes of 24, or even 36, and in order to 
form a valid judgment it was necessaiy that 

* iVer and hod both signify man, and giid money 
or payment. 



Chap. IV. ANGLO-SAXON LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 75 



two thirds of them should concur. In the 
northern districts these judges were called 
lahnien. Their decisions were submitted for 
the approval of the whole court. The ac- 
cused, who was obliged to give security (borh) 
for his appearance, might clear himself by 
his own oath, together with that of a certain 
number of compurgators or fellow-swearers 
who were acquainted with him as neighbors, 
and at all events resident within the juris- 
diction of the court. The compurgators, 
therefore, were ■witnesses to character, and 
their functions can not be at all compared to 
those of a modern juryman. The thanes, or 
lahmen., who found the verdict, bore a near- 
er resemblance to a jury; yet it is evident, 
from the mode of trial by compurgation, as 
well as those by ordeal and judicial combat, 
of which we shall speak presently, that they 
were not called upon, like a modern jury- 
man, to fomi a judgment of the facts from 
the evidence and cross-examination of wit- 
nesses.* If the accused was a vassal, and 
his hlaford^ or lord, would not give testimony 
in his favor, then he was compelled to bring 
foi-ward a triple number of compurgators. 
The accuser was also obliged to produce com- 
purgators, who pledged themselves that he 
did not prosecute out of interested or vin- 
dictive motives. 

Ordeals, or God's judgments, were only re- 
sorted to when the accused could not produce 
compui'gators, or when by some fonmer crime 
he had lost all title to credibility. Some forms 
of ordeal, as the consecrated morsel and the 
cross-proof, were only calculated to work 
upon the imagination; others, and the more 
customary, as those by hot water and fire, 
subjected the body to a painful and hazard- 
ous trial, from which it is difficult to see 
how even the most innocent person could 
ever have escaped, except through the collu- 
sion of his judges. These were conducted in 
a church under the superintendence of the 
clergy. In the ordeal by hot water, the ac- 
cused had to take out a stone or piece of 
iron with his naked hand and arm from a 
caldron of the boiling element; in that by 
fire, he had to carry a bar of heated iron for 
a certain distance that had been marked out. 
In both cases the injured member was wrap- 
ped up by the priest in a piece of clean linen 
cloth, which was secured with a seal, and if, 
on opening the cloth on the third day, the 
wound was found to be healed, the accused 
was acquitted, or in the contrary event, was 
adjudged to pay the penalty of his offense. 
Judicial combats, called by the Anglo-Saxons 
earnest^ and by the Danes holmgang^ from 
their being generally fought on a small river- 
island, though not entirely unknown, appear 
to have been much rarer among those people 
than among their Norman successors. 

Within the verge of the king's court an ac- 
cused person enjoyed sanctuary and refage. 
Its limits, whether permanent or temporary, 
are defined with an exactness almost ludi- 
crous, and as if there was something magical 
in the numbers, to be on eveiy side fTtom the 
burgh gate of the king's residence, 3 miles, 

* The origin of trial by jury is discussed in a note 
at the end of chap. viii. 



3 furlongs, 3 acres, 9 feet, 9 palms, and 9 
barleycorns. 

11. Gilds — The municipal gilds of the An- 
glo-Saxons may be traced to the heathen 
sacrificial gilds, an original feature of which 
was the common banquet. These devil's 
gilds, as they are termed in the Christian 
laws, were not abolished, but converted into 
Christian institutions. There were even nu- 
merous ecclesiastical gilds. It was incum- 
bent on them to preserve peace, and, in case 
of homicide by one of the members, the cor- 
poration paid part of the icergild. In London 
were several frith-gilds (peace-gilds) of dif- 
ferent ranks ; and in the time of Athelstane 
we find them forming an association for the 
pui-pose of mutual indemnity against rob- 
bery. Ealdoraien are usually found at the 
heads of the gilds as well as of the cities 
themselves. Tire chief magistrate of a town 
Avas the uic-gerefa^ or town-reeve, who ap- 
pears to have been appointed by the king. 
Other officers of the same kind were the port- 
reeve and burgh-reeve. The chief municipal 
court of London was the Hus-thing, literally, 
a court or assembly in a house, in contradis- 
tinction to one held in the open air, whence 
the modem hustings. This word was intro- 
duced by the Northmen, in whose language 
thing signified any judicial or deliberative 
assembly. 

12. Commerce, manners, and customs. — 
England enjoyed a considerable foreign com- 
merce. London was always a great empori- 
um : Frisian merchants are found there and 
in York as early as the 8th century. Wool 
was the chief article of export, and was re- 
ceived back from the Continent in a manu- 
factured state. Mints were established in 
several cities and towns, with a limited num- 
ber of privileged moneyers ; and many of tie 
Anglo-Saxon coins still preserved exhibit con- 
siderable skilL The Anglo-Saxons loved to 
indulge in hospitality and feasting, and at 
their cheerful meetings it was customary to 
send round the harp, that all might sing in 
turn. The men, as well as the women, some- 
times wore necklaces, bracelets, and rings, 
which were of a more expensive kind than 
those used by the female sex. We have al- 
I'eady adverted to King Alfred's taste for 
jewelry. The Anglo-Saxon ladies employed 
themselves much in spinning; and thus even 
King Alfred himself calls the female part of 
his family "the spindle-side," in contradis- 
tinction to the spear., or male side. Hence 
the name of fjAnster for a young unmarried 
woman. 

B. ANGLO-SAXON LANGUAGE AND 
LITERATURE. 

The Anglo-Saxon language was converted 
into English by a slow process of several cen- 
turies. The works of Alfred, and the Anglo- 
Saxon laws before the reign of Athelstane, 
present the laEnguage in its purest state. On 
an examination of Alfred's ti'anslations, Mr. 
Turner found that only about one fifth of the 
words had become obsolete (Anglo-Saxons, 
vol. ii., p. 445), so that the great bulk of our 
language still remains Anglo-Saxon. The 
period of transition, called by some writers 



76 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



the Semi-Saxon, is commonly estimated to 
extend from the middle of the 12th to the 
middle of the 13th century. Saxon hecame 
English chiefly through the effects of time; 
and thouglr the Norman comiuest had un- 
douhtedly some influence on the process, it 
was much less than has been commonly im- 
agined. Many of the manuscripts of the 13th 
century are written in as pure Saxon as that 
which prevailed before the conquest. The 
admixture of Norman-French was not intro- 
duced to any great extent into our language, 
or at all events not adopted in our litera- 
ture, before the latter half of the 14th cen- 
tury, when the genius and example of Chaucer 
recommended and sanctioned the example. 

The Angles and the Saxons introduced two 
different Gothic dialects; that of the fonner 
approaching the High German, while that of 
the latter resembled the Low German or 
Netherlandish. Subsequently the Danes set- 
tled in the districts occupied by the Angles, 
and introduced many Scandinavian words. 
The boundaries between the Anglian and 
Saxon dialects may perhaps be roughly indi- 
cated by a line drawn from the north of Es- 
sex to the north of Worcestershire. 

The earlier specimens of Anglo-Saxon liter- 
ature are metrical, the metre being marked 
by accent and alliteration. Tire oldest ex- 
tant specimen of Anglo-Saxon poetiy is the 
" Gleeman's Song," the author of which flour- 
ished toward the end of the 4th and begin- 
ning of the 5th centuries, and consequently 
before the invasion of England: the oldest 
MS. of the poem, however, is five centuries 
later. Two other poems, also written before 
the Anglo-Saxon migration, are the "'Battle 
of Finsburgh" and the "Tale of Beowulf." 
The songs of Csedmon, a monk of Whitby, 
who flourislied a little before the time of Beda, 
are probably the oldest specimens extant of 
Anglo-Saxon poetry Avritten in this country. 
Cc^dmon remained six centuries the great 
and inimitable poet, the Milton, of the Anglo- 
Saxons. Several other poems and songs are 
extant, reaching down to the 11th centuiy. 
One of the noblest specimens of the last pe- 
riod is the Anglo-Saxon version of the psalms. 
The most important Anglo-Saxon prose works 
are the chronicles, usually cited in the singu- 
lar number as "the Saxon Chronicle." The 
earliest of these, supposed to have been com- 
piled by order of Plegmund, Archbishop of 
Canterbury,- who was consecrated in 890 and 
died in 923, contains notices of the operations 
of Alfred and his immediate predecessors. 
The next is the MS. ascribed to St. Dunstan, 
which goes down to the year 97T. Besides 
these there are four others of later date. 
Most of these chronicles begin with the in- 
vasion of Julius Caesar. It seems to have 
been usual to keep such chronicles in the 
monasteries; but there were also, probably, 
public or national x'egisters, in which the ac- 
cession of the kings and other such events 
Avere recorded. 

Of King Alfred's works, who must also be 
regarded as one of the Anglo-Saxon authors, 
we have already spoken. Other prose writers 
are St. Wulfstan, Archbishop Wulfstan, bet- 
ter known by his Latin name of Lupus, and 



Elfric, the strenuous defenders of the English 
Cliurch in the 11th century against the inno- 
vations of Rome. 

C. AUTHORITIES. 

The principal ancient historical sources for 
the Anglo-Saxon times are : Beda, Chroni- 
con and Historia Ecclesiastica; the Saxon 
Chronicle ; Asser, De Rebus Gestis jFJfredi ; 
Ethel weard, Chronicon; Florence of Worces- 
ter, Chronicle; Simeon of Durham, Historia 
de Gestis Anglorum^ continued by John of 
Hexham; Henry of Huntingdon, Hist. An- 
glorurn. Tlie preceeding Avorks will be found 
in the Monumeata Histon'ca Britannica., as 
well as in other collections and separate edi- 
tions. In the collection just referred to are 
also contained the following anonymous pieces 
referring to the period in question: Annales 
Caynbtice; Brut y Tuivjjsogion., or Clironicle 
of the Princes of Wales; Carmen de Bella 
Hastingensi. 

The other principal collections in Avhich 
these and other historical works relating to 
the Anglo-Saxon period are contained, are : 
Parker's Collections; Savile's Collection; 
Camden, Anglica., Normannica, Hibernica, 
Cambrica^ a vetcribus f-cripta; Fulman, 
Quinque Scriptores ; Gale, Histories Angli- 
cance Scriptores Quinqti\ and Scriptores 
Quindecim; Hearne's Collections; Twysden, 
Historice Anglicance Scrijitores iJecerm; 
Sparke, Hist. Anglicance Scriptores varii; 
Wharton, Anglia Sacra. These collections 
contain the following authors, besides most 
of tliose already enumerated as in the Mon- 
umenta Historica : Ailred of Rievaulx, Life 
of Edward the Confe.ssor., etc. [Twysden]; 
John Brompton, Chronicles libid.~i ; Eadmer, 
Historia Sovorum.i etc. [Wharton]; Roger 
Hoveden, Annales [Savile] ; Ingulphus, Hist. 
Croiilandiiisis {ib. and Fulman]; William 
of Malmesbuiy, De Gestis liegum Angloruyn 
and De Gestis Pontifi'uni Angl. [Savile]; 
Hugo Candidus, Historia [Sparke] ; Peter 
Langtoft, Metric il Chronicle [Hearne]; St. 
Neot, Chronicon [Gale] ; the Flores Histori- 
anwjH, attributed to Matthew of Westmin- 
ster [Parker]. 

The following authors are published in the 
foreign collection of Duchesne : Gervase of Til- 
buiy; Enimce Anglice Regince. Encomium. 

The English Historical Society has pub- 
lished the following Avorks: a Collection of 
Saxon Charters, edited by the late Mr. J. 
M. Kemble, under the title of Codex Diplo- 
niat.icus (Evi Saxonici ; also, the Chronica 
of Roger of Wendover. 

The best modern works on the Anglo-Saxon 
period are. Turner's History of the Anglo- 
Saxons., 3 vols., Svo; Palgrave's Rvie and 
Progress of the English Commonwealth dur- 
ing the Anglo-Saxon Period., 2 vols., 4to; 
and. History of England., A nglo-Saxon Pe- 
riod [Family Library., vol. xxi.] ; Kemble, 
Saxons in England., 2 vols., Svo; Lappen- 
berg, England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings., 
translated from the Gemian, Avith additions, 
by Tliorpe, 2 vols., Svo. On the influence of 
the Danes in England, the best Avork is Wor- 
saee. An Account of the Danes and Norwe- 
gians in England., Scotland, and Ireland. 




Silver Penny of William the Conqueror, struck at Chester— unique. 

Obverse : + pillelm rex ; bust, front face, crowned, with sceptre in right hand. 
Reverse: + vnnvlf on cestee; cross potent, in each angle a circle, containing re- 
spectively PAXS. 

B O O K 1 1. 
ANGLO-NOEMAN KINGS. 

A.D. 1066-1199. 



CHAPTER V. 

WILLIAM I., SURNAMED THE CONQUEROR. A.D. 1066-1087. 

§ 1. History of Normandy. Rolf the Ganger. William I. Longue-epee. 
Richard I. Sans-peur. § 2. Richard H. Le Bon. Richard III. Rob- 
ert the Devil. William II. of Normandy and I. of England. § 3. Nor- 
man Manners. § 4. Consequences of the Battle of Hastings. Submis- 
sion of the English. § 5. Settlement of the Government. § 6. William's 
Return to Normandy. Revolts of the English, suppressed upon William's 
Return to England. § 7. New Insurrections in 1068. § 8. Insiu'rections 
in 1069. Landing of the Danes. § 9. Deposition of Stigand and the 
Anglo-Saxon Prelates. § 10. Last Struggle of the English. Conquest 
of Hereward. § 11. Insurrection of the Norman Barons. § 12. Revolt 
of Prince Robert. § 13. Projected Invasion of Canute. Domesday Book. 
War with France and Death of William. § 14. Character of William. 
His Administration. Forest Laws. Curfew-bell. Population. 

§ 1. The Norman conquest produced a complete revolution in 
the manners as well as in the government of the English ; and we 
must, therefore, here pause a while in order to take a brief view 
of th^ conquerors in their native homes. For the next century 
English history consists of a graft of the history of Normandy 
upon that of England ; and the latter, therefore, will be better 
understood from some knowledge of the Normans themselves. 

For a long period the coasts of France, like those of England, 
were ravaged by the incursions of the Northmen ; and for the 
greater part of a century the monks made the Neustrian churches 
re-echo with the dismal chant of the litany, "A furore Norman- 
norum libera nos, Domine." Thus the way Was prepared for the 
final subjugation of the country by Rolf, or Rollo, son of the Nor- 



78 HISTORY Of^ NORMANDY. ^ Chap. V. 

wegian jarl Rognwald. Rollo is said to have been so large of 
limb that no horse could be found to carry him, whence his name 
of " Rolf the Ganger," or walker ; though another, and perhaps 
more probable, derivation of his surname is from the restlessness 
of his expeditions. It was in November, 876, that Rollo first 
landed in Neustria ; but he made no settlement there on that oc- 
casion, and he had to fight and struggle long before he could ob- 
tain possession of his future dominions. In 91 2 the French king, 
Charles the Simple, conciliated him by the cession of a consider- 
able part of Neustria. On this occasion Rollo, abjuring his pagan 
gods, became a Christian ; the Archbishop of Rouen baptized 
him ; and Robert, Duke of France, his sponsor at the font, gave 
him his daughter Gisele in marriage. After the completion of 
the treaty Rollo was required to do homage to Charles for his 
newly-acquired domains. Feebleness has a natural hankering 
after the semblance of power. In their declining days the Greek 
emperors retained and exaggerated the ceremony of adoration in- 
troduced by Diocletian from the forms of eastern servitude : the 
last feeble monarchs of the Carlovingian race adopted the ex- 
ample of the court of Byzantium, and their vassals were expected 
to fall and kiss their feet, a humiliating ceremony retained by the 
pride of the Roman pontiff after it has been banished from the 
courts of temporal princes. When the bold Northman heard the 
condition of his tenure he started back with indignation, exclaim- 
ing Ne si by Gott ! But the ceremony being insisted on, Rollo de- 
puted one of his soldiers to perform it ; who, raising Charles's 
foot instead of lowering his own mouth, threw the monarch on 
his back ! 

Homage performed in such a fashion did not promise a very 
obedient vassal ; and in the course of a few years Rollo's risings 
and rebellions extorted new cessions of territory. But toward the 
close of his life he found it expedient to connect himself more 
closely with the court of France, and allowed his son WilHam to 
receive investiture from King Charles at Eu. Rollo died in 931. 
In 933 we find his son and successor, Guillaume Longue-epee, or 
William Long-sword, doing homage to King Raoul, and receiving 
Cornouaille, subsequently known as the Cotentin, from that mon- 
arch, whereby the western boundary of Normandy was extended 
to the sea. The name of " Normandy," however, does not ap- 
pear till the 11th century; and in the earlier times the county 
and the count, for it was not at first a dukedom, appear to have 
been called after the capital, Rouen. Already in the time of 
William, though only the second sovereign, the court had become 
entirely French in language and manners ; though a pure Nor- 
wegian population still occupied the parts near the coast. Hence 



A.D. 876-1035. HISTORY OF NORMANDY. 79 

William, who wished that his son and heir, Richard, should be 
able to speak to his Norse subjects in their own tongue, sent him 
to Bayeux to be educated. William was murdered by some Flem- 
ings in 942. He had, however, previously engaged his subjects 
to acknowledge his youthful son, Richard, afterward known by 
the surname of "Sans Peur." This prince married Emma, 
daughter of Hugh le G-rand, and was one of the chief partisans 
who established his son Hugh Capet on the throne of France. 
Richard was engaged in a war with England, the causes of which 
remain unexplained. It was terminated through the mediation 
of Pope John XV., by a treaty of peace signed at Rouen on the 
1st March 991 ; the first treaty ever made between France and 
England. 

§ 2. By the sister of Hugh Capet Richard Sans Peur had no 
children ; but by Gunnor, his second wife, he left five sons and 
three daughters, among whom, besides his successor, Richard II., 
or le Bon, was Emma, wife of Ethelred II. of England, and sub- 
sequently of Canute. Richard II., like his father, was a minor 
at his accession in 996, of which circumstance the oppressed peas- 
antry took advantage and rose in rebellion ; but the insurrection 
was soon put down. Richard's reign is peculiarly interesting to 
us in consequence of his intimate connections with Englatid, 
which, continuing under his successor Robert, contributed much 
to introduce Norman civilization and influence into this country, 
and to effect its moral subjugation before the actual conquest. 
Richard le Bon died in 1026. His eldest son and successor, 
Richard HI., was poisoned after a short reign by his brother 
Robert, surnamed the Devil, an appellation conferred out of no 
playful allusion, but from the feelings which he really inspired. 
Robert assumed the reins of government in 1028, not without a 
struggle. His short reign was marked by a fresh acquisition of 
territory ; but a few years after his accession, struck probably 
with remorse for the murder of his brother, he resolved to make 
a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and died on his return — it is said by 
poison — at Nice in Bithynia, in the summer of 1035. Before his 
departure to the Holy Land he had induced the Norman barons 
to acknowledge as his successor his natural son William, to whom 
he was much attached, and whom a concubine at Falaise had 
borne to him in 1027. But upon the death of Robert many of 
the barons refused to acknowledge the bastard; and during his 
minority the country was torn asunder by the feuds of the no- 
bility. As soon, however, as he arrived at manhood, William as- 
serted his rights by force of arms ; he triumphed over all his ad- 
versaries, and success and energy caused him to be feared and 
courted by the other princes of Europe. Baldwin of Flanders 



yO WILLIAM I. Chap. V. 

^,. had bestowed upon him his daughter Matilda in marriage. His 
ambitious, designing, and unscrupulous temper shrunk from no 
crimes serviceable to his interests : but he expiated his offenses 
by his devotion and munificence toward the Romish Church ; and, 
therefore, the Pope blessed and hallowed his expedition against 
England in 1066.* 

§ 3. The Normans, when they invaded England, had lost all 
trace of their northern origin in language and manners; and 
though no good will existed between them and their French neigh- 
bors, yet they were become in these respects completely French. 
It has been already remarked that, under the second Norman 
prince, the Danish language had become obsolete in the Norman 
capital. It was in Normandy, indeed, as Sir F. Palgrave observes, 
" that the langue cVoil acquired its greatest polish and regularity. 
The earliest specimens of the French language, in the proper sense 
of the term, are now surrendered by the French philologists to 
the Normans, "t They were thus completely estranged from their 
Norwegian brethren, who would willingly have rescued England 
from their grasp ; yet the more essential attributes of body and 
mind are not so easily shaken off as language and conventional 
manners ; and the Normans were still distinguished from the oth- 
er natives of France by their large limbs and fair complexions as 
well as by their moral qualities. William the Conqueror himself 
is made to represent them as proud, hard to govern, and litigious. 
The imputation of craft and vindictiveness made 'against them by 
Malaterra is confirmed by several French proverbs.^ 

We now resume the thread of the narrative. 

§ 4. Nothing could exceed the consternation which seized the 
English when they received intelligence of the unfortunate battle 
of Hastings, the death of their king, the slaughter of their princi- 

* GENEALOGY OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEEOE, 

FEOM EOLLO, FIEST DUKE OF NOEMANDY. 

EoUo the Ganger, d. 931. 
William Longue-epee, d, 942. 
Richard L Sans Peur, d. 996. 

1 I 

Richard 11. le Bon, d. 1026. Emma, m. Ethelred. 



1 



Richard III., d. 1028. Robert the Devil, d. 1035. 

1 
WILLIAM 

(by Harlotta). 

t Normandy and England, vol. i., p. 703. 

X As Reponse Normande, for an ambiguous answer ; Un fin Normand, a 
sly fellow, not much to be relied on ; and Reconciliation Normande, for a 
pretended reconciliation, which does not banish all projects of vengeance. 



A.D. 1035-1066. SUBMISSION OF THE ENGLISH. 81 

gal nobility and of their bravest warriors, and the rout and dis- 
persion of the remainder. That they might not, however, be al- 
together wanting to themselves in this extreme necessity, they 
took some steps toward uniting themselves against the common 
enemy. The two potent earls, Edwin and Morcar, Avho had fled 
to London with the remains of the broken army, took the lead on 
this occasion : in concert with Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
they proclaimed Edgar Atheling, and endeavored to put the peo- 
ple in a posture of defense. AVilliam, that his enemies might have 
no leisure to recover from their consternation, or unite their coun- 
sels, immediately put himself in motion after his victory, and ad- 
vanced against Dover, which immediately capitulated. The Nor- 
man army, being much distressed with a dysentery, was obliged to 
remain here eight days, but the duke, on their recovery, advanced 
with quick marches toward London. A repulse which a body of 
Londoners received from 300 Norman horse, renewed in the city 
the terror of the great defeat at Hastings ; even the earls Edwin 
and Morcar, in despair of making effectual resistance, retired Avith 
their troops to their own provinces. As soon as he passed the 
Thames at Wallingford, and reached Berkhampstead, Stigand, the 
primate, made submissions to him ; and, before he came within 
sight of the city, all the chief nobility, and Edgar Atheling him- 
self, the newly elected king, came into his camp, and declared their 
intention of yielding to his authority. Orders were immediately 
issued to prepare every thing for the ceremony of his coronation ; 
and William, pretending that the primate had obtained his pall in 
an irregular manner from Pope Benedict IX., who was himself a 
usurper, refused to be consecrated by him, and conferred this hon- 
or on Aldred, Archbishop of York. Westminster Abbey was the 
place appointed for that magnificent ceremony (Dec. 25). The 
most considerable of the nobility, both English and Norman, at- 
tended the duke on this occasion : Aldred, in a short speech, asked 
the English whether they agreed to accept of William as their 
king ; the Bishop of Coutance put the same question to the Nor- 
mans; and both being answered with acclamations, Aldred admin- 
istered to the duke the usual coronation oath, by w^hich he bound 
himself to protect the Church, to administer justice, and to repress 
violence : he then anointed him, and put the crown upon his 
head. There appeared nothing but joy in the countenance of the 
spectators ; but in that very moment there burst forth the stron- 
gest symptoms of the jealousy and animosity which prevailed be- 
tween the nations, and which continually increased during, the 
reign of this prince. The Norman soldiers, who were placed 
without in order to guard the church, hearing the shouts within, 
pretended to fancy that the English were offering violence to their 

D2 



82 WILLIAM I. ^ Chap. V. 

duke ; and they immediately assaulted the populace, and set fire 
to the neighboring houses. The alarm was conveyed to the no- 
bility who surrounded the prince ; both English and Normans, full 
of apprehensions, rushed out to secure themselves from the present 
danger ; and it was with difficulty that William himself was able 
to appease the tumult. 

§ 5. The king, thus possessed of the throne by a pretended des- 
tination of King Edward, and by an irregular election of the peo- 
ple, but still more by force of arms, retired from London to Bark- 
ing in Essex, and there received the submissions of all the nobility 
who had not attended his coronation. Even Edwin and Morcar, 
with the other principal noblemen of England, came and swore 
fealty to him, were received into favor, and were confirmed in the 
possession of their estates and dignities. William sent Harold's 
standard to the Pope, accompanied with many valuable presents : 
all the considerable monasteries and churches in France, where 
prayers had been put up for his success, now tasted of his bounty : 
the English monks found him well disposed to favor their order : 
and he built a new convent near Hastings, which he called Battle 
Abbey, and which, on pretense of supporting monks to pray for 
his own soul, and for that of Harold, served as a lasting memorial 
of his victory. 

William introduced into England that strict execution of justice 
for which his administration had been much celebrated in Nor- 
mandy ; and all his new subjects who approached his person were 
received with affability and regard. No signs of suspicion ap- 
peared, not even toward Edgar Atheling, the heir of the ancient 
royal family, whom William confirmed in the honors of Earl of 
Oxford, conferred on him by Harold, and whom he affected to 
treat with the highest kindness, as nephew to the Confessor, his 
great friend and benefactor. Though he confiscated the estates 
of Harold and of others, yet most of the property was left in the 
hands of its former possessors. He confirmed the liberties and 
immunities of London and the other cities of England ; and in his 
whole administration he bore the semblance of the lawful prince, 
not of the conqueror. But amid this confidence and friendship 
which he expressed for the English, he took care to place all real 
power in the hands of his Normans, and still to keep possession 
of the sword, to which he was sensible he had owed his advance- 
ment to sovereign authority. He disarmed the city of London, 
and other places which appeared most warlike and populous ; and 
building citadels in that capital, as well as in Winchester, Here- 
ford, and the cities best situated for commanding the kingdom, he 
quartered Norman soldiers in all of them, and left nowhere any 
power able to resist or oppose him. 



A.D. 1066, 1067. REVOLTS OF THE ENGLISH. 83 

§ 6. By this mixture of vigor and lenity he had so soothed the 
minds of the English, that in the following year (1067) he thought 
he might safely revisit his native country, and enjoy the congratu- 
lations of his ancient subjects. He left the administration in the 
hands of his uterine brother, Odo, Bishop of Baieux, and of Wil- 
liam Fitz-Osberne, the latter of whom had rendered him the most 
important services in the conquest of England. That their au- 
thority might be exposed to less danger, he carried over with him 
all the most considerable nobility of England, who, while they 
served to grace his court by their presence and magnificent reti- 
nues, were in reality hostages for the fidelity of the nation. Among 
these were Edgar Atheling, Stigand the primate, the earls Edwin, 
Morcar, and Waltheof, with others eminent for the greatness of 
their fortunes and families, or for their ecclesiastical and civil dig- 
nities. He was visited at the abbey of Fecamp, where he resided 
during some time, by Rodulph, uncle to the King of France, and 
by many powerful princes and nobles, who, having contributed to 
his enterprise, were desirous , of participating in the joy and ad- 
vantages of his success. His English courtiers, willing to ingra- 
tiate themselves with their new sovereign, outvied each other in 
equipages and entertainments, and made a display of riches which 
struck the foreigners with astonishment. William of Poitiers, a 
Norman historian, who was present, speaks with admiration of 
the beauty of their persons, the size and workmanship of their 
silver plate, the costliness of their embroideries — an art in which 
the English then excelled ; and he expresses himself in such terms 
as tend much to exalt our idea of the opulence and cultivation of 
the people. 

But the departure of William was the immediate cause of all 
the calamities which the English endured during this and the sub- 
sequent reigns, and gave rise to those mutual jealousies and animos- 
ities between them and the Normans, which were never appeased 
till a long tract of time had gradually united the two nations, and 
made them one people. During his absence discontents and com- 
plaints multiplied every where; secret conspiracies were entered 
into against the government, and hostilities were already begun in 
many places. The king, informed of these dangerous discontents, 
hastened over to England ; and, by his presence and the vigorous 
measures which he pursued, disconcerted all the schemes of the 
conspirators. But he now began to regard all his English sub- 
jects as inveterate and irreclaimable enemies ; and thenceforth 
resolved to reduce them to the most abject slavery. After quell- 
ing some disturbances in the west of England, excited by Githa, 
King Harold's mother, and building a fortress to overawe the city 
of Exeter, William returned to Winchester, and dispersed his army 
into their quarters. 



8-1 WILLIAM I, ■ Chap. V. 

§ 7. At Wincliester William was joined by his wife Matilda, 
who had not before visited England, and whom he now ordered 
to be crowned by Archbishop Aldred (1068). The Anglo-Saxon 
nobles meantime formed a league for expelling the Normans from 
their country. The two earls Edwin and Morcar, the former of 
whom "William had disgusted by refusing him the hand of his 
daughter which he had promised, were the chief instigators of the 
rebellion. Cospatric, Earl of Northumberland, agreed to take up 
arms ; and the conspirators received promises of assistance from 
the sons of Harold, who had fled to Ireland after the battle of 
Hastings ; from Blithwallon, King of North Wales ; from Malcolm, 
King of Scotland ; and from Sweyn, King of Denmark. William 
knew the importance of celerity in quelling such a formidable in- 
surrection. He immediately marched northward. The earls 
Edwin and Morcar had taken up a position near Warwick ; but 
they did not venture upon risking a battle with the Conqueror. 
The sons of Harold landed upon the western coast of England, 
but were defeated and compelled to retire to Ireland. In the 
north, whither William had marched after the submission of the 
earls at Warwick, the Normans were equally successful. York, 
the only fortress in the country, was taken, and Cospatric, accom- 
panied by Edgar Atheling and his sisters, fled to the court of 
Malcolm in Scotland. Thereupon the latter concluded a peace 
with William, and did homage* to him for Cumberland and other 
lands which he held in England. By this act the conquest of 
England may be regarded as completed. 

§ 8. In 1069 the insurrection again broke out in the north. 
The Danes, after having made two or three vain attempts on the 
southeastern coast, landed in the Humber under the command of 
the sons of King Sweyn ; and Edgar Atheling, with other lead- 
ers, appeared from Scotland. York was taken by assault, and 
the Norman garrison, to the number of 3000 men, was put to the 
sword. This success proved a signal to many other parts of En- 
gland ; and the inhabitants, repenting their former easy submis- 
sion, seemed determined to make by concert one great effort for 
the ^'ecovery of their liberties, and for the expulsion of their op- 
pressors. 

William first marched against, the rebels in the north, and en- 
ga,ged the Danes by large presents, and by offering them the lib- 
erty of plundering the sea-coast, to retire, without committing far- 
ther hostilities. Having thus got rid of his most formidable op- 
ponents, William had no difficulty in crushing the rest of his ene- 
mies. Waltheof, one of the most important of the Anglo-Saxon 
nobles, submitted to the Conqueror, and was rewarded with the 
hand of Judith, the daughter of WilUam's half-sister, and with 



A.D. 1067-1070. DEPOSITION OF THE ENGLISH PRELATES. 85 

the earldoms of Huntingdon and Northampton, to which that of 
Northumberland was subsequently added. Malcolm, King of 
Scotland, coming too late to support his confederates, was con- 
strained to retire ; the English leaders submitted, and all the 
rebels dispersed themselves, and left the Normans undisputed 
masters of the kingdom. Edgar Atheling, with his followers, 
souo-ht again a retreat in Scotland from the pursuit of his ene- 
mies, where his sister Margaret was shortly afterward married to 
Malcolm. William, who passed the winter in the north, issued 
orders for laying entirely waste the fertile country which, for the 
extent of sixty miles, lies between the Humber and the Tees. 
The lives of 100,000 persons are computed to have been sacri- 
ficed to this stroke of barbarous policy, and the country was ren- 
dered so desolate, that for several years afterward there was 
hardly an inhabitant left. This act, which has been attributed 
to William's vengeance upon the inhabitants, was rather, perhaps, 
a cruel and ill-advised measure of precaution against the incur- 
sions of the Scots and Danes. It is not likely that so avaricious 
and sagacious a prince should have resorted to a measure that 
crippled his own power and revenue merely out of a spirit of re- 
venge. The same barbarous measure was resorted to in France 
in much more civilized times, when the constable Montmorency 
completely desolated Provence in order to check the advance of 
the Emperor Charles V. ♦ ,. 

The insurrections and conspiracies in so many parts of the 
kingdom had involved the bulk of the landed proprietors, more or 
less, in the guilt of treason ; and the king took advantage of exe-^ 
outing against them, with the utmost rigor, the laws of forfeiture 
and attainder. Their lives were indeed commonly spared, but 
their estates were confiscated, and either annexed to the royal 
demesnes, or conferred with the most profuse bounty on the Nor- 
mans and other foreigners. Several of the Anglo-Saxon nobles, 
despairing of the fortunes of their country, fled abroad. Some 
took refuge at the court of Constantinople, where they entered 
the service of the Greek emperor, and, being incorporated with 
Danes and others, formed, under the name of Varangians, the im- 
perial body-guard. 

§ 9. William now proceeded to deprive the Anglo-Saxons of 
all offices in the state, ecclesiastical as well as civil. The Anglo- 
Saxon Church had, to a certain extent, maintained its independ- 
ence of the Roman see ; and accordingly the Pope Alexander 
willingly assisted William in depriving the Anglo-Saxon prelates 
of their benefices. A papal legate was dispatched into England, 
who summoned a council of prelates and abbots at Winchester 
in 1070. In this council the legate, upon some frivolous charges. 



86 WILLIAM I. Chap. V. 

degraded the Primate Stigand from his dignity ; the king confis- 
cated his estate, and confined him in Winchester Castle during 
the remainder of his life. Like rigor was exercised against the 
other English prelates ; and Wulstan of Worcester was the only- 
one that escaped this general proscription. Even the Anglo- 
Saxon monasteries were plundered, and their plate carried off to 
the royal treasury. 

Lanfranc, a Milanese monk, celebrated for his learning and 
piety, was promoted to the vacant see of Canterbury. This prel- 
ate was rigid in defending the prerogatives of his station ; and 
after a long process before the Pope, he obliged Thomas, a Nor- 
man monk, who had been appointed to the see of York, to ac- 
knowledge the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury. But 
William retained the Church in great subjection, as well as his 
lay subjects, and would allow none, of whatever character, to dis- 
pute his sovereign will and pleasure. 

§ 10. The situation of the two great earls, Morcar and Edwin, 
became now very disagreeable. Sensible that they had entirely 
lost their dignity, and could not even hope to remain long in 
safety, they determined, though too late, to share the same fate 
with their countrymen. While Edwin retired to his estate in 
the north, with a view of commencing an insurrection, Morcar 
took shelter with the brave Hereward in the Isle of Ely ; and 
the exploits of Hereward against the Normans lived in the mem- 
ory of the English. He was in Flanders at the time of the Con- 
quest ; but hearing that his mother had been deprived of her 
estate by a foreigner, he returned to England, drove out the in- 
truder, and erected the banner of independence. He was quickly 
joined by other bold spirits, and, protected by the fens and mo- 
rasses of the Isle of Ely, was able to bid defiance to William's 
power. But when the powerful Morcar had joined him, the king 
found it necessary to employ all his endeavors to subdue their 
stronghold, and having surrounded it with flat-bottomed boats, 
and made a causeway through the morasses to the extent of two 
miles, he obliged the rebels to surrender at discretion (1071). 
Hereward alone forced his way, sword in hand, through the ene- 
my ; and still continued his hostilities by sea against the Nor- 
mans, till at last William, charmed with his bravery, received 
him into favor, and restored him to his estate. Earl Morcar 
was thrown into prison, and died in confinement. Edwin, at- 
tempting to make his escape into Scotland, was betrayed by some 
of his followers, and was killed by a party of Normans, to the 
great affliction of the English. To complete the king's pros- 
perity, Edgar Atheling himself, despairing of success, and weary 
of a fugitive life, submitted to his enemy; and receiving a de- 



A.D. 1070-1075. INSURRECTION OF THE NORMAN BARONS. S7 

cent pension for his subsistence, was permitted to live at Rouen 
unmolested. 

§ 11. The conquest of England was complete; but the king 
had now to encounter the jealousy and hostility of his companions 
in arms. His imperious character had excited general discontent 
among the haughty Norman nobles ; and even Roger, Earl of 
Hereford, son and heir of Fitz-Osberne, the king's chief favorite, 
was strongly infected with it. This nobleman, intending to mar- 
ry his sister to Ralph de Guader, Earl of Norfolk, had thought it 
his duty to inform the king of his purpose, and to desire the roy- 
al consent ; but meeting with a refusal, he proceeded, neverthe- 
less, to complete the nuptials, and assembled all his friends, and 
those of Guader, to attend the solemnity. The two earls here 
prepared measures for a revolt ; and, during th-e gayety of the fes- 
tival, while the company was heated with wine, they opened the 
project to their guests. The whole company, inflamed with the 
same sentiments, entered, by a solemn engagement, into the design 
of shaking oiF the royal authority. Even Earl Waltheof, who 
had married the Conqueror's niece, inconsiderately expressed his 
approbation of the conspiracy, and promised his concurrence to- 
ward its success. But, after his cool judgment returned, he fore- 
saw that the conspiracy of those discontented barons was not 
likely to prove successful against the established power of Wil- 
liam ; and he opened his mind to his wife Judith, of whose fidel- 
ity he entertained no suspicion, but who, having secretly fixed 
her affections on another, took this opportunity of ruining her 
easy and credulous husband. She conveyed intelligence of the 
conspiracy to the king, and aggravated every circumstance which 
she believed would tend to incense him against Waltheof, and 
render him absolutely implacable. Meanwhile, the earl, at the 
suggestion of Lanfranc, to whom he had discovered the secret, 
went over to Normandy, whither William had gone some time 
previously to quell an insurrection in his province of Maine;, 
but, although he was weil received by the king, and thanked for 
his fidelity, the account previously transmitted by Judith had 
sunk deep into William's mind, and had destroyed all the merit 
of her husband's repentance. 

The conspirators, hearing of Waltheof's departure, immediate- 
ly concluded their design to be betrayed, and flew to arms before 
their schemes were ripe for execution. They were defeated at 
every point by the king's ofiicers ; and William, who hastened 
over to England in order to suppress the insurrection, found that 
nothing remained but the punishment of the criminals, which he 
executed with great severity (a.d. 1075). Agreeably to his usual 
maxims, he showed more lenity to their leader, the Earl of Here- 



88 WILLIAM 1. Chap. V. 

ford, who was only condemned to a forfeiture of his estate, and to 
imprisonment during pleasure. But Waltheof, being an English- 
man, was not treated with so much humanity. The king, insti- 
gated by Judith, as well as by his rapacious courtiers, who long- 
ed for so rich a forfeiture, ordered him to be tried, condemned, 
and executed. The English, who considered this nobleman as 
the last resource of their nation, grievously lamented his fate, and 
fancied that miracles were wrought by his relics, as a testimony 
of his innocence and sanctity. The infamous Judith, falling 
soon after under the king's displeasure, was abandoned by all the 
world, and passed the rest of her life in contempt, remorse, and 
misery. 

§ 12. The king afterward passed some years in Normandy, 
where he was detained by the revolt of his eldest son Robert, who, 
on account of some real or imaginary grievances, had openly levied 
war against his father. William called over an army of English 
under his ancient captains, who soon expelled Robert and his ad- 
herents from their retreats, and restored the authority of the sov- 
ereign in all his dominions. The young prince was obliged to 
take shelter in the castle of Gerberoy in the Beauvoisis, which the 
King of France, who secretly fomented all these dissensions, had 
provided for him. There passed under the walls of this place 
many rencounters which resembled more the single combats of 
chivalry than the military actions of armies ; but one of them was 
remarkable for its circumstances and its event. Robert happened 
to engage the king, who was concealed by his helmet ; and both 
of them being valiant, a fierce combat ensued, till at last the young 
prince wounded his father in the arm, and unhorsed him. On his 
calling out for assistance, his voice discovered him to his son, who, 
struck with remorse for his past guilt, and astonished with the 
apprehensions of one much greater, which he had so nearly in- 
curred, instantly threw himself at his father's feet, craved pardon 
for his offenses, and offered to purchase forgiveness by any atone- 
ment. The interposition of the queen, aiid other common friends, 
at length brought about a reconcilement, which was probably not 
a little forwarded by the generosity of the son's behavior in this 
action, and by the returning sense of his past misconduct. The 
king seemed so fully appeased, that he even took Robert with him 
into England ; where he intrusted him with the command of an 
army, in order to repel an inroad of Malcolm, King of Scotland, 
and to retaliate by a like inroad into that country. The Welsh, 
unable to resist William's power, were about the same time ne- 
cessitated to pay a compensation for their incursions ; and every 
thing was reduced to full tranquillity in this island. (1079.) 

§ 13. The remaining transactions of this reign are not of much 



A.D. 1075-1087. DEATH OF WILLL\M I. 89 

importance. In the year 1085, Canute, who had succeeded Sweyn 
in the kingdom of Denmark, collected a large fleet with the de- 
sign of invading England ; which, though from various causes not 
carried into execution, nevertheless, occasioned some calamity to 
the nation. The odious tax of Danegelt was reimposed ; a large 
army of foreigners was brought over from the Continent ; and the 
lands adjoining the sea-coast were laid waste in order to deprive 
the expected enemy of support. In the following year William 
received at Salisbury the oath of fealty from all the freeholders 
of the kingdom ; a consequence of that peculiar form of feudalism 
which he had introduced from his Norman dominions, and which 
will be described at the conclusion of this book. The prepara- 
tion of Domesday Book,* completed in 1086, was perhaps con- 
nected with this event. 

In 1087 William was detained on the Continent by a misunder- 
standing which broke out between him and the King of France, 
and which was occasioned by inroads made into Normandy by 
some French barons on the frontiers. His displeasure was in- 
creased by the account he received of some railleries which that 
monarch had thrown out against him. William, who was become 
corpulent, had been detained in bed some time by sickness ; upon 
which Philip expressed his surprise that his brother of England 
should be so long in lying in. The king sent him word that, as 
soon as he was up, he would present so many lights at Notre 
Dame as would perhaps give little pleasure to the King of France 
— alluding to the usual practice at that time of women after child- 
birth. Immediately on his recovery he led an army into ITsle de 
France, and laid every thing waste with fire and sword. But the 
progress of these hostilities was stopped by an accident which soon 
after put an end to William's life. His soldiers having burned the 
town of Mantes, William rode to view the scene ; and as his horse, 
treading upon some hot ashes, started aside, the king was thrown 
violently on the pommel of the saddle ; and, being in a bad habit 
of body, as well as somewhat advanced in years, he began to ap- 
prehend the consequences, and ordered himself to be carried in a 

* This important national record derives its name, according to Ingul- 
phns, a contemporary writer, from its resembling the last judgment in its 
universality and completeness (Hallam, Middle Ages, vol. iii., p. 361, note); 
though some have considered it a corruption of Domus Dei, the name of the 
chapel in Winchester Cathedral where it was preserved. It was compiled 
by committees appointed by royal commissioners in the different counties, 
and shows the extent, nature, and divisions of the landed property in each ; 
and the products of various kinds, as woods, fisheries, mines, etc. It con- 
sists of two volumes, a large folio and a quarto, both written on vellum. It 
was printed by the government in 1783. A complete account of it will be 
found in Sir H. Ellis's General Introduction to Domesday Book, 2 vols., 8vo. 



90 WILLIAM I. Chap. V. 

litter to the monastery of St. Gervas. Finding his illness increase, 
and being sensible of the approach of death, he discovered at last 
the vanity of all human grandeur, and was struck with remorse 
for those horrible cruelties and acts of violence which he had com- 
mitted during the course of his reign over England. He endeav- 
ored to make atonement by presents to churches and monasteries ; 
and he issued orders that several prisoners should be set at liberty. 
He left Normandy and Maine to his eldest son Robert ; he wrote 
to Lanfranc, desiring him to crown William King of England ; to 
Henry he bequeathed 5000 pounds of silver. His second son, 
Eichard, had been killed while hunting in the New Forest. 

§ 14. William expired in the 61st year of his age, in the 21st 
year of his reign over England, and in the 54th of that over Nor- 
mandy. He was buried in the church of St. Stephen at Caen. 
Few princes have been more fortunate than this great monarch, 
or were better entitled to grandeur and prosperity from the abili- 
ties and the vigor of mind which he displayed in all his conduct. 
His spirit was bold and enterprising, yet guided by prudence ; his 
ambition, which was exorbitant, and lay little under the restraints 
of justice, still less under those of humanity, ever submitted to the 
dictates of sound policy. Born in an age when the minds of men 
were intractable and unacquainted with submission, he was yet 
able to direct them to his purposes ; and, partly from the ascend- 
ant of his vehement character, partly from art and dissimulation, 
to establish an unlimited authority. Though not insensible to 
generosity, he was hardened against compassion ; and in the diffi- 
cult enterprise of subduing a brave and warlike people he suc- 
ceeded so completely that he transmitted his power to his de- 
scendants. Except the former conquest of England by the Sax- 
ons themselves, it would be difficult to find in all history a rev- 
olution more destructive or attended with a more complete sub- 
jection of the ancient inhabitants. Contumely seems even to have 
been wantonly added to oppression ; and the natives were uni- 
versally reduced to such a state of meanness and poverty, that 
the English name became a term of reproach, and several genera- 
tions elapsed before one family of Saxon pedigree was raised to 
any considerable honors, or could so much as attain the rank of 
baron of the realm. 

The arbitrary administration of William was particularly dis- 
played in the forest laws. William, like all the Normans, was 
extremely fond of hunting ; and, according to the quaint expres- 
sion of the Saxon chronicler, " loved the tall game as if he had 
been their father." The forests appear to have been protected 
before the Conquest ; but William established the most severe 
penalties for the preservation of the game. The killing of a deer 



A.D. 1087. His ADMINISTRATION. 91 

or boar, or even a hare, was punished with the loss of the delin- 
quent's eyes ; and that at a time when the killing of a man could 
be atoned for by paying a moderate fine or composition. In form- 
ing the New Forest in the neighborhood of his palace at Win- 
chester, the country around was " aiForested," by which term we 
are to understand, not that it was planted with trees, but that it 
was rendered subject to the forest laws. It is said that many 
churches and villages in this tract were destroyed for the purpose 
of making the forest ; but their number has been probably ex- 
aggerated. 

The numerous castles erected in all parts of England during 
the reign of the Conqueror were at once the means and the visi- 
ble signs of Anglo-Saxon subjection. Of these strong-holds of 
the aristocracy, without which feudalism could not have been per- 
fectly established, no fewer than 48 are recorded in Domesday 
]3ook as erected since the time of Edward the Confessor. 

William is said to have introduced the practice of the curfew 
(i.e., coiwrefeu) bell, upon the ringing of which all fires had to be 
covered up at sunset in summer, and about eight at night in the 
winter. This was regarded as a badge of servitude by the En- 
glish ; but it was the custom in Normandy, and indeed in many 
other countries, in the Middle Ages, and was observed as a pre- 
caution against fire. 

The whole number of persons registered in Domesday Book is 
about 283,000. With the cities and omitted counties we may 
reckon 300,000 heads of families in England in the reign of the 
Conqueror ; and the whole population can not, therefore, be esti- 
mated at much more than a million. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1066. Coronation of William the Conqueror. 

lOTl. Earl Hei'eward subdued in Lincoln- 
shire and all England finally reduced. 

1075. Insurrection of the Norman'barons in 
England. 



A.D. 

10T8. Revolt of Prince Robert in Normandy. 

1086. William receives the oath of fealty 

from all the English freeholders. 

1087, Death of the Conqueror. 



92 



WILLIAM I. 



Chap. V. 



DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, DOWN TO 

HENRY II. 

WILLIAM L 

b. 102T. d. 7 Sept. lOST. 

m. Matilda, d. of Baldwin, 

Count of Flanders. 



Robert. 



Eichard. 



I 
WILLIAM II. 

d. 2 Aug. 1100. 



HENRY L 

d. 1 Dec. 1135. 

m. 1. Matilda of Scotland; 

2. Adeliza of Louvain 

(by whom, no children). 



6 daughters, 

Of whom Adela, 

the fourth, m. 

Stephen, Count 

of Blois. 



William. 

d. 1120. 

m, Matilda, d. of 

Fulk of Anjou. 



I I 

Matilda. Robert 

m. 1. Henry V. (by a concubine), 
of Germany. d. 1147. 

Geoffrey of Anjou. 

HENRY II, 



Several other 

illegitimate 

children. 



STEPHEN, 
d. 1154. 




Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and brother of King Stephen. From an 
enameled plate in the British Museum,* 



CHAPTER YI. 

WILLIAM II., HEXRT I., STEPHEN. A.D. 1087-1154. 

§ 1. Accession ofWiLLiAM Rufus. Conspiracy against the King. § 2. In- 
vasion of Normandy, and other "Wars. § 3. Acquisition of Normandy. 
§ 4. Quarrel -with Anselra, the Primate. § 5. Transactions in Prance. 
Death and Character of Rufus. § 6. Accession of Hekrt I. His Char- 
ter. § 7. Marriage of the King. § 8. Duke Robert invades England. 
Accommodation with him. § 9. Henry invades and conquers Norman- 
dy. § 10. Ecclesiastical Affairs. Disputes respecting Investitures. §11. 
"Wars abroad. Death of Prince William. § 12. Henry's second Mar- 
riage. Marriage of his Daughter. His Death and Character. § 13. 
Accession of Stephen. Measures for securing the Government. § 14. 
Stephen acknowledged in Normandy. Disturbances in England. § 15. 
Matilda invades England, and obtains the Crown. Her Flight. § 16. 



* For an explanation of the inscription, see Labarte, " Arts of the Mid- 
dle Ages," p. xxiv. 



94 WILLIAM II. . Chap. VI. 

Prince Henry in England. Acknowledged as Stephen's Successor. 
Death and Character of Stephen. 

§ 1. William IL, a.d. 1087-1100, — William, surnsimed Huf us, 
or the lied, from the color of his hair, had no sooner procured his 
fVither's recommendatory letter to Lanfranc, the primate, than he 
hastened to England, and arrived before intelligence of his father's 
death had reached that kingdom. Pretending orders from the 
king, he secured the fortresses of Dover, Pevensey, and Hastings; 
and got possession of the royal treasure at Winchester, amounting 
to the sum of 60,000 pounds. The primate, having assembled 
some bishops and some of the principal nobility, instantly pro- 
ceeded to the ceremony of crowning the new king (Sept. 26) ; and 
by this dispatch endeavored to prevent all faction and resistance. 
The Norman barons, however, would, for many reasons, have pre- 
ferred the succession of the Conqueror's eldest son Robert- to the 
throne of England ; and Odo, Bishop of Baieux, and Robert, Earl 
of Mortaigne, maternal brothers of the Conqueror, envying the 
great credit of Lanfranc, which was increased by his late services, 
availed themselves of this feeling, and engaged their partisans in 
a formal conspiracy to dethrone the king. But William, having 
gained the affections of the native English by general promises of 
good treatment, and of an amelioration of the forest laws, was 
soon in a situation to take the field ; and by the rapidity of his 
movements speedily crushed the rebellion. Freed, however, from 
the danger of these insurrections, he took little care of fulfilling 
his promises to the English ; who still found themselves exposed 
to the same oppressions which they had undergone during the 
reign of the Conqueror, and which were rather augmented by the 
violent and impetuous temper of the present monarch. The death 
of Lanfranc (1089), who retained great influence over him, gave 
soon after a full career to his tyranny; and all orders of men 
found reason to complain of an arbitrary and illegal administra- 
tion. Even the privileges of the Church, held sacred in those 
days, were a feeble rampart against his usurpations ; but the ter- 
ror of William's authority, confirmed by the suppression of- the 
late insurrections, retained every one in subjection, and preserved 
general tranquillity in England. 

§ 2. Having thus strengthened his power in England, William 
invaded the dominions of his brother Robert in Normandy (1090). 
The war, however, was brought to an end by the mediation of the 
nobility on both sides, strongly connected by interest and alliances; 
and the two brothers also stipulated that, oit the demise of either 
without issue, the survivor should inherit all his dominions. Prince 
Henry, disgusted that little care had been taken of his interests in 
this accommodation, retired to St. Michael's Mount, a strong for- 



A.D. 1087-1091. ACQUISITION OF NORMANDY. 95 

tress on the coast of Normandy, and infested the neighborhood 
with his incursions. Robert and William, with their joint forces, 
besieged him in^this place, and had nearly reduced him by the 
scarcity of water; when, the elder, hearing of his distress, granted 
him permission to supply himself, and also sent him some pipes 
of wine for his own table. Being reproved by William for this 
ill-timed generosity, he replied, " What, shall I suffer my brother 
to die of thirst? Where shall we find another when he is gone?" 
The king, also, during this siege, performed an act of generosity 
which was less suitable to his character. Riding out one day 
alone, to take a survey of the fortress, he was attacked by two 
soldiers and dismounted. One of them drew his sword in order 
to dispatch him, when the king exclaimed, "Hold, knave! I am 
the King of England." The soldier suspended his blow ; and 
raising the king from the ground with expressions of respect, re- 
ceived a handsome reward, and was taken into his service. Prince 
Henry was soon after obliged to capitulate ; and being despoiled 
of all his patrimony, wandered about for some time with very few 
attendants, and often in great poverty. Robert returned with 
William to England ; and the king soon after, accompanied by 
his brother, led an army into Scotland, and obliged Malcolm to 
accept terms of peace (1091), which was mediated by Robert on 
the part of William, and by Edgar Atheling on that of Malcolm. 
Advantageous conditions were stipulated for Edgar, who returned 
to England ; Malcolm consented to do homage to William ; and 
Cumberland, formerly held by the Scottish kings as a fief under 
the English crown, was now reduced to an English county, and 
secured by the fortification of Carlisle. 

§ 3. All Europe, but especially France and Germany, was at 
this time carried away with the phrensy of the crusade preached 
by Peter the Hermit for the recovery of the holy sepulchre at 
Jerusalem.* Robert, Duke of Normandy, impelled by the brav- 
ery of his spirit, had early enlisted himself among the crusaders; 
but being always unprovided with money, he resolved to mort- 
gage his dominions for a term of five years ; and he offered them 
to his brother William for the very unequal sum of 10,000 marks. 
The bargain was soon concluded ; the king raised the money by 
violent extortions on his subjects of all ranks, even on the con- 
vents, which were obliged to melt their plate in order to furnish 
the quota demanded of them : he was put in possession of Nor- 
mandy and Maine ; and Robert, providing himself with a magnifi- 
cent train, set out for the Holy Land. 

§ 4. William was destitute alike of religious feeling and re- 

* The history of the Crusades is narrated in the Student's Gibbon, p. 
545, seq. 



96 WILLIAM II. Chap. VI. 

ligious principle, and during the latter part of his reign was en- 
gaged in quarrels with the Church. After the death of Lan- 
franc, the king, for several years, retained in his own hands the 
revenues of Canterbury, as he did those of many other vacant 
bishoprics ; but, falling into a dangerous sickness, he was seized 
with remorse, and resolved, therefore, to supply instantly the va- 
cancy of Canterbury (1093). For that purpose he sent for An- 
selm, a Piedmontese by birth. Abbot of Bee in Normandy, Avho 
was much celebrated for his learning and piety, and whom he 
j)ersuaded with difficulty to accept the high dignity. William 
soon after recovered ; and his passions regaining their wonted 
vigor, he returned to his former violence and rapine. He still 
preyed upon the ecclesiastical benefices ; the sale of spiritual dig- 
nities continued as open as ever ; and he kept possession of a 
considerable part of the revenues belonging to the see of Canter- 
bury. But he found in Anselm the most persevering opposition, 
which was the more dangerous on account of the character of 
piety which he soon acquired in England by his great zeal against 
all abuses. 

There was at that time a schism in the Church between Ur- 
ban and Clement, who both pretended to the papacy ; and An- 
selm, who, as Abbot of Bee, had already acknowledged Urban, was 
determined, without the king's consent, to introduce his authority 
into England. William was enraged at this attempt, and sum- 
moned a synod with an intention of deposing Anselm ; but he 
was at last engaged by other motives to give the preference to 
Urban's title. Anselm received the pall from that pontiff; and 
matters seemed to be accommodated between the king and the 
primate, when the quarrel broke out afresh from a new cause. 
William had undertaken an expedition against Wales, and re- 
quired the archbishop to furnish his quota of soldiers for that 
service ; but Anselm sent them so miserably accoutred, that the 
king was extremely displeased, and threatened him with a prose- 
cution. Anselm, on the other hand, demanded positively that all 
the revenues of his see should be restored to him ; appealed to 
Rome against the king's injustice ; and affairs came to such ex- 
tremities, that the primate, finding it dangerous to remain in the 
kingdom, desired and obtained the king's permission to retire'be- 
yond sea (1097). All his temporalities were seized; but he was 
received with great respect by Urban, who considered him as a 
martyr in the cause of religion, and even menaced the king, on 
account of his proceedings against the primate and the Church, 
with the sentence of excommunication. 

§ 5. In 1099 the Crusaders became masters of Jerusalem. 
Their success stimulated others to follow their example ; and 



A.D. 1091-1100. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF RUFUS. 97 

^Villiam, Duke of Guienne and Count of Poitiers, like Robert, 
oflfered to mortgage all his dominions to William, in order to 
raise money for the purpose of proceeding to the Holy Land with 
an immense body of followers. The king accepted the offer, and 
had prepared a fleet and an army in order to escort the money 
and take possession of the rich provinces of Guienne and Poitou, 
when an accident put an end to his life and to all his ambitious 
projects. He was engaged in hunting in the New Forest, at- 
tended by Walter Tyrrel, a French gentleman, remarkable for 
his address in archery; and as William had dismounted after a 
chase, Tyrrel, impatient to show his dexterity, let fly an arrow 
at a stag which suddenly started before him. The arrow, glanc- 
ing from a tree, struck the king in the breast, and instantly slew 
him ;* while Tyrrel, without informing any one of the accident, 
put spurs to his horse, hastened to the sea-shore, embarked for 
France, and joined the crusade. ' The body of William was 
found in the forest by the country people, and was buried at 
Winchester. Tradition long pointed out the tree struck by Tyr- 
rel's arrow, and a stone still commemorates the spot where it 
stood. 

William seems to have been a violent and tyrannical prince ; 
a perfidious, encroaching, and dangerous neighbor; an unkind 
and ungenerous relation. He w^as equally prodigal and rapa- 
cious in the management of his treasury ; and if he possessed abil- 
ities, he lay so much under the government of impetuous pas- 
sions that he made little use of them in his administration. He 
built a new bridge across the Thames at London, surrounded the 
Tower with a wall, and erected Westminster Hall, w^hich still 
remains a noble specimen of the architecture of the time. It was 
remarked in that age that Eichard, an elder brother of William's, 
perished by accident in the New Forest ; Eichard, his nephew, 
natural son of Duke Eobert, lost his life in the same place, after 
the same manner. And all men, upon the king's fate, exclaimed 
that, as the Conqueror had been guilty of extreme violence in 
expelling all the inhabitants of that large district to make room 
for his game, the just vengeance of Heaven w^as signalized in the 
same place by the slaughter of his posterity. W^illiam was killed 
o^^ugust 2d, 1100, in the 13th year of his reign, and about 
the 40th of his age. As he was never married, he left no legiti- 
mate issue. 

§ 6. Henry L, surnamed Beaucleec, a.d. 1100-1135. — Hen- 
ry w^as hunting with Eufus in the New Forest when intelligence 
of that monarch's death was brought him ; and being sensible of 

* Such is the received account ; but there are grounds for suspecting that 
Eufus was assassinated by an attendant. 

E 



98 HENRY I. Chap. VI. 

the advantage attending the conjuncture, he hurried to Winches- 
ter, in order to secure the royal treasure. From thence, without 
losing a moment, he hastened to London ; and having assembled 
some noblemen and prelates, whom his address, or abilities, or 
presents gained to his side, he was suddenly elected, or rather 
saluted king, and immediately proceeded to the exercise of royal 
authority. In less than three days after his brother's death the 
ceremony of his coronation was performed by Maurice, Bishop 
of London (Aug. 5). As Henry had usurped the throne in vio- 
lation of the undoubted right of Robert, who had not yet return- 
ed from Palestine, he resolved, by fair professions at least, to gain 
the affections of all his subjects. He granted a charter, in which 
he promised — to the Church, that he would not seize the reve- 
nues of any see or abbey during a vacancy — to the barons and 
other tenants of the crown, that he would not oppress them with 
feudal exactions — and to the j)eople, that he w^ould observe the 
laws of King Edward the Confessor. This charter purports to 
have been passed with the advice and consent of the barons of 
England, who are here mentioned for the first time instead of the 
ivitan. Henry at the same time granted a charter to London, 
which seems to have been the first step toward rendering that 
city a corporation. 

§ 7. Sensible of the great authority which Anselm had ac- 
quired, Henry invited him to return. On his arrival the king 
had recourse to his authority respecting his marriage with Ma- 
tilda, daughter of Malcolm IIL, King of Scotland, and niece to 
Edgar Atheling, who had been educated under her aunt Chris- 
tina in the nunnery of Rumsey : since, as she had worn the veil, 
though never taken the vows, doubts might arise concerning the 
lawfulness of the act. The affair was examined by Anselm, in 
a council of the prelates and nobles which was summoned at 
Lambeth ; and Matilda there proved that she -had put on the 
veil, not with a view of entering into a religious life, but merely 
in consequence of a custom then familiar to the English ladies, 
who protected their chastity from the brutal violence of the Nor- 
mans, by taking shelter under that habit, which, amid the hor- 
rible licentiousness of the times, was yet generally revered. The 
council pronounced that Matilda was still free to marry ; and 
her espousals with Henry were celebrated by Anselm with great 
pomp and solemnity. No act of the king's reign rendered him 
equally popular with his English subjects, and tended more to 
establish him on the throne. 

§ 8. Meanwhile, Robert had taken possession of Normandy 
without opposition, and immediately made preparations for re- 
covering England, of which, during his absence, he had been so 



a:D. 1100-1106. HE CONQUERS NORMANDY. 99 

unjustly defrauded. The great fame which he had acquired in 
the East forwarded his pretensions, and many of the Norman 
barons, discontented at the separation of the duchy and kingdom, 
invited him to make an attempt upon England, and promised to 
join him with all their forces. Robert landed with his followers 
at Portsmouth (July 19, 1101); and Henry, who had collected 
an army chiefly through the influence of the primate, advanced to 
meet him. The two armies lay in sight of each other for some 
days without coming to action, and both princes, being appre- 
hensive of the event, which would probably be decisive, hearken- 
ed the more willingly to the counsels of Anselm and the other 
great men, who mediated an accommodation between them. It 
was agreed that Robert should resign his pretensions to England, 
and receive in lieu of them an annual pension of 3000 marks ; 
that, if either of the princes died without issue, the other should 
succeed to his dominions ; that the adherents of each should be 
pardoned and restored to all their possessions either in Normandy 
or England ; and that neither Robert nor Henry should thence- 
forth encourage, receive, or protect the enemies of the other. 

§ 9. The indiscretion of Robert soon made him a victim to 
Henry's ambitious schemes. Normandy, during the reign of this 
benign but dissolute prince, was become a scene of violence and 
depredation ; and Henry having found that the nobility were more 
disposed to pay submission to him than to their legal sovereign, 
he collected, by arbitrary extortions in England, a great army and 
treasure, and landed in Normandy in 1105. In the second cam- 
paign he gained a decisive victory before the castle of Tenchebray, 
in which nearly 10,000 prisoners were taken, among whom was 
Duke Robert himself, and all the most considerable barons who 
adhered to his interests. This victory was followed by the final 
reduction of Normandy (1106). Henry, having received the hom- 
age of all the vassals of the duchy, returned into England, and 
carried along with him the duke as prisoner. That inifortunate 
prince w^as detained in custody during the remainder of his life, 
which was no less than 28 years, and he died in the castle of Car- 
diff*, in Glamorganshire. Prince AVilliam, his only son, who had 
also been captured, was committed to the care of Helie de St. 
Saen, who had married Robert's natural daughter, and who, being 
a man of probity and honor, executed the trust with great afi'ec- 
tion and fidelity. Edgar Atheling, who had followed Robert in 
the expedition to Jerusalem, and who had lived with him ever 
since in Normandy, was another illustrious prisoner taken in the 
battle of Tenchebray. Henry gave him his liberty, and settled a 
small pension on him, with which he retired ; and he lived to a 
good old age in England, totally neglected and forgotten. This 



100 HENRY I. Chap. VI. 

prince was distinguished by personal bravery ; but nothing can be 
a stronger proof of his mean talents in every other respect than 
that he was allowed to live unmolested and go to his grave in 
peace. 

§ 10. A little after Henry had completed the conquest of Nor- 
mandy, and settled the government of that province, he finished a 
controversy which had been long depending between him and the 
Pope, with regard to the investitures in ecclesiastical benefices. 
Before bishops took possession of their dignities they had former- 
ly been accustomed to pass through two ceremonies : they received 
from the hands of the sovereign a ring and crosier, as symbols of 
their office, and this was called their investiture : they also made 
those submissions to the prince which were required of vassals by 
the rites of the feudal law, and which received the name of hom- 
age. And as the king might refuse both to grant the investiture 
and to receive tlie homage, though the chapter had, by some canons 
of the Middle Age, been endowed with the right of election, the 
sovereign had in reality the sole power of appointing prelates. 
But Urban 11. had equally deprived laymen of the rights of grant- 
ing investiture and of receiving homage ; and the Church openly 
aspired to a total independence of the state. Anselm had refused 
to do homage to the king; and Pascal II., who filled the papal 
throne in Henry's reign, supported Anselm in his refusal, and 
threatened to excommunicate the king for persisting in his de- 
mands. But Henry had established his power so firmly in En- 
gland and Normandy, that the Pope consented to a compromise. 
Henry resigned the right of granting investitures, by which the 
spiritual dignity was supposed to be conferred ; and Pascal al- 
lowed the bishops to do homage for their temporal properties and 
privileges. The pontiff was well pleased to have made this ac- 
quisition, which he hoped would in time involve the whole ; and 
the king, anxious to procure an escape from a very dangerous sit- 
uation, was content to retain some, though a more precarious au- 
thority, in the election of prelates. 

§ 11. The acquisition of Normandy had been a great point, of 
Henry's ambition; but the injustice of his usurpation was the 
source of great inquietude, involved him in frequent wars, and 
obliged him to impose on his English subjects those many heavy 
and arbitrary taxes of which all the historians of that age unani- 
mously complain. William, the son of his brother Robert, had 
been withdrawn from his power by Helie de St. Saen, to whose 
care Henry had intrusted him. The cause of the young prince 
was espoused by Louis the Fat, King of France, and by other Con- 
tinental princes. The wars which ensued required Henry's fre- 
quent presence in Normandy ; and though he was generally sue- 



A.D. 1106-1121. DEATH OF PRINCE WILLIAM. 1^1 

cessful, he was not released from anxiety on this account till the 
year 1128, when his nephew Avas killed in a skirmish shortly aft- 
er he had been created Count of Flanders by the French monarch. 
But eight years previously Henry received a terrible blow in the 
loss of his only son William. Ih 1120 the king, having concluded 
in Normandy a treaty of peace with the French king, set sail 
from Barfleur on his return, and was soon carried by a fair wind 
out of sight of land. His son William was detained by some ac- 
cident ; and his sailors, as well as their captain, Thomas Fitz- 
Stephens, having spent the interval in drinking, were so flustered, 
that, being in a hurry to follow the king, they heedlessly carried 
the ship on a rock, where she immediately foundered. William 
was put into the long-boat, and had got clear of the ship, when, 
hearing the cries of his natural sister, the Countess of Perche, he 
ordered the seamen to row back in hopes of saving her ; but the 
numbers who then crowded in soon sunk the boat, and the prince, 
with all his retinue, perished. Above 140 young noblemen, of 
the principal families of England and Normandy, were lost on this 
occasion. A butcher of Rouen was the only person on board who 
escaped. He clung to the mast, and was taken up next morning 
by fishermen. Fitz-Stephens also took hold of the mast, but, be- 
ing informed by the butcher that Prince William had perished, he 
said that he would not survive the disaster ; and he threw him- 
self headlong into the sea. Henry entertained hopes for three 
days that his son had put into some distant port of England ; but 
when certain intelligence of the calamity was brought him he 
fainted away ; and it was remarked that he never after was seen 
to smile, nor ever recovered his wonted cheerfulness. The death 
orWilliam may be regarded, in one respect, as a misfortune to the 
English, because it was the immediate source of those civil wars 
which, after the demise of the king, caused such confusion in the 
kingdom ; but it is remarkable that the young prince had enter- 
tained a violent aversion to the natives, and had been heard to 
threaten that when he should be king he would make them draw 
the plow, and would turn them into beasts of burden. 

§ 12. Prince William left no children, and the king had not 
now any legitimate issue, except one daughter, Matilda, whom, in 
1110, he had betrothed, though only eight years of age, to the 
Emperor Henry Y . , and whom he had then sent over to be edu- 
cated in Germany. The king had lost his consort, Queen Maud, 
in 1118, and after the death of his son he was induced to marry- 
again in hopes of having male heirs. Accordingly in 1121 he 
married Adelais, daughter of Godfrey, Duke of Louvain, and niece 
of Pope Calixtus, a young princess of an amiable person ; but there 
was no issue by the marriage. The Emperor of Germany died 



102 HENRY I.— STEPHEN. Chap. Vr. 

without issue, and in 1127 Henry bestowed his daughter on Geof- 
frey, the son of Fulk, Earl of Anjou, and endeavored to insure 
her succession by having her recognized heir to all his dominions, 
and obliging the barons, both of Normandy and England, to swear 
fealty to her. This marriage also threatened to prove fruitless, 
but in 1133 Matilda bore a son, who was named Henry after his 
grandfather. Thereupon the king made all the barons renew the 
oath of fealty which they had already sworn to her. During the 
latter years of his reign Henry resided generally in Normandy, 
where he died December 1, 1135, from eating too plentifully of 
lampreys, a food which always agreed better with his palate than 
his constitution. He died in the 67th year of his age, and the 
35th of his reign, leaving by will his daughter Matilda heir of all 
his dominions, without making any mention of her husband Geof- 
frey, who had given him several causes of displeasure. His body 
was carried to England, and interred at Reading, in the abbey of 
St. Mary, which he had founded there. 

Henry, like his father, was a monarch of great ability, and pos- 
sessed all the great qualities both of body and mind, natural and 
acquired, which could fit him for the high station to which he at- 
tained. His person was manly, his countenance engaging, his 
eyes clear, serene, and penetrating. By his great progress in lit- 
erature he acquired the name oi Beauclerc, or the Scholar; but his 
application to those sedentary pursuits abated nothing of the ac- 
tivity and vigilance of his government. His temper was suscepti- 
ble of the sentiments as well of friendship as of resentment ; but 
his conduct toward his brother and nephew showed that he was 
too much disposed to sacrifice to his ambition all the maxims of 
justice and equity. 

§ 13. Stephen, a.d. 1135-1154. — Adela, daughter of William 
the Conqueror, had been married to Stephen, Count of Blois, and 
had brought him several sons, among whom Stephen and Henry, 
the two youngest, had been invited over to England by the late 
king. Henry was created Bishop of Winchester, and Stephen 
had been endowed with great estates. The king had married 
him to Matilda, who was daughter and heir of Eustace, Count of 
Boulogne, and who brought him, besides that feudal sovereignty 
in France, an immense property in England. Stephen, in return, 
professed great attachment to his uncle, and appeared zealous for 
the succession of his daughter Matilda. But no sooner had Henry 
breathed his last, than, insensible to all the ties of gratitude and 
fidelity, he hastened over to England, and stopped not till he ar- 
rived at London, where some of the lower rank, instigated by his 
emissaries, as well as moved by his general popularity, immedi- 
ately saluted him king. It was pretended that the late king on 



A.D. 1121-1138. DISTURBANCES IN ENGLAND. 103 

his death-bed had expressed dissatisfaction with his daughter Ma- 
tilda, and had expressed his intention of leaving Stephen heir to 
all his dominions. William, Archbishop of Canterbury, believing 
or feigning to believe this improbable tale, anointed Stephen, and 
put the crown upon his head (Dec. 26); and from this religioas 
ceremony, that prince, without any shadow either of hereditary 
title or consent of the nobility or people, vWas allowed to proceed 
to the exercise of sovereign authority. 

Stephen, that he might farther secure his tottering throne, passed 
a charter, in which he made liberal promises to all orders of men. 
He invited over from the Continent, particularly from Brittany 
and Flanders, great numbers of those bravoes or disorderly sol- 
diers with whom every country in Europe, by reason of the gen- 
eral ill police and turbulent government, extremely abounded; 
and that he might also overawe all malcontents by new and ad- 
ditional terrors of religion, he procured a bull from Rome, which 
ratified his title. 

§ 14. Matilda, and her husband Geoffrey, were as unfortunate 
in Normandy as they had been in England. The Norman no- 
bility, hearing that Stephen had obtained the English crown, put 
him in possession of their government. Even Robert, Earl of 
Gloucester, natural son of the late king, who was much attached 
to the interests of his sister Matilda, and zealous for the lineal 
succession, consented, nevertheless, to do Stephen homage, and to 
take the oath of fealty ; but with an express condition, that the 
king should never invade any of Robert's rights or dignities. 
The clergy and barons, in return for their submission, exacted 
terms destructive of public peace, as w^ell as of royal authority; 
many required the right of fortifying their castles, and of putting 
themselves in a posture of defense ; and the king found himself 
totally unable to refuse his consent to this exorbitant demand. 
All England was immediately filled with those fortresses, which 
the noblemen garrisoned either with their vassals, or with licen- 
tious soldiers, who flocked to them from all quarters. 

The Earl of Gloucester, having now settled with his friends 
the plan of an insurrection, retired beyond sea, sent the king a 
defiance, solemnly renounced his allegiance, and upbraided him 
with the breach of those conditions which had been annexed to 
the oath of fealty sworn by that nobleman (1138). David, King 
of Scotland, appeared at the head of an army in defense of his 
niece's title, and, penetrating into Yorkshire, committed -the most 
barbarous devastations on that county. The fury of his massa- 
cres and ravages enraged the northern nobility, who assembled an 
army, with which they encamped at Northallerton, and awaited 
the arrival of the enemy. A great battle was here fought, called 



104 STEPHEN. Chap. VI. 

the battle of the Standard, from a high crucifix, erected by the 
English on a wagon, and carried along with the army as a mili- 
tary ensign. The King of Scots was defeated, and he himself, as 
well as his son Harry, narrowly escaped falling into the hands of 
the English (1138). 

§ 15. This success overawed the malcontents in England, and 
mio-ht have given some stability to Stephen's throne, had he not 
been so elated with prosperity as to engage in a controversy with 
the clergy, who were at that time an overmatch for any monarch. 
The bishops of Salisbury and Lincoln having, in imitation of the 
nobility, erected several strong fortresses, Stephen, w^ho was now 
sensible from experience of the mischiefs attending these multi- 
plied citadels, resolved to begin with destroying those of the cler- 
gy. Accordingly, he seized both those prelates, threw them into 
prison, and obliged them, by menaces, to deliver up those places 
of strength which they had lately erected. To the surprise of 
Stephen, the cause of the prelates was espoused by his own broth- 
er, Henry, Bishop of Winchester, who, having been appointed the 
papal legate, assembled a synod at Westminster, and there com- 
plained of the impiety of Stephen's measures, who had employed 
violence against the dignitaries of the Church. The Empress 
Matilda, invited by this opportunity, and secretly encouraged by 
the legate himself, landed in England, with Robert Earl of 
Gloucester, and a small retinue of knights (1 139). She fixed her 
residence first at Arundel Castle, whose gates were opened to her 
by Adelais, the queen-dowager. Many barons declared for her, 
and open war broke out between the two parties. A frightful 
state of anarchy ensued. The castles of the nobility were become 
receptacles of licensed robbers, who, sallying forth day and night, 
committed spoil on the open country, on the villages, and even 
on the cities ; put the captives to torture, in order to make them 
reveal their treasures ; sold their persons into slavery ; and set 
fire to their houses after they had pillaged them of every thing 
valuable. The land was left untilled ; the instruments of hus- 
bandry were destroyed or abandoned ; and a grievous famine, the 
natural result of those disorders, affected equally both parties, 
and reduced the spoilers, as well as the defenseless people, to the 
most extreme want and indigence. 

There happened at last an event which seemed to promise some 
end of the public calamities. Stephen himself, being captured by 
Earl Robert, near Lincoln, was conducted to Gloucester ; and 
though at first treated with humanity, was soon after, on some 
suspicion, thrown into prison and loaded with irons (1141). The 
claims of Matilda to the throne were solemnly recognized in an 
ecclesiastical synod held at Winchester by Stephen's brother, the 



A.D. 1138-1152. PRINCE HENRY IN ENGLAND. 105 

legate. The only laymen summoned to this council were the 
Londoners, who were at length obliged to submit ; and her au- 
thority, by the prudent conduct of Earl Robert, seemed to be 
established over the whole kingdom. But affairs remained not 
long in this situation. Matilda, besides the disadvantages of her 
sex, which weakened her influence over a turbulent and martial 
people, was of a passionate, imperious spirit, and knew not how 
to temper with affability the harshness of a refusal. Stephen's 
queen, seconded by many of the nobility, and by the citizens of 
London, petitioned for the liberty of her husband, and offered that 
on this condition he should renounce the crown and retire into a 
convent. The legate desired that Prince Eustace, his nephew, 
might inherit Boulogne and the other patrimonial estates of his 
father ; and the Londoners also applied for the establishment of 
King EdM^ard's laws. All these petitions were rejected in the 
most haughty and peremptory manner. The legate availed him- 
self of the ill-humor excited by Matilda's imperious conduct, and 
secretly instigated the Londoners to a revolt. Having assembled 
all his retainers, he openly joined his force to that of the Lon- 
doners, and besieged Matilda in Winchester- The empress, be- 
ing hard pressed by famine, made her escape ; but in the flight, 
Earl Robert, her brother, fell into the hands of the enemy. This 
nobleman, though a subject, was as much the life and soul of his 
own party, as Stephen was of the other ; and Matilda, sensible 
of his merit and importance, consented to exchange the prisoners 
on equal terms (1141). The civil war was again kindled with 
greater fury than ever, and continued several years. The empress 
at last retired into Normandy (1146), and about the same time 
her brother Robert died. 

§ 16. In 1148 Matilda's son, Prince Henry, proceeded into 
Scotland, where he remained some time ; made incursions into 
England ; and by his dexterity and vigor in all manly exercises, 
by his valor in war, and his prudent conduct in every occurrence, 
he roused the hopes of his party, and gave symptoms of those 
great qualities which he afterward displayed when he mounted 
the throne of England. Soon after his return to Normandy he 
was, by Matilda's consent, invested with that duchy (1150), and 
upon the death of his father, Geoffrey, which happened in the 
subsequent year, he took possession both of Anjou and Maine. 
He still farther augmented his dominions by concluding a dis- 
creditable marriage with Eleanor, daughter and heir of William, 
Duke of Guienne and Earl of Poitou, whom Louis VII. of France 
had divorced on account of the levity of her conduct. This mar- 
riage gave him possession of Guienne, Poitou, and other provinces 
in the south of France (1152). The lustre which he received 

E 2 



106 



STEPHEN. 



Chap. VI. 



from this acquisition, and the prospect of his rising fortune, had 
such an effect in England, that Henry was encouraged to make 
an invasion (1153). Having gained some advantage over Stephen 
at Malmesbury, a decisive action was every day expected; when 
the great men of both sides, terrified at the prospect of farther 
bloodshed and confusion, interposed with their good offices, and 
set on foot a negotiation between the rival princes. It was 
ao-reed that Stephen should possess the crown during his lifetime, 
and that upon his demise Henry should succeed to the kingdom. 
After all the barons had sworn to the observance of this treaty, 
and done homage to Henry, as to the heir of the crown, that 
prince evacuated the kingdom ; and the death of Stephen, which 
happened the next year after a short illness (October 25, 1154), 
prevented all those quarrels and jealousies which were likely to 
have ensued in so delicate a situation. 

England suffered great miseries during the reign of this prince ; 
but his personal character appears not liable to any great excep- 
tion. He was possessed of industry, activity, and courage to a 
great degree ; though not endowed with a sound judgment, he 
was not deficient in abilities ; he had the talent of gaining men's 
affections ; and, notwithstanding his precarious situation, he nev- 
er indulged himself in the exercise of any cruelty or revenge. 
He is commonly branded as a usurper ; but, as the right of direct 
lineal succession was not firmly established till the time of Ed- 
ward I., his seizing of the crown, regarded in itself, was no more 
an act of usurpation than that of his two predecessors. It was, 
however, a crime, inasmuch as he had sworn fealty to Matilda, 
the daughter of his benefactor. 




Eleanor, wile of Henry II. From her monument at Fontevraud. 



Chap. VI. 



CHRONOLOGY 



10^ 



CHKONOLOGY OF EEMAEKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

lOST. Accession of "SYilliam Eufus. 

1091. Cumberland reduced to an English 
county. 

1100. Eufus shot in the Ne-sr Forest. Acces- 
sion of Henry I. 

1106. Henry conquers Normandy and car- 
ries his brother Eobert prisoner to 
England. 



A.D. 

1135. Death of Henry I. Stephen seizes the 
vacant throne. 

1138. Battle of the Standard. 

1141. Stephen defeated and captured. Ma- 
tilda ascends the throne. 

1146. Matilda retires to Normandy. 

1154. Death of Stephen and accession of 
Heniy H. 




Henry II. From his monument at Fontevraud. 



CHAPTER VII. 

HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET. — HENRY II., AND RICHARD I. 
A.D. 1154-1199. 

§ 1. Accession of Henry II. First Acts of his Government. § 2. His 
Wars and Acquisitions in France. § 3. Ecclesiastical Disputes. Thom- 
as a Becket. § 4. Constitutions of Clarendon. § 5. Opposed by Becket. 
§ 6. Compromise with Becket and Return of that Prelate. § 7. Becket 
assassinated. § 8. Grief and Submission of the King. § 9. Conquest of 
Ireland. § 10. Revolt of Prince Henry and his Brothers. § 11. Henry's 
Penance at the Tomb of Becket. Peace with his Sons. § 1 2. Death of 
Prince Henry. § 13. Preparations for a Crusade. Family Misfortunes 
and Death of the King. His Character. § 14. Accession of Richard I. 
Preparations for a Crusade. § 15. Adventures on the Voyage. § 16. 
Transactions in Palestine. § 17. The King's Return and Captivity in 
Germany. His Brother John and Philip of France invade his Domin- 
ions. § 18. Liberation of Richard and Return to England. § 19. War 
with France. Death and Character of the King. 

§ 1. Heney ri., 1154-1189. — Henry II., who now ascended 
the throne, was tlie first monarch of the house of the Plantage- 
nets, whose name was derived from the planta genista, the Spanish 
broom-plant, a sprig of which was commonly worn by GeoiFrey, 
Henry's father, in his hat.* The Plantagenets reigned over En- 
gland for more than three centuries, and to this family all the En- 
glish monarchs belonged from Henry II. to Richard IH. (a.d. 

* The portrait of Geoffrey Plantagenet on the following page, of which 
the original is now in the museum of Le Mans, served formerly to ornament 
the tomb of Geoffrey in the cathedral of Le Mans. 



GEOFFREY PLANTAGENET. 



i-'^^'^'^'^'^w^''^,^' "ss;^ s=^ ^B^Ve^ ' 



EMSETVO pnirCEPSFmDOMVM 




Geoffrey Plantagenet, father of Henry II. 



110 HENRY II. Chap.VH. 

1154-1485); but on the death of Richard II. they were divided 
into the houses of Lancaster and York, to the former of which be- 
longed Henry IV., Henry V., and Henry VI. (1399-1471), and to 
the latter Edward IV., Edward V., and Richard III. (1471-1485). 
The first two Plantagenet monarchs were still Anglo-Norman 
princes ; and it is not before the reign of John that a new epoch 
commences in English history. 

No opposition was offered to the accession of Henry. He was 
in Normandy at the time of Stephen's death, and upon his arrival 
in England he was received with the acclamations of all orders of 
men, who swore with pleasure the oath of fealty and allegiance to 
him. He was crowned on the 19th of December. The first act 
of his government corresponded to the high idea entertained of his 
abilities, and prognosticated the re-establishment of justice and 
tranquillity, of which the kingdom had so long been bereaved. He 
immediately dismissed all those mercenary soldiers who had com- 
mitted great disorders in the nation ; he revoked all the grants 
made by his predecessor, even those which necessity had extorted 
from the Empress Matilda ; he repaired the coin, which had been 
extremely debased during the reign of his predecessor, and he took 
proper measures against the return of a like abuse. He was rig- 
orous in the execution of justice and in the suppression of rob- 
bery and violence ; and, that he might restore authority to the 
laws, he caused all the newly-erected castles to be demolished, 
which had proved so many sanctuaries to freebooters and rebels. 

§ 2. The Continental possessions of Henry were far more exten- 
sive than those of any of his predecessors. He was master, in the 
right of his father, of Anjou and Touraine ; in that of his mother, 
of Normandy and Maine ; in that of his wife, of Guienne, Poitou, 
Xaintogne, Auvergne, Perigord, Angoumois, the Limousin. These 
provinces composed above a third of the whole French monarchy, 
and were much superior, in extent and opulence, to those territo- 
ries which were subjected to the immediate jurisdiction and gov- 
ernment of the king. On the death of his brother Geoffrey in 
1158, Henry prepared to take possession of the county of Nantes, 
which had been put into Geoffrey's hands by the inhabitants, aft- 
er they had expelled their former prince. Count Hoel ; but which 
had been seized by Conan, Duke or Count of Brittany, on the pre- 
tense that it had been separated by rebellion from his principality. 
Lest Louis, the French king, should interpose in the controversy, 
Henry paid him a visit, and so allured him by caresses and civili- 
ties, that an alliance was contracted between them ; and they 
agreed that young Henry, heir to the English monarchy, should be 
affianced to Margaret of France, though the former was only five 
years of age and the latter was still in her cradle. Henry, now 



A.D. 1154-1162. THOMAS A BECKET. HI 

secure of meeting with no interruption on this side, advanced with 
his army into Brittany ; and Conan, in despair of being able to 
make resistance, not only delivered up the county of Nantes to 
him, but also betrothed his daughter and only child, yet an infant, 
to Geoffrey, the king's third son, who was of the same tender 
years. The Duke of Brittany died about seven years after ; and 
Henry, being mesne lord, and also natural guardian to his son and 
daughter-in-law, put himself in possession of that principality, and 
annexed it to his other great dominions. 

§ 3. In 1162 Henry commenced his long and memorable strug- 
gle with the papal power. On the death of Theobald, Archbishop 
of Canterbury, the king resolved to take rigorous measures against 
the multiplied encroachments of the clerg}' ; and that he might be 
secure against any opposition, he advanced to that dignity Becket, 
his chancellor, on whose compliance he thought he could entirely 
depend. 

Thomas a Becket, the first man of English descent who, since 
the Norman conquest, had, during the course of a whole century, 
risen to any considerable station, was born of reputable parents in 
the city of London ; and, being endowed with industry and capac- 
ity, he early insinuated himself into the favor of Archbishop 
Theobald, and obtained from that prelate some preferments and 
offices. By their means he was enabled to travel for improve- 
ment to Italy, where he studied the civil and canon law at Bologna; 
and on his return he appeared to have made such proficiency in 
knowledge, that he was promoted by his patron to the arch- 
deaconry of Canterbury, an office of considerable trust and profit. 
He was afterward employed with success by Theobald in transact- 
ing business p.t Eome ; and on Henry's accession was promoted 
by the influence of the archbishop to the dignity of chancellor. 
Besides exercising this high office, Becket was put in possession 
of large baronies that had escheated to the crown ; and to com- 
plete his grandeur, he was intrusted with the education of Piince 
Henry, the king's eldest son, and heir of the monarchy. The 
pomp of his retinue, the sumptuousness of his furniture, the lux- 
ury of his table, the munificence of his presents, corresponded to 
these great preferments, or, rather, exceeded any thing that En- 
gland had ever before seen in any subject. His historian and 
secretary, Eitz-Stephens, mentions, among other particulars, that 
his apartments were every day in winter covered with clean straw 
or hay, and in summer with green rushes or boughs, lest the gen- 
tlemen who paid court to him, and could not, by reason of their 
great number, find a place at table, should soil their fine clothes 
by sitting on a dirty floor. A great number of knights were re- 
tained in his service ; the greatest barons were proud of being re- 



112 HENRY II. Chap. VII. 

ceived at liis table ; his house was a place of education for the 
sons of the chief nobility ; and the king himself frequently vouch- 
safed to partake of his entertainments. 

Becket, who by his complaisance and good-humor had rendered 
himself agreeable, and by his industry and abilities useful, to his 
master, appeared to him the fittest person for supplying the va- 
cancy made by the death of Theobald. As he was well acquainted 
with the king's intentions of retrenching, or rather confining with- 
in the ancient bounds, all ecclesiastical privileges, Henry, who 
never expected any resistance from that quarter, immediately is- 
sued orders for electing him Archbishop of Canterbury (May 24, 
1162). But no sooner was Becket installed in this high dignity 
than he totally altered his demeanor and conduct. Without con- 
sulting the king, he immediately returned into his hands the com- 
mission of chancellor, pretending that he must thenceforth detach 
himself from secular affairs, and be solely employed in the exer- 
cise of his spiritual functions ; but in reality that he might break 
off all connections with Henry, and apprise him that Becket, as 
primate of England, was now become entirely a new personage. 
He maintained, in his retinue and attendants alone, his ancient 
pomp and lustre, which were useful to strike the vulgar ; in his 
own person he affected the greatest austerity and most rigid mor- 
tification, which, he was sensible, would have an equal or a great- 
er tendency to the same end. He wore sackcloth next his skin ; 
he changed it so seldom that it was filled with dirt and vermin ; 
his usual diet was bread, his drink water, which he even rendered 
unpalatable by the mixture of unsavory herbs ; he tore his back 
with the frequent discipline which he inflicted on it ; he daily on 
his knees washed, in imitation of Christ, the feet of, thirteen beg- 
gars, whom he afterward dismissed with presents ; and his aspect 
wore the appearance of seriousness and secret devotion. Becket 
waited not till- Henry should commence those projects against the 
ecclesiastical power which he knew had been formed by that 
prince ; he was himself the aggressor in several matters, and en- 
deavored to overawe the king by the intrepidity and boldness of 
his enterprises. 

The question between them was at length brought to an issue 
by the following case : A clerk in Worcestershire, having de- 
bauched a gentleman's daughter, had proceeded to murder the 
father ; and the general indignation against this crime moved the 
king to require that the clerk should be delivered up, and receive 
condign punishment from the magistrate. Becket insisted on the 
privileges of the Church ; confined the criminal in the bishop's 
prison, lest he should be seized by the king's officers ; maintained 
that no greater punishment could be inflicted on him than degra- 



A.D. 1162-1164. CONSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON. II3- 

dation ; and when the king demanded that, immediately after he 
was degraded, he should be tried by the civil power, the primate 
asserted that it was iniquitous to try a man twice upon the same 
accusation and for the same offense. 

§ 4. Henry, laying hold of so plausible a pretense, resolved to 
determine at once those controversies which daily multiplied be- 
tween the civil and the ecclesiastical jurisdictions. He summoned 
an assembly of all the prelates of England, and he put to them 
this concise and decisive question, Whether or not they Avere 
Avilling to submit to the ancient laws and customs of the kins;- 
dom ? The bishops unanimously replied that they were willing, 
saving their own order ; a device by which they thought to elude 
the present urgency of the king's demand, yet reserve to them- 
selves, on a favorable opportunity, the power of resuming all their 
pretensions. 

Henry was not content with a declaration in these general 
terms ; he resolved, ere it was too late, to define expressly those 
customs with which he required compliance. For this purpose 
he summoned a general council of the nobility and prelates at 
Clarendon (Jan. 25, 1164), in which the laws, commonly called 
the Constitutions of Clarendon, were voted without opposition. The 
articles, 16 in number, established the following principal points: 
Clerical offenders were again brought under secular jurisdiction, 
from which they had been removed at some period since the Con- 
quest. This step was imperatively demanded by the enormous 
increase of crime among the clergy, no fewer than 100 murders 
having been committed by men of that profession since the king's 
accession ; and as the spiritual courts could inflict only spiritual 
penalties, these crimes met with no adequate punishment. Other 
articles regarded the cognizance by civil courts of clerical contracts 
and rights of advowson. The king asserted the power of approv- 
ing the election of bishops, and of recei^dng their homage as bar- 
ons ; he forbade that any of his tenants in chief should be excom- 
municated without his consent, or that any of the clergy should 
leave the kingdom without his permission. At the same time 
was passed the Assize of Clarendon,"^ a series of regulations re- 
specting civil affairs, w^hich, however, w^as not confirmed till the 
year 1176. 

§ 5. Becket at first obstinately withheld his assent to the Con- 
stitutions ; but, finding himself deserted even by his own brethren, 
he was at last obliged to comply ; and he promised, legally, with 
good faith, and ivithout fraud or reserve, to observe the Constitu- 

* The Constitutions will be found in Lord Lyttelton's History of Henry 
II., App. to book iii., No. 2; the Assize in Palgrave's English Common- 
wealth, vol. ii., p. 168. 



114 HENRY n. Chap. VII. 

tions ; and he took an oath to that purpose. When the Pope, 
however, not only refused to ratify, but absolutely annulled the 
Constitutions, Becket expressed the deepest sorrow for his com- 
pliance, and endeavored to engage all the other bishops in a con- 
federacy to support their ecclesiastical privileges. On the other 
hand, Henry, being determined to prosecute the archbishop to the 
utmost, summoned, at Northampton, a great council, which he 
purposed to make the instrument of his vengeance against the in- 
flexible prelate (Oct. 12, 1164). Becket was condemned as guilty 
of a contempt of the king's court for not having personally ap- 
peared in a suit instituted against him respecting some lands, and 
as wanting in the fealty which he had sworn to his sovereign ; 
and all his goods and chattels were confiscated. The king, not 
content with this sentence, however violent and oppressive, farther 
demanded back from him, on various pretexts, several large sums 
of money ; and finally required him to give in the accounts of 
his administration while chancellor, and to pay the balance due 
from the revenues of all the prelacies, abbeys, and baronies, which 
had, during that time, been subjected to his management. Becket, 
by the advice of the Bishop of Winchester, offered 2000 marks as 
a general satisfaction for all demands ; but this offer was rejected 
by the king. After a few days spent in deliberation, Becket, 
having gone to church and said mass, proceeded thence to court, 
arrayed in his sacred vestments. As soon as he arrived within 
the palace gate he took the cross into his own hands, bore it aloft 
as his protection, and marched in that posture into the royal 
apartments. The king, who was in an inner room, was aston- 
ished at this parade, by which the primate seemed to menace him 
and his court with the sentence of excommunication ; and he sent 
some of the prelates to remonstrate with him on account of such 
audacious behavior. The king would probably have pushed the 
affair to the utmost extremity against him; but Becket asked 
Henry's immediate permission to leave Northampton ; and upon 
meeting with a refusal, he withdrew secretly, wandered about 
for some time disguised as a monk, under the name of Brother 
Christian, and at last took shipping and arrived safely at Grave- 
lines. " , 

§ 6. Louis, King of France, jealous of the rising greatness of 
Henry, and the Pope, whose interests were more immediately con- 
■ cerned in supporting Becket, received him with the greatest marks 
of distinction. A war ensued between Louis and Henry ; and 
the Pope menaced Henry with excommunication. But after three 
years' time peace was concluded between the two monarchs, and 
the Pope and Henry began at last to perceive that, in the' present 
situation of affairs, neither of them could expect a final and deci- 



A.D. 1164-117U. EXILE AND RETURN OF BECKET. 115 

sive victory over the other, and that they had more to fear than 
to hope from the duration of the controversy. After much nego- 
tiation, all difficulties were finally adjusted between the parties 
(1170), and the king allowed Becket to return, after he had been 
six years in banishment, on conditions which may be esteemed 
both honorable and advantageous to that prelate. But the king 
attained not even that temporary tranquillity which he had hoped 
to reap from these expedients. During the heat of his quarrel 
with Becket, while he was every day expecting an interdict to be 
laid on his kingdom, and sentence of excommunication to be ful- 
minated against his person, he had thought it prudent to have his 
son. Prince Henry, associated with him in the royalty, and to make 
him be croTvued king by the hands of Roger, Archbishop of York 
(June 15, 1170). But Becket, claiming the sole right, as Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, of officiating in the coronation, had inhib- 
ited all the prelates of England from assisting at this ceremony, 
and had procured fi'om the Pope a mandate to the same purpose. 
Henry had promised that the ceremony should be renewed ; but 
the violent spirit of Becket, elated by the porv^er of the Church, 
and by the victory which he had already obtained over his sover- 
eign, was not content with this voluntary compensation. On his 
arrival in England, at the beginning of December, he met the 
Archbishop of York and the bishops of London and Salisbury, 
who were on their journey to the, king in Normandy. He noti- 
fied to the archbishop the sentence of suspension, and to the two 
bishops that of excommunication, which, at his solicitation, the 
Pope had pronounced against them. He then proceeded, in the 
most ostentatious manner, to take possession of his diocese. In 
Rochester, and all the towns through which he passed, he was 
received with the shouts and acclamations of the populace. As 
he approached Southwark, the clergy, the laity, men of all ranks 
and ages, came forth to meet him, and celebrate with h}Tnns of 
joy his, triumphant entrance. 

§ 7. When the suspended and excommunicated prelates arrived 
at Baieux, where the king then resided, and complained to him 
of the violent proceedings of Becket, he instantly perceived the 
consequences ; and being vehemently agitated, burst forth into an 
exclamation against his servants, whose want of zeal, he said, had 
so long left him exposed to the enterprises of that ungrateful and 
imperious prelate. Four gentlemen of his household, Reginald 
Fitz-Urse, William de Tracy, Hugh de Moreville, and Richard 
Brito, or the Breton, taking these passionate expressions to be a 
hint for Becket's death, immediately communicated their thoughts 
to each other ; and swearing to avenge their prince's quarrel, 
secretly withdrew from court. Some menacing expressions which 



IIQ HENRY IL Chap. VII. 

they had dropped gave a suspicion of their design ; and the king 
dispatched a messenger after them, charging them to attempt 
nothing against the person of the primate ; but these orders ar- 
rived too late to prevent their fatal purpose. The four assassins, 
though they took different roads to England, arrived nearly about 
the same time at Saltwood, near Canterbury ; and, being there 
joined by some assistants, they proceeded in great haste to the 
archiepiscopal palace. They found the primate, who trusted en- 
tirely to the sacredness of his character, very slenderly attended ; 
and threw out many menaces and reproaches against him, requir- 
ing him, among other things, to quit the country, unless he con- 
sented to absolve the excommunicated prelates. Alarmed by the 
threats of the knights, the monks hurried the archbishop into the 
church, where vespers had already commenced. The assassins, 
who had retired to arm themselves, soon reappeared at the church 
door, which the monks would have fastened, but Becket forbade 
them to convert the house of God into a fortress. In the dim 
twilight the trembling monks concealed themselves under the al- 
tars and behind the pillars of the church. Becket met his mur- 
derers as he descended from the chapel of St. Benedict into the 
transept. Fitz-Urse, wielding in his hand a glittering axe, was 
the first to approach him, exclaiming, " Where is the traitor ? 
where is the archbishop ?" At the second call Becket replied, 
" Reginald, here I am ; no traitor, but the archbishop and priest 
of God ; what do you wish V and, passing by him, took up his 
station between the central pillar and the massive wall which still 
forms the southwest corner of what was then the chapel of St. 
Benedict. He was then again required to revoke the excommu- 
nication ; and on his giving another firm refusal, the assassins at- 
tempted to drag him out of the church in order to dispatch him 
beyond the sacred precincts. But Becket resisted with all his 
might, and, exerting his great strength, flung Tracy down upon 
the pavement. Finding it hopeless to remove him, Fitz-Urse 
approached him with his drawn sword, and, waving it over his 
head, merely dashed off his cap. Thereupon Tracy sprang for- 
ward and struck a more decisive blow. Grim, a monk of Cam- 
bridge, who up to this moment had his arm round Becket, threw 
it up to intercept the blade. The blow lighted upon the arm of 
the monk, which fell wounded or broken, and the spent force of 
the stroke descended on Becket's head, grazed the crown, and 
finally rested on the left shoulder, cutting through the clothes and 
skin. The next blow, whether struck by Tracy or Fitz-Urse, was 
only with the flat of the sword, and again upon the bleeding head, 
which Becket drew back, as if stunned, and then raised his clasped 
hands above it. The blood from the first blow was trickling down 



A.D. 1170. ASSASSINATION OF BECKET. II7 

his face in a thin streak ; he wiped it with his arm ; and when he 
saw the stain he said, '^ Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my 
spirit." At the third blow, which was also from Tracy, he sank 
on his knees, and murmured in a low voice, " For the name of 
Jesus and the defense of the Church I am willmg to die." With- 
out moving hand or foot, he fell flat on his face as he spoke, and, 
while in this posture, received from Eichard the Breton a tremen- 
dous blow upon the skull. A subdeacon named Hugh, an asso- 
ciate of the assassins, planting his foot on the neck of the corpse, 
caused the blood and brains to spirt out upon the pavement. This 
foul deed was perpetrated on Tuesday, the 29th December (a.d. 
1170), a day long memorable in England as the martyrdom of 
St. Thomas.* 

Thomas a Becket was a prelate of the most lofty, intrepid, 
and inflexible spirit, who was able to cover to the world, and 
probably to himself, the enterprises of pride and ambition under 
the disguise of sanctity and of zeal for the interests of religion. 
An extraordinary personage, surely, had he been allowed to re- 
main in his first station, and had directed the vehemence of his 
character to the support of law and justice, instead of being en- 
gaged by the prejudices of the times to sacrifice all private duties 
and public connections to ties which he imagined, or represented, 
as superior to every civil and political consideration. But no 
man who enters into the genius of that age can reasonably doubt 
of Becket's sincerity. 

§ 8. The intelligence of his murder threw the king into great 
consternation. The point of chief importance to Henry was to 
convince the Pope of his innocence, or, rather, to persuade him 
that he would reap greater advantages from the submission of 
England than from proceeding to extremities against that king- 
dom. By the skill of his embassadors he found means to appease 
the pontiff, whose anathemas were only leveled in general against 
all the actors, accomplices, and abettors of Becket's murder; but 
the cardinals Albert and Theodin were appointed legates to ex- 
amine the cause, and were ordered to proceed to Normandy for 
that purpose. The clergy, meanwhile, though their rage was 
happily diverted from falling on the king, were not idle in mag- 
nifying the sanctity of Becket. Endless were the panegyrics on 
his virtues, and numerous miracles were alleged to be wrought 
by his relics. Between two and three years after his death he 
was canonized by Pope Alexander ; his body was removed to a 
magnificent shrine, enriched with presents from all parts of 

* The preceding account of Becket's death is chiefly taken from Mr. 
Stanley's accurate and graphic narrative in his "Historical Memorials of 
Canterburv." 



118 HENRY II. Chap. VII. 

Christendom ; pilgrimages were performed to obtain his interces- 
sion with Heaven ; and it was computed that in one year above 
100,000 pilgrims arrived in Canterbury, and paid their devotions 
at his tomb. 

§ 9. As soon as Henry found that he was in no immediate 
danger from the thunders of the Vatican, he undertook a long- 
projected expedition against Ireland. 

As Britain was first peopled from Gaul, so was Ireland prob- 
ably from Britain. The Irish were converted to Christianity by 
St. Patrick about the middle of the 5th century; and as Ireland 
escaped the incursions of the barbarians who overran the rest of 
Europe, the ecclesiastics of that country had preserved a consid- 
erable share of learning when other nations were buried in igno- 
rance. The Irish schools were resorted to by foreigners, and Irish 
missionaries spread their religion and their learning over the Con- 
tinent of Europe. The invasion of the Danes and Northmen in 
the 8th century replunged Ireland into barbarism, from which, 
however, the towns which those invaders inhabited on the east 
coast were beginning to emerge. Besides many small tribes, 
there were, in the age of Henry II., five principal sovereignties 
in the island — Munster, Leinster, Meath, Ulster, and Connaught ; 
and as it had been usual for the one or the other of these to take 
the lead in their wars, there was commonly some prince who 
seemed, for the time, to act as monarch of Ireland. Roderick 
O'Connor, King of Connaught, was then advanced to this dig- 
nity ; but his government, ill obeyed even within his own terri- 
tory, could not unite the people in any measures, either for the 
establishment of order or for defense against foreigners. The 
ambition of Henry had, very early in his reign, been moved to 
attempt the subjecting of Ireland ; and a pretense was only want- 
ing to invade a people who, being always confined to their own 
island, had never given any reason of complaint to any of their 
neighbors. For this purpose he had recourse to Rome, which as- 
sumed a right to dispose of kingdoms and empires, and especially 
of islands, according to an alleged donation of Constantine. Ad- 
rian IV. (Breakspear), the only Englishman who has ever sat 
upon the papal throne, gladly availed himself of the opportunity 
of bringing the Irish Church under the dominion of Rome, and 
therefore, in the year 1156, issued a bull in favor of Henry, giv- 
ing him entire right and authority over the island. Henry, 
though armed with this authority, was prevented by various 
causes from putting his design into execution, and waited for a 
favorable opportunity of invading Ireland. 

Dermot Macmorrogh, King of Leinster, had carried ofi* Dover- 
gilda, wife of O'Ruarc, Prince of Breffhy, and thereby provoked 



A.D.1170. EXPEDITION AGAINST IRELAND. II9 

the resentment of the husband, who, having collected forces, and 
being strengthened by the alliance of Roderick, King of Con- 
naught, invaded the dominions of Dermot, and expelled him his 
kingdom. The exiled prince craved the assistance of Henry in 
restoring him to his sovereignty, and offered, on that event, to 
hold his kingdom in vassalage under the crown of England. 
Henry, being at the time embarrassed by the rebellions of his 
French subjects, as well as by his disputes with the see of Rome, 
gave Dermot no farther assistance than letters patent, by which 
he empowered all his subjects to aid the Irish prince in the re- 
covery of his dominions. Dermot, supported by this authority, 
formed a treaty with Richard de Clare of Strigul (Chepstow), 
surnamed Strongbow. This nobleman was the son of the Earl 
of Pembroke, but had impaired his fortune by expensive pleasures ; 
and being ready for any desperate undertaking, he promised as- 
sistance to Dermot on condition that he should espouse Eva, 
daughter of that prince, and be declared heir to all his dominions. 
While Richard was assembling his succors, Dermot also engaged 
the assistance of two other knights in South Wales, Robert Fitz- 
Stephens and Maurice Fitz-Gerald. In 1169 Fitz-Stephens cross- 
ed over to Ireland with a small force and took the town of Wa- 
terford, and was shortly afterward joined by Fitz-Gerald. In the 
following year Richard de Clare, having obtained an ambiguous 
permission from Henry to embark in the enterprise, landed in 
Ireland, took Dublin, and, marrying Eva, became soon after, by 
the death of Dermot, master of the kingdom of Leinster, and pre- 
pared to extend his authority over all Ireland. Roderick, and the 
other Irish princes, were alarmed at the danger ; and, combining 
together, besieged Dublin with an army of 30,000 men ; but Earl 
Richard, making a sudden sally at the head of 90 knights, with 
their followers, put this numerous army to rout, chased them off 
the field, and pursued them with great slaughter. None in Ire- 
land now dared to oppose themselves to the English. 

Henry, jealous of the progress made by his own subjects, sent 
orders to recall all the English, and determined to attack Ireland 
in person ; but Richard and the .other adventurers found means 
to appease him by making him the most humble submissions. 
The monarch landed in Ireland at the head of 500 knights, be- 
sides other soldiers ; he found the Irish so dispirited by their late 
misfortunes, that, in a progress which he had made through the 
island, he had no other occupation than to receive the homage- of 
his new subjects. He left most of the Irish chieftains or princes 
in possession of their ancient territories ;■ bestowed some lands on 
the English adventurers ; gave Earl Richard the commission of 
Seneschal of Ireland ; and, after a stay of a few months, returned 



120 HENRY II. Chap. VII. 

in triumph to England. By these trivial exploits, scarcely worth 
relating, except for the importance of the consequences, was Ire- 
land subdued and annexed to the English crown (1171-1172). 
On his return to Normandy in the spring of 1172, Henry met the 
papal legates, and having sworn on the relics of the saints that he 
had not commanded nor desired the death of the archbishop, and 
having also made various concessions to the Church, he received 
absolution from the legates, and was confirmed in the grant of 
Ireland made by Pope Adrian. 

§ 10. The king's precaution in establishing the several branch- 
es of his family seemed well calculated to prevent all jealousy 
among his children, and to perpetuate the greatness of his family. 
He had appointed Henry, his eldest son, to be his successor in the 
kingdom of England, the duchy of Normandy, and the counties 
of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine ; Richard, his second son, was in- 
vested in the duchy of Guienne, and county of Poitou ; Geoffrey, 
his third son, inherited, in right of his wife, the duchy of Brit- 
tany ; and the new conquest of Ireland was destined for the ap- 
panage of John, his fourth son. But his hopes were frustrated 
by the unnatural conduct of these very children. In 1173 his 
three eldest sons fled to the court of France, and demanded of 
their father immediate .possession of a portion, at any rate, of the 
territories promised to them. They had been encouraged in their 
filial disobedience by their mother, Eleanor, who had been offend- 
ed with her husband on account of his numerous amours, and at- 
tempted herself to fly to France, but was seized and thrown into 
confinement. Young Henry had also been instigated by his fa- 
ther-in-law. King Louis, who persuaded him that the fact of his 
having been crowned as king conferred upon him the right of 
participating in the throne. Many of the Norman nobility de- 
serted to Prince Henry ; and the Breton and Gascon barons seem- 
ed equally disposed to embrace the quarrel of Geoffrey and Rich- 
ard. Disaffection had crept in aniong the English ; and the earls 
of Leicester and Chester in particular had openly declared against 
the king. On the Continent, however, Henry obtained at all 
points, and without much difficulty, the advantage over his ene- 
mies ; and the chief hopes of the malcontents seemed now to de- 
pend on the state of affairs in England. William, King of Scot- 
land, had also entered into this great confederacy ; and a plan 
was concerted for a general invasion on different parts of the 
king's extensive and factious dominions. The King of Scots 
had crossed the border, the Flemings made a descent upon Suf- 
folk, and several of the counties were in open revolt. The be- 
lief again gained ground that the king had been privy to the 
murder of the archbishop, and that these disasters were a judg- 
ment upon him. 



A. D. 1170-1175. REVOLT OF THE KING'S SONS. 121 

§ 11. Under these circumstances Henry resolved to make a 
pilgrimage to the tomb of the martyr, and humble himself before 
the ashes of the saint. He crossed over from Normandy in 1174, 
and on July 12 entered Canterburj^ As soon as he came within 
sight of the cathedral he dismounted, walked barefoot toward it, 
prostrated himself before the shrine of the saint, remained in fast- 
ing and prayer during a whole day, and watched all night the holy 
relics. He even submitted to a penance still more singular and 
humiliating. He assembled a chapter of the monks, disrobed him- 
self before them, put a scourge of discipline into the hands of each, 
and presented his bare shoulders to the lashes which these ecclesi- 
astics successively inflicted upon him. Next day he received ab- 
solution ; and, departing for London, got soon after the agreeable 
intelligence of a great victory which his generals had obtained over 
the Scots at Alnwick, and of the capture of their king William. 
As this victory was gained on the very day of his absolution, it 
was regarded as the earnest of his final reconciliation with Heaven 
and with Saint Thomas. This great and important victory proved 
at last xJlecisive in favor of Henry, and entirely broke the spirit of 
the EngUsh rebels, who hastened to make their submissions. Louis 
was glad to conclude a peace with Henry; his sons returned to 
their obedience ; and AVilliam, King of Scotland, was compelled 
with all his barons and prelates to do homage to Henry in the 
cathedral of York, and to acknowledge him and his successors for 
their superior lord (1175). Berwick and Roxburgh were ceded to 
the English monarch, and the castle of Edinburgh was placed in 
his hands for a limited time. This was the first great ascendant 
which England obtained over Scotland ; and, indeed, the first im- 
portant transaction which had passed between the kingdoms. 

§ 12. Henry, having thus, contrary to expectation, extricated 
himself with honor from a situation in which his throne was ex- 
posed to great danger, was employed for several years in the in- 
ternal administration of his kingdom. One of the most important 
of his enactments was the appointment of itinerant justices, of 
which institution an account is given at the close of this book.* 
Another was the substitution in certain cases of a trial by sixteen 
sworn recognitors in place of the trial by battle. These recog- 
nitors were taken from the county in which the case was to be 
tried, and bear a close analogy to a modern jury-t 

The success which had attended Henry in his wars did not 
much encourage his neighbors to form any attempt against him ; 
and his transactions with them, during several years, contain little 
memorable. He sent over his fourth son, John, into Ireland with 
a view of making a more complete conquest of the island ; but the 
* Seap. 131. . t Ibid. 

F 



122 HENRY II. Chap.VII. 

petulance and incapacity of this prince, by whicli lie enraged the 
Irish chieftains, obliged the king soon after to recall him. The 
latter years of Henry's reign were imbittered by the renewed re- 
bellion of his sons, and by their quarrels with one another. In 
1183 Prince Henry was seized with a fatal illness in the midst of 
his criminal designs, and died expressing deep sorrow for his filial 
ingratitude. Richard and Geoffrey made war upon each other ; 
and when this quarrel was accommodated, Geoffrey, the most vi- 
cious perhaps of all Henry's unhappy family, levied forces against 
his father. Henry was freed from this danger by his son's death, 
who was killed in a tournament at Paris (1186). 

§ 13. In the year 1187 the city of Jerusalem fell into the hands 
of Sultan Saladin. A new crusade was determined upon. The 
French and English monarchs and the Emperor Frederick Bar- 
barossa took the cross. In the midst of these preparations Prince 
Richard, who was supported by Philip of France, again took up 
arms against his -father (1188). After much fruitless negotiation 
the King of England was obliged to defend his dominions by arms, 
and to engage in a war with France, and with his son, in which 
Ids reverses so subdued his spirit that he submitted to all the rig- 
orous terms which were imposed upon him. But the mortifica- 
tion which Henry received from these terms was the least that he 
met with on this occasion. When he demanded a list of those 
barons to whom he was bound to grant a pardon for their connec- 
tions with Richard, he was astonished to find at the head of them 
the name of his favorite son John. The unhappy father, already 
overloaded with cares and sorrows, finding this last disappoint- 
ment in his domestic tenderness, broke out into expressions of the 
utmost despair, cursed the day in which he received his miserable 
being, and bestowed on his ungrateful and undutiful children a 
malediction which he never could be prevailed on to retract. This 
finishing blow, by depriving him of every comfort in life, quite 
broke his spirit and threw him into a lingering fever, of which he 
expired at the castle of Chinon near Saumur (July 6, 1189). His 
natural son, Geoffrey, who alone had behaved dutifully toward 
liim, attended his corpse to Fontevraud, where it lay in state in 
the abbey church. Next day Richard, who came to visit the 
dead body of his father, was struck with horror and remorse at 
the sight ; and he expressed a deep sense, though too late, of that 
undutiful behavior which had brought his parent to an untimely 
grave. Thus died, in the 58th year of his age, and 34th of his 
reign, the greatest prince of his time for wisdom, virtue, and abil- 
ities. He was of a middle stature, strong, and Avell proportioned ; 
his countenance was lively and engaging ; his conversation affable 
and entertaining ; his elocution easy, persuasive, and ever at com- 



A.D. 1175-1189. 



ACCESSION OF RICHARD I. 



123 



inand. He loved peace, but possessed both bravery and conduct 
in war ; was provident without timidity, severe in the execution 
of justice without rigor, and temperate without austerity. He 
preserved health, and kept himself from corpulency, to which he 
was somewhat inclined, by an abstemious diet, and by frequent 
exercise, particularly hunting. Henry had five sons by Eleanor, 
of whom only two, Richard and John, survived him. Of his 
natural children the most distinguished were his two sons by the 
" fair" Rosamond, daughter of Walter Clifford, a baron of Here- 
fordshire. The celebrated story of the labyrinth at Woodstock 
and of the tragic fate of Rosamond is an invention of later times. 
Her elder son William, who received the surname of Longsword, 
married the daughter of the Earl of Salisbury. Her youngest son 
Geoffrey, already mentioned, became Bishop of Lincoln and Ai'ch- 
bishop of York. 




Kichard I. From his monument at Fontevraud. 



§ 14. Richard L, 1189-1199. The compunction of Richard 
for his undutiful behavior toward his father was durable, and in- 
fluenced him in the choice of liis ministers. The faithful servants 
of Henry, who had vigorously opposed all the enterprises of his 
sons, were received with open arms, and were continued in those 
offices which they had honorably discharged to their former mas- 
ter. One of Richard's first acts was to send orders for releasing 
his mother Eleanor from the confinement in which she had long- 
been detained by Henry. 

The history of Richard's reign consists of little more than his 
personal adventures. Impelled more by the love of military 



124 RICHARD I. Chap. VII. 

glory than by superstition, he acted as if the sole purpose of his 
government had been the rehef of the Holy Land, and the recov- 
ery of Jerusalem from the Saracens. This zeal against infidels, 
being communicated to his subjects, broke out in London on the 
day of his coronation (Sept. 3). The king had issued an edict 
prohibiting Jews from appearing at his coronation ; but some of 
them, bringing him large presents from their nation, presumed, in 
confidence of that merit, to approach the hall in which he dined : 
being discovered, they were exposed to the insults of the by-stand- 
ers ; they took to flight ; the people pursued them ; the rumor 
was spread that the king had issued orders to massacre all the 
Jews ; a command so agreeable was executed in an instant on 
such as fell into the hands of the populace, who, moved by rapac- 
ity and zeal, broke into their houses, which they plundered, after 
having murdered the owners. The inhabitants of the other cities of 
England imitated the example ; in York 500 Jews, who had retired 
into the castle for safety, and found themselves unable to defend 
the place, murdered their own wives and children, and then, set- 
ting fire to the houses, perished in the flames. 

The king, negligent of every consideration but his present ob- 
ject, endeavored to raise money by all expedients, how pernicious 
soever to the public, or dangerous to royal authority. He put to 
sale the revenues and manors of the crown, and the ofiices of 
greatest trust and power; and even sold, for so small a sum as 
10,000 marks, the vassalage of Scotland, together with the for- 
tresses of Roxburgh and Berwick, the greatest acquisition that 
had been made by his father during the course of his victorious 
reign. Leaving the administration in the hands of the bishops of 
Durham and Ely, whom he appointed justiciaries and guardians 
of the realm, Richard proceeded to the plains of Vezelay, on the 
borders of Burgundy, the place of rendezvous agreed on with the 
French king. Philip and Richard, on their arrival there (29th 
June, 1190), found their combined army amount to 100,000 men. 

§ 15. The French prince and the English here reiterated their 
promises of cordial friendship, and pledged their faith not to in- 
vade each other's dominions during the crusade. They then sep- 
arated ; Philip took the road to Genoa, Richard that to Mar- 
seilles, with a view of meeting their fleets, which were severally 
appointed to rendezvous in these harbors. They put to sea ; and, 
nearly about the same time, were obliged, by stress of weather, to 
take shelter in Messina, where they were detained during the 
whole winter. Here Richard was joined by Berengaria, daughter 
of the King of Navarre, with whom he had become enamored in 
G-uienne. In the spring of the following year (1191), the English 
fleet, on leaving the port of Messina, met with a furious tempest, 



A.D. 1189-1192. CRL'SADE. 125 







Berengaria. 

and the squadron in which Berengaria and her suite were em- 
barked was driven on the coast of Cyprus. In consequence of 
their inhospitable treatment by Isaac, the ruler of Cyprus, Rich- 
ard landed on the island, dethroned Isaac, and established govern- 
ors over the island. Eichard then espoused Berengaria (May 
12), and immediately afterward sailed for Palestine. 

§ 16. The arrival of Philip and Richard inspired new life into 
the Christians. The emulation between those rival kings and 
rival nations produced extraordinary acts of valor : Richard in 
particular drew to himself the general attention, and acquired a 
great and splendid reputation. Acre, which had been attacked 
for above two years by the united force of all the Christians in 
Palestine, now sui^rendered ; but Philip, instead of pursuing the 
hopes of farther conquest, being disgusted Avith the ascendant as- 
sumed and acquired by Richard, declared his resolution of return- 
ing to France. The Christian adventurers under Richard's com- 
mand determined, on opening the campaign, to attempt the siege 
of Ascalon, in order to prepare the way for that of Jerusalem ; 
and they marched along the sea-coast with that intention. The 
march of 100 miles from Acre to Ascalon was a great and per- 
petual battle of 11 days. Ascalon fell into the hands of the 
Christians ; other sieges were carried on with equal success ; Rich- 
ard was even able to advance within sight of Jerusalem, the ob- 
ject of his enterprise ; when he had the mortification to find that, 
from the irresistible desire of all his allies to return home, there 
appeared an absolute necessity of abandoning for the present all 
hopes of farther conquest, and of securing the acquisitions of the 
Christians by an accommodation with Saladin. Richard there- 
fore concluded a truce with that monarch (1192), and stipulated 
that Acre, Joppa, and other sea-port tow^ns of Palestine should 



126 RICHARD I. Chap. VII. 

remain in the hands of the Christians, and that every one of that 
religion should have liberty to perform his pilgrimage to Jerusa- 
lem unmolested. 

§ 17. There remained, after the truce, no business of importance 
to detain Richard in Palestine ; and the intelligence which he re- 
ceived, concerning the intrigues of his brother John, and those of 
the King of France, made him sensible that his presence was nec- 
essary in Europe. As he dared not to pass through France, he 
sailed to the Adriatic ; and, being shipwrecked near Aquileia, he 
put on the disguise of a pilgrim, with the purpose of taking his 
journey secretly through Germany. At Vienna his expenses and 
Uberalities betrayed the monarch in the habit of the pilgrim, and 
he was arrested by orders of Leopold, Duke of Austria (Dec. 20, 
1192), who had served under Kichard in Palestine, and had been 
disgusted by some insult of that haughty monarch. The emperor, 
Henry VL, required the royal captive to be delivered to him, and 
detained him in a castle in the Tyrol. The English learned the 
captivity of their king from a letter which the emperor sent to 
Philip, King of France. =^ The news excited the greatest indig- 
nation in England ; and it seemed incredible that the champion 
of the cross should be treated with such indignity. Philip hasten- 
ed to profit by the circumstance, and formed a treaty with John, 
of which the object was the perpetual ruin of Eichard. Philip, 
in consequence, invaded Normandy, but was driven out of the 
province with loss ; and John was equally unsuccessful in his en- 
terprises in England. The justiciaries, supported by the general 
affection of the people, provided so well for the defense of the 
kingdom, that John was obliged, after some fruitless efforts, to 
conclude a truce with them. 

§ 18. Meanwhile the high spirit of Eichard suffered in Ger- 
many every kind of insult and indignity. He was even produced 
before the diet of the empire at Worms, and accused by Henry of 
many crimes and misdemeanors (May 20, 1193) ; but Eichard, 
whose spirit was not broken by his misfortunes, after premising 
that his dignity exempted him from answering before any juris- 
diction, except that of Heaven, yet condescended, for the sake of 
his reputation, to justify his conduct before that great assembly ; 
and his spirit and eloquence made such impression on the Ger- 
man princes, that they exclaimed loudly against the conduct of 
the emperor. The Pope also threatened him with excommuni- 
cation ; and Henry at last agreed to restore Eichard to his free- 
dom for the sum of 150,000 marks, about 300,000 pounds of our 

* The well-known story of the discorery of Richard's place of confine- 
ment by his page singing a song under his windoAv rests on no historical au- 
thority, and owes its origin to a French romance of the 13th century. 



A.D. 1192-1194. CAPTIVITY OF RICHARD. 127 

present, money, of which 100,000 marks were to be paid before 
he received his liberty, and 67 hostages delivered for the remain- 
der. His escape was very critical ; for Henry, having determ- 
ined to violate the treaty for the sake of farther advantages, 
gave orders that Eichard should be pursued and arrested. But 
the king, making all imaginable haste, had already embarked at 
the mouth of the Scheldt, and was out of sight of land when 
the messengers of the emperor reached Antwerp. As soon as 
Philip heard of the king's deliverance from captivity, he wrote to 
his confederate John in these terms : Take care of yourself; the 
devil is broken loose. The joy of the English was extreme on the 
appearance of their monarch (1194), who had suffered so many 
calamities, who had acquired so much glory, and who had spread 
the reputation of their name into the farthest East, whither their 
fame had never before been able to extend. The barons, in a 
great council, confiscated, on account of his treason, all Prince 
John's possessions in England ; and they assisted the king in re- 
ducing the fortresses which still remained in the hands of his 
brother's adherents. 

§ 19. Kichard, having settled every thing in England, passed 
over with an army into Normandy, being impatient to make war 
on Philip, and to revenge himself for the many injuries which he 
had received from that monarch. Yet the incidents which at- 
tended these hostilities were mean and frivolous ; and the war, 
frequently interrupted by truces, was continued till within a short 
period of Kichard's death. Richard was wounded in the shoulder 
with an arrow while besieging the castle of Chalus, belonging to 
his vassal Vidomar, Viscount of Limoges, who had refused to sur- 
render a treasure which he had discovered. The castle was taken, 
and all the garrison hanged, except the archer, Bertrand de Gour- 
don, who had wounded Richard, and whom the king reserved for 
a more deliberate and more cruel execution. The wound was not 
in itself dangerous, but the unskillfulness of the surgeon made it 
mortal ; he so rankled Richard's shoulder in pulling out the ar- 
row, that a gangrene ensued ; and that prince was now sensible 
that his life was drawing toward a close. He sent for Gourdon, 
and asked him, " Wretch, what have I ever done to you to oblige 
you to seek my life f " What have you done to me?" replied 
coolly the prisoner ; " you killed with your own hands my father 
and my two brothers, and you intended to have hanged myself. 
I am now in your power, and you may take revenge by inflicting 
on me the most severe torments ; but I shall endure them all with 
pleasure, provided I can think that I have been so happy as to rid 
the world of such a nuisance." Richard, struck with the reason- 
ableness of this reply, and humbled by the near approach of death, 



128 



RICHARD 1. 



Chap. VII. 



ordered Gourdon to be set at liberty and a sum of xnoney to be 
given him ; but, unknown to the monarch, the unhappy man was 
tiayed alive, and then hanged. Richard died on the Sth of April, 
1199, in the tenth year of his reign, and the 42d of his age. He 
left no issue behind him. 

The most shining parts of this prince's character are his mili- 
tary talents. No man, even in that romantic age, carried per- 
sonal courage and intrepidity to a greater height ; and this qual- 
ity gained him the appellation of the lion-hearted, coeur cle lion. 
He passionately loved glory, chiefly military glory ; and as his 
conduct in the field was not inferior to his valor, he seems to 
have possessed every talent necessary for acquiring it. Of an im- 
petuous and vehement spirit, he was distinguished by all the good 
as well as the bad qualities incident to that character ; he was 
open, frank, generous, sincere, and brave ; he was revengeful, 
domineering, ambitious, haughty, and cruel, and was thus better 
calculated to dazzle men by the splendor of his enterprises, than 
either to promote their happiness or his own grandeur by a sound 
and well-regulated policy. King Richard was a passionate lover 
of poetry — there even remain some poetical works of his compo- 
sition ; and he bears a rank among the Provencal poets, or Trou- 
badours, who were the first of the modern Europeans that distin- 
guished themselves by attempts of that nature. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1154. 
11C4. 



IITO. 

1171. 
1113. 

1174. 



Accession of Henry II. 

The ConHtitutions of Clarendoyi pas.s- 
ed. The council of Northampton con- 
demns Archbishop Becket, who fiies 
abroad. 

Return of Becket. Ilis assassina- 
tion. 

Conquest of Ireland. 

Revolt of Prince Henry and his broth- 
ers. 

Penance of the king at the tomb of 



Becket. William, King of Scots de- 
feated- and captured at Alnwick. 
1189. Death of Henry II. and accession of 
Richard I. 
" Persecution and massacre of the Jews. 

1191. Richard conquers Cyprus. Arrives in 

the Holy Land. 

1192. Richard seized and confined in Ger- 

many. 
1194. Returns to England. 
1199. Death of Richard. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. THE ANGLO-NORMAN CONSTITU- 
TION. 

1. The feudal system. — While the barba- 
rous tribes which overran Europe after the 
fall of the Roman empire were wandering 
from clime to clime in search of subsistence, 
every individual claimed an equal share of 
liberty; and thus, when Charles the Simple 
inquired of the Northmen what title their 
leader bore, they replied, "•None, we are all 
equally free." But when they were settled 



in the possessions Avon with their swords they 
found new cares devolve upon them, and the 
necessity of a new system of polity. Having 
abandoned their life of wandering and brig- 
andage, it became necessary not only to cul- 
tivate the land for a subsistence, but to be 
prepared to defend it both against the at- 
tempts of the ancient possessors to regain, 
and of fresh swarms of wanderers to seize it. 
Still retaining their military character, and 
ignorant alike of systems of finance and the 
expedient of a standing army, each man held 



Chap. VII. 



ANGLO-NORMAN CONSTITUTION. 



129 



himself in readiness to obey the call to serv- 
ice in the field. The superior officers, who 
held large territories directly from the prince, 
were bound to appear -w-ith a proportionate 
number of followers ; and these followers held 
their lands from their immediate lord on the 
same condition. Tluis, as Dr. Robertson ob- 
serves, '■'■ a feudal kingdom was properly the 
encampment of a great amry ; military ideas 
predominated, military subordination was 
establislied, and the possession of land was 
the pay wliich the soldiers received for their 
personal sei"vice." Tlie possessions held by 
tljese tenures were called jiefs^ or benejicia. 
The vassal who held them was not only 
bound to mount his horse and follow liis lord, 
or suzerain, to the wars, but also to assist 
him with his counsel, and to attend as an 
assessor in his courts of justice. More special 
and definite services were — to guard the cas- 
tle of his lord a certain number of days in 
the year; to pay a certain sum of money 
•\vlien his suzerain's eldest son was made a 
knight, and his eldest daughter was married ; 
and to contribute to his ransom in case he 
was taken prisoner in war. In return for 
these sei'\'ices the lord was bound to afford 
his vassal protection in case of his fief being 
attacked; while the defense of each other's 
person was reciprocal. Tlie natural conse- 
quence of this «w'as the system called '•'• sub- 
infeudation," by which tlie immediate holder 
parceled out portions of liis fief to others on 
the same conditions of tenure by which he 
held it liimself. Tliese sub-tenants owed to 
him the same duties which he owed to his 
lard, and he held his own court of justice, in 
which he exercised jurisdiction over his vas- 
sals. The few lands that remained free, that 
is, which M'ere not bound to render service 
to a superior lord, or suzerain, though liable 
to burdens for the public defense, were called 
alodial in contradistinction to feudal. 

The ceremony by which the vassal ac- 
knoM'ledged his feudal dependence and ob- 
ligations was called homage, from homo^i a 
man, because the vassal became the man of 
his lord. Homage was accompanied with an 
oath of fealty on the part of the vassal, and 
investiture on the part of the loi"d, whicli was 
the conveying of possession of the fief by 
means of some pledge or token. Homage 
was of two kinds, liege and simple. Liege 
homage (from Lat. ligare^ Fr. ??er, to bind) 
not only obliged the liege man to do personal 
sei'vice in the anny, but also disabled him 
from renouncing his vassality by surrender- 
ing his fief. The liege man took tlie oath of 
fealty on his knees without sword and spurs, 
and with his hands placed between those of 
his lord. The vassal Avho rendered simple 
homage had the power of finding a substitute 
for military service, or could altogether lib- 
erate himself by the surrender of his fief. In 
simple homage the vassal took the oath stand- 
ing, girt with his sword and with his hands 
at liberty. 

The aristocratical nature of feudalism will 
readily be inferred from the preceding de- 
scription. The great chief, residing in his 
country-seat, which he was commonly al- 
lowed to fortify, lost in a great meastire his 



connection or acquaintance with the prince, 
and added every day new force to Ms author- 
ity over the vassals of his barony. They re- 
ceived from liirn education in all military en- 
tei-prises ; his hospitality invited tliem to live 
and enjoy society in his hall; their leisure, 
which was great, made them perpetual re- 
tainers on has person, and partakers of his 
country sports and amusements; they had 
no means of gratifying their ambition but by 
making a figure in his train; his favor and 
countenance was their greatest lionor; his 
displeasure exposed them to contempt and 
ignominy; and they felt every moment the 
necessity of his protection, both in the con- 
troversies which occurred with otlier vassals, 
and, what was more material, in tlie daily 
inroads and injuries whicli were committed 
by the neighboring barons. From these 
causes not only was the royal authority ex- 
tremely eclipsed in most of the European 
states, but even the military vassals, as well 
as the lower dependents and serfs, were held 
in a state of subjection from which nothing 
could free them but the progress of commerce 
and the rise of cities, the true strong-holds of 
freedom. 

2. Fetidalism in England. — The introduc- 
tion of feudalism was one of the principal 
changes effected in England by the Conquest. 
The king became the supreme lord of all the 
land ; whence Coke says, '■'■ All the lands and 
tenements in England in the hands of sub- 
jects are holden mediately or immediately 
of the king; for in the law of England we 
have not properly allodium." (Coke upon 
Littleton, i., 1.) Even the Saxon landholders 
who were not deprived of their lands were 
brought under the system of feudal tenure, 
and were subjected to services and imposts 
to which they were not before liable; but 
most of the manors were bestowed upon the 
Normans, who tlius held immediately of the 
king, and were hence called Tenants in Ca~ 
pits or Tenants in chief. But though the An- 
glo-Saxon thane was reduced to the condition 
of a simple freeholder, or franklin, and though 
tlie Norman lord perhaps retained a certain 
portion of his estate as demesne land, yet the 
latter had no possessoiy right in the whole, 
and the estate was not therefore so profitable 
to him as might at first siglit appear. The 
tenant-in-chief was bound to kniyht service^ 
or the obligation to maintain, 40 days in the 
field, a certain number of cavaliers complete- 
ly equipped, raised from his under-tenants. 
Even religious foundations and monasteries 
were liable to this service, the only exception 
being the tenure of frankalmoign., or free 
alms. Eveiy estate of 20 pounds yearly 
value was considered as a knight's fee, and 
was bound to furnish a soldier. The tenants- 
in-chief appear from Domesday-Book to have 
amounted, in the reign of William the Con- 
queror to about 1400, including the numerous 
ecclesiastical foundations. The number of 
mesne lords, or those holding fiefs not direct- 
ly from the king, Avas about SOOO. 

There were peculiarities in the feudal sys- 
tem of Normandy itself which -were intro- 
duced by WUliam into England. According 
to the eenerallv received principle of feuds, 

F 2 



130 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. VII. 



the oath of the vassal was due only to the 
lord of -whom he immediately held. But 
William, as already related, exacted the oath 
of fealty from all the landowners of England, 
as well those who held in capite as the un- 
der-tenants. In doiag this he seems to have 
heen guided by the custom of Normandy, 
where the duke had immediate jurisdiction 
over all his subjects.* Hence William's 
power was much greater than that of the 
feudal sovereigns of the Continent, and the 
constitution approached more to an absolute 
despotism. The great fiefs of England did 
not, like those of France, date theii- origin in 
a period when the power of the vassal who 
received them was almost equal to that of the 
sovereign who bestowed them; but being 
distributed on the same occasion, and almost 
at the same time, William took care not to 
make them so large as to be dangerous to 
himself; for which reason also the manors 
assigned to his followers were dispersed in 
different counties. Hence the nobles in En- 
gland never attained that pitch of power 
which they possessed in Germany, France, 
and Spain ; nor do we find them defying the 
sovereign's jurisdiction, as was very common 
"in those countries, by the right of carrying 
on private wars among themselves. 

3. The Great Council or Parliament. — 
The supreme legislative power of England 
was lodged in the king and the Great Coun- 
cil of the realm, called Commune Concilitim 
Jtegni., and also Curia Regis., and at a later 
time Parliament. The Great Council was 
attended by the archbishops, bishops, and 
principal abbots, and also by the Greater 
Barons. '•'' The great tenants of the crown 
were of two descriptions- -those who held by 
Knight Service in Capite, and those who held 
also in Capite by Grand Sergeantry, so call- 
ed, says Littleton, from being a greater and 
more worthy sei'vice than Knight Service — 
attending the king not only in war but in 
his court. ... To both descriptions of ten- 
ants the word Baeon, in its more extended 
sense of a lord of the manor, was applicable ; 
but the latter only, those who held of the 
king by Grand Sergeantry, held their lands 
per Baroniam., and Avere the King's Barons, 
and as such possessed both a civil and crim- 
inal jurisdiction, each in his Curia Baronis, 
or Court Baron, while the Lesser Barons had 
only a civil jurisdiction over then- vassals. 
To both ranks alike pertained the service of 
attending the sovereign in war with a certain 
number of knights, according to the number 
of Knights' Fees holden of the Crown ; and 
to those who held per baroniam was annexed 
the duty also of attending him in his Great 
Councils, afterward designated Parliaments ; 
for it was the principle of the feudal system 
that every tenant should attend the court of 
his immediate superior, and hence it was 
that he who held per baroniam, having no 
superior but the crown, was bound to attend 
his sovereign in his Great Council or Parlia- 
ment, which was in fact the Great Court 
Baron of the Realm" (Nicolas, Historic Peer- 

* See Howard, Anc. Lois des Francois, i., p. 196, 
ap. Thorpe; Lappenberg's Anglo-Norman Kings, p. 
95. Comp. Hallam, Middle Ages, vol i., p. 168. 



age of England., ed. by Courthope, p. xviii.). 
This passage is quoted as a clear exposition 
of a difficult question ; but there is reason to 
believe that the lesser barons were some- 
times summoned, and particularly when 
taxes were to be imposed; for as the crown 
had only the right to exact from its imme- 
diate tenants the customary feudal aids, it 
became necessary, when the crown needed 
any extraordinary aid, to summon all the 
chief ten mts in order to obtain their consent 
to the imposition. It was once disputed with 
great acrimony whether the Commons or 
representatives of counties and borou^s 
fonned a part of the Great Council ; but it 
is now universally acknowledged that they 
were not admitted into it till the reign of 
Henry III., and that the tenants alone of the 
crown composed that supreme and legislative 
assembly under the Anglo-Norman kings. 

Mr. Hallam has summed up the constitu- 
tion of this national assembly down to the 
reign of John as follows: '•'1. The Norman 
kings explicitly renounced all prerogative of 
levying money on the immediate militaiy 
tenants of the crown without their consent 
given in a great councU of the realm; this 
immunity extending also to their sub-tenants 
and dependents. 2. All these tenants in 
chief had a constitutional right to attend, 
and ought to be summoned"; but whether 
they could attend without a summons is not 
manifest. 3. The summons was usually di- 
rected to the higher barons, and to such of a 
second class as the king pleased, many being 
omitted for different reasons, though all had 
a right to it. 4. On occasions when money 
was not to be demanded, but alterations 
made in the law, some of these second bar- 
ons, or tenants in chief, were at least occa- 
sionally summoned, but whether by strict 
right or usage does not fully appear. 5. The 
iiTegularity of passing over many of them 
when councils were held for the purpose of 
levying mcncy, led to the provision in the 
Great Charter of John by which the king 
promises thatthey shall be summoned through 
the sheriff on such occasions ; but the prom- 
ise does not extend to any other subject of 
parliamentary deliberation." {Middle Ages., 
iii., p. 213.) 

Under the Conqueror and his sons it was 
customary to assemble such councils at the 
three great festivals of Christmas, Easter, 
and Whitsuntide, and on other occasions 
when needed. It does not, however, appear 
probable that such a council should have as- 
sembled so frequently in any large numbers, 
and though its existence indicates some lim- 
itation of the royal prerogative in the matter 
of legislation, yet it can not be determined 
how far its assent was necessary to the mak- 
ing of laws. 

4. Legislation. — There was, indeed, little 
or no legislation under the early Norman 
kings ; for the charters and other acts Avhich 
they passed AVere rather confirmations of an- 
cient privileges than neAV enactments. Even 
in Normandy itself there seems to be no trace 
of Norse jurisprudence, norpf etats nor courts, 
previous to the conquest of England ; the laAv 
seems to have lain in the breast of the sov- 



Chap. VII. 



ANGLO-NORMAN CONSTITUTION. 



131 



ereign. (Palgrave, ^onnandy and England^ 
ii., 25S.) There is at all events no monu- 
ment of jurisprudence previous to that epoch ; 
and though a similarity may be subsequent- 
ly traced bet^veen the English and Xorman 
laws, yet England indisputably gave more 
than she boiTowed. Learned men have even 
maintained that the famous Xorman code 
called the Grand Cofituniie); or great cus- 
tomary, -was of Anglo-Saxon origin ; nay, the 
later Normans claimed Magna Charta as the 
foundation of their franchises.* In England 
the earliest legislation of the Norman sover- 
eigns must be refeiTed to the time of Henry 
IL, and most of the changes ascribed to the 
Conqueror were not effected before that 
reign, t 

5. Courts of Justice. — Besides the Great 
Council of the Realm, the king had an ordi- 
nary or select council, for administrative and 
judicial purposes, which was also called Cu- 
ria or Aula Regis (the King's Court). It 
attended the person of the sovereign, and 
was composed of the great officers of state : 
as the chief justiciar}-,t chancellor, con.?table, 
marshal, chamberlain, treasurer, steward, 
and others nominated bj' the king. These 
were his councilors in political matters, and 
also the supreme court of justice of the 
kingdom, in which the king sometimes sat 
in person. A particular branch, called the 
Court of Exdiequer^i was established in very 
early times for the administration of all mat- 
ters connected with the revenue. Its exist- 
ence can at all events be traced to the reign 
of Henry I. By degrees, when suits began 
to multiply in the king's court, and pleadings 
became more technical and intricate, another 
branch was detached for the decision of pri- 
vate suits, which was called the Court of 
Common Pleas, "t seems to have its be- 
ginning in the reign of Richard I. ; but it 
was completely established by Magna Charta, 
of which the 14th clause enacted, '•'• Common 
Pleas shall not follow our eoarl, but be held 
in some certain place." The Court of King's 
Bench was formed out of the ancient Curia 
Regis., and at last monopolized this title, be- 
fore common to it with the great and ordi- 
nary councils. The rolls of the King's Bench 
begin in the sixth year of Richard L Prop- 
erly the King's Bench was destined for suits 
relating to the king and the realm ; but pri- 
vate suits Avere allowed to be carried to it 
from the courts below. 

The county courts and Hundred-courts 
still continued as in Saxon times. All the 
freeholders of the county, even the greatest 
barons, were obliged to attend the sheriffs in 
these courts, and to assist them in the ad- 
ministration of justice. Such courts were 
unknown upon the Continent, and served as 
a powerful check upon the courts of the bar- 

* Palgrare. Kormandy and England, i., p. 107 sq. 
and notes, p. 7-20. Comp. Hallam Middle Ages, ii., p. 
314. The Grand Customary itself, however, ascriljes 
the Collection to Rolf: Lappenberg, Anglo-Norman 
Kings, by Thorpe, p. 92. 

f Palgrave, ibid., p. 113 ;" HaLlam, ihid.. p. 413. 

j The chief justiciary presided in the king's court, 
and was, by virtue of his office, the regent of the king- 
dom during the absence of the sovereign. He was 
thus the greatest subject in the kingdom. 



ons. Appeals were allowed from the county 
and baronial courts to the coiu't of the king': 
and, lest the expense and trouble of a jour- 
ney to court should discourage suitors, itin- 
erant judges were established in the reign 
of Henry H. (a.d. 1176), who made their cir- 
cuits through the kingdom, and tried all 
causes that were brought before them. For 
this purpose England was divided into six 
districts, nearly corresponding to the judges' 
circuits of the present day. 

Injudicial proceedings the ancient practice 
of compurgation by the oaths of friends and 
of trial by ordeal (p. 75) still subsisted under 
the Anglo-Norman kings: but the trial by 
ordeal was to some extent superseded by that 
of combat, which, if not introduced by the 
Normans, was very seldom practiced before 
the Conquest. The privilege of compurga- 
tion, an evident soiu-ce of pei^ury, was abol- 
ished by Henry II. , though by some exemp- 
tion it continued to be presei'v-ed long after- 
ward in London and boroughs. Trial by 
ordeal was abolished by the fourth Lateran 
Council at the beginning of the reign of 
Henry HI. A regulation of Henry H. intro- 
duced an important change in suits for the 
recovery of land, by allowing a tenant who 
was unwilling to lisk a judicial combat to . 
put himself on the assize; that is, to refer 
the case to four knights chosen by the sheriff, 
who in their turn selected twelve more. 
These sixteen decided the case by their ver- 
dict ; but this proceeding M-as limited to the 
king's court and that of the itinerant justices, 
and never took place in the county court or 
that of the hundred. This practice will again 
claim our attention when we come to trace 
the history of trial by jury. 

6. Revenue of the Crown. — The power of 
the Anglo-Norman kings was much support- 
ed by a great revenue, and by a revenue that 
was fixed, perpetual, and independent of the 
subject. The first branch of the king's stated 
revenue was the royal- demesnes or crown 
lands. The king was never content with the 
stated rents, but levied, at his pleasure, heavy 
taxes, called tallages., on the inhabitants both 
of town and country who lived within his de- 
mesne. They were assessed by the itinerant 
justices on their circuits. The tenants in 
capite were bound, as we have already seen, 
to furnish in war a soldier for every knight's 
fee, and if they neglected to do so, they were 
obliged to pay the king a composition in 
money called esciiage or scutage. Another 
tax, levied upon all the lands at the king's 
discretion, was Danegeld., which was contin- 
ued after all apprehension of the Danes had 
passed away ; but the last instance recorded 
of its payment is in the 20th year of Heniy 
n. The king also derived a considerable 
revenue from certain burdens to which his 
military tenants Avere liable. The most im- 
portant of these feudal incidents, as they 
were called, were Reliefs, Fines upon aliena- 
tion. Escheats, Forfeitures, Aids, Wardship, 
and Marriage. 1. A Relief which was the 
same as the Saxon heriot., was a fine paid by 
the heir to his lord on succeeding to a fief. 
The fine was at first arbitrary, but by Magna 
Charta it was fixed at about a fourth of the 



132 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. VU. 



annual value of the fief. The king was en- 
titled to a sort of extra relief, called Primer 
Seisin^ on the death of any of his tenants in 
capite, provided the heir had attained his 
majority. The primer seisin consisted of one 
year's profits of the land. 2. A Fme upon 
alienation was a sum paid to the lord when the 
tenant transferred his fief to another. 3. An 
Escheat was when a fief reverted to the supe- 
rior lord in consequence of the tenant having 
died without heirs. 4. A Forfeiture arose 
from the vassal failing to perform his duties 
toward either his lord or the state. '■'• Under 
rapacious kings, such as the Norman line in 
England, a new doctrine was introduced, the 
corruption of blood, by which the heir was 
effectually excluded from deducing his title, 
at any distant time, through an attainted 
ancestor." (Hallam.) 5. Aids were contri- 
butions Avhich the lord was entitled to de- 
mand from his vassal under certain circum- 
stances. They were raised according to local 
customs, and were felt to be a great griev- 
ance. Three only were retained by the Mag- 
na Charta — to make the lord's eldest son a 
knight, to marry his eldest daughter, and to 
ransom his person from captivity. 6. Ward- 
ship) was the right of the lord to the care of 
his tenant's person during his minority, and 
to receive the profits of his estate. 7. Mar- 
riage. Tlae lord might tender a husband to 
his female ward in her minority, and if she 
rejected the proposal she forfeited the sum 
which the guardian could have obtained for 
such an alliance. Tliis was afterward ex- 
tended to the male wards. In both cases it 
became the source of great abuse and ex- 
tortion. 

1. The Church. — The policy of William 
the Conqueror was favorable to the Church 
of Rome, which had supported his claims to 
the English throne. One of his most import- 
ant innovations was the separation of the 
civil and ecclesiastical jurisdictions, which 
had been united in the Anglo-Saxon times. 
He prohibited the bishops from sitting in 
the county courts; he allowed ecclesiastical 
causes to be tried in spiritual courts only; 
and he so much exalted the power of the 
clergy that he assigned to the Church more 
than one third of the knights' fees into which 
he divided England. 

8. Villenage. — A great part of the popula- 
tion under the Anglo-Norman kings was in a 
state of slavery, to which the name of Vil- 
letiage was applied. In the Anglo-Saxon 
times a large part of the population consisted 
of ceorls^i or freemen, forming a class between 
the thanes and the serfs. But under the 
Normans most of the ceorls were thrust down 
into slavery, and the Anglo-Saxon ceorls and 
serfs became the Norman villeins. It would 
seem, however, that the ceorls who had ac- 
quired land were allowed jn many cases to 
retain their land and their freedom. These 
are the Socmaimi or Socmen of Domesday- 
Book, the same as the small freeholders or 
yeomanry of later times. The condition of 
the villeins appears to have increased in 
rigor under the successive Anglo-Norman 
kings down to the time of Henry II., at 
which period the villein was absolutely de- 



pendent upon the will of the lord, and was 
incapable of holding any property of his own. 
Yet he appears to have possessed some per- 
sonal rights; for though subject to be sold 
by his master, an action would lie against 
the latter for murder, rape, or mutilation. 
Villeins were divided into two classes, called 
villeins regarda^it and villeins in gross. 
The former were adscripti glebce., or attach- 
ed to certain lands; and when these lands 
changed owners the villeins regardant be- 
came the property of the new possessors. 
The villeins in gross., on the contrary, might 
be sold in open market, and transferred from 
hand to hand without regard to any land or 
settlement. They were called en gross be- 
cause this term, in our legal phraseology, in- 
dicates property held absolutely, and Avithout 
reference to any other. But there appears to 
have been no essential difference in the con- 
dition of these villeins. The way in which 
the villeins emerged from this degraded po- 
sition into the peasantry of England will be 
narrated at the end of the next book. 

B. AUTHORITIES FOR NORMAN HIS- 
TORY. 

The principal sources of Norman history 
are : Dudo of St. Quentin, whose work con- 
tains the lives of the first three dukes (in 
Duchesne); William of Jumieges (Gemeticus), 
who epitomized the preceding woi'k, and 
continued it down to the Battle of Hastings 
U'bid.']', William of Poitiers, Gesta Gulielmi 
duds Normannorum et regis Anglorum 
[ibid.'i ; Ordericus Vitalis, Historia Eccl. 
[/&id.]; Wace, or Gasse, Roman de liou; 
the Hypodeigma Ncustrice [Parker, Camden.] 

The best modern works on the early his- 
tory of Normaildy are: The Ejntoyne pi'e- 
fixed to Lappenberg's Hist, of England un- 
der the Norman Kings., translated and sup- 
plemented by Benjamin Thorpe; Pal grave. 
Hist, of Normandy and England., Svo (only 
2 vols, published, containing the history of 
Normandy to the death of Richard I.) ; Thier- 
ry, Histoire de la Conqih'de de VA7igleterre 
par les Normands., 4 vols., Svo. 

C. AUTHORITIES FOR ANGLO-NORMAN 
HISTORY. 

Many of these a^uthorities have been al- 
ready enumerated in note C, appended to 
Book I. (p. 76). Thus, of those mentioned 
there, the Saxon Chronicle continues down 
to the year 1154; Florence of Worcester's 
work to 1308; Simeon of Durham's, with the 
continuation, 1156; Henry of Huntingdon's 
to 1154; Brompton's to 1199; Eadmer's to 
1122; Hoveden's to 1201; Ingulfs to 1089, 
with continuations by Peter of Blois and by 
anonymous writers to i486; Malmsbury's 
Gesta Regum to 1142 ; Peter Langtoft's work 
to 1307; Hugo Candidus' to 1175; Matthew 
of Westminster's {Flores Historiaruni) to 
1307; Roger of Wendover's to 1235. 

Of the authorities for Norman history men- 
tioned in the preceding note, the work of 
Ordericus Vitalis is also serviceable for An- 
glo-Nomian histoiy, as it comes down to the 
year 1141. 

Robert de Thorigny, a monk of the abbey 



Chap. VII. AUTHORITIES FOR ANGLO-NORMAN HISTORY. 133 



of Bee, continued the history of William of 
Jumieges down to the year 1137 ; and it forms 
the 8th book of that work as published in 
Camden's Angliccu, Noriiutiiica^ etc. Wil- 
liam of Newbury treats of the period from 
1066 to 1197. the Chronicle of Radulphus 
de Diceto, a dean of St. Paul's, with a con- 
tinuation, comes down to the year 1200. It 
is published in Twysden's Collection. The 
Chronicle of Gervase of Canterbuiy reaches 
to about the same period as the preceding 
{ibid.). Benedict of Peterborough's Chroni- 
cle embraces the period from 1170 to 1192 (in 
Hearne). Walter of Coventry continued 
Hoveden, besides writing other chronicles; 
but his works exist only in manuscript. 
Kalph of Coggeshall, who died about 1227, 
AVTOte a Chronicon Anglicanum from the 
Conquest to the year 1200. It has never been 
printed in England, but will be found in 
Martene and Durand' s collection. The chron- 
iclers of St. Alban's, formerly cited under the 
name of Matthew Paris, are in reality three 
persons — Roger of Wendover, Matthew Paris, 
and William Rishanger. Roger of Wendover, 
who has been already mentioned, is a con- 
temporaiy authority from 1291. His work 
has been published by the English Historical 
Society. The principal work of Matthew 
Paris is the Historia Major (a.i>. 1006 to 
1259, \vith a continuation to 1273) ; but only 
the portion from 1235 to 1259 belongs to M. 
Paris, the remainder being a plagiarism from 
Wendover with interpolations. William 
Rishanger is the continuator of Paris from 
1260 to 1273, and his work therefore belongs 
to the period embraced in the next book. 

Other works that may be mentioned relat- 
ing to the present period are — a chronicle 



from 1066 to 12S9, by Thomas Wikes, a monk 
of the abbey of Oseney near Oxford (Gale) ; 
and Henry Knighton's Chronicle from 950 to 
1395 (Twysden). Many chronicles of this pe- 
riod bear no author's name, and are called 
after the abbey or monastery in which they 
were composed or preserved. Among the 
principal of them may be named — the An- 
nales Burtonenses., a.i>. 1044-1262 (in Ful- 
man's Collection); Annales Waverleienses., 
1066-1291 (Gale); Chronicon de Mailros 
(Melrose), 753-1270 (Fulman, the Bannatyne 
Club), etc. 

Among the works relating to particular 
periods may be named the Lives of Thomas 
a Becket by John of Salisbury, Benedict of 
Peterborough, Edward Grim, Herbert of 
Bosham, and others, published by Dr. GUes, 
in the Fatres Ecclesice Anglicance. 

Richard of Devizes wrote a chronicle of the 
first three years of Richard I., which is pub- 
lished by the English Historical Society. The 
Itine^xiriuvfi Regis Anglorum liicardi et 
aliorum in terrain Hierosolijmorwni., pub- 
lished in Gale, contains an account of King 
Richai'd's crusade. It is commonly attrib- 
uted, but without any grounds, to Geoffrey 
Vinesauf. 

Among modem works relating to this pe- 
riod may be mentioned that of Thierry, al- 
luded to in the preceding note ; Lappenberg's 
Hist, of England under the Norman Kingf., 
translated by Thorpe (also mentioned in the 
preceding note), which comes down to the 
end of Stephen's reign; the continuation of 
this work by Pauli, Geschichte von England ; 
and Lord Ly ttleton' s L ife of Henry II. (6 vols. 
8vo), a standard work in English literature, 
and remarkable for the purity of its style. 



134 



GENEALOGICAL TABLE. 



GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET. 

GEOFFREY PLANTAGENET, 

Count of Anjou. d. 1151. * 

I 

HENKY II. 

b. 1133. d. 1189. 

m. Eleanor, Countess of Poitou and Aquitaine. 



William. Henry. RICHARD I. 

d. 1158. d. 1183. b. 1157. d. 1199. 

m. Bei'eugaria of Navarre. 
(No issue.) 



I 

Geotfrey. 

m. Constance 

of Brittany. 

d. 1186. 

I 



I 

JOHN. 

b. 1167. d. 1216. 

ni. 1. Hawisa, 

2. Isabella of 

Angouleme. 



Eleanor. 



I 

3 daughters 

(Matilda, 

Eleanor, 

Joan).- 



HENRY III. 

b. 1207. d. 1272. 

m. Eleanor of Provence. 



Richard, 

Earl of Cornwall. 

d. 1272. 



John, 
d. 1271. 



I 

EDWARD I. 

b. 1239. d. 1307. 

m. 1. Eleanor of Castile. 

9.. Margaret of France. 

I 



3 daughters 

.(Joan 

Isabella, 

Eleanor). 



Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. 2 daughters 

d. 1296. (Margaret, 

I Beatrice). 
Xhomas, Earl of Lancaster. 



I I III 

Alfonso. EDWARD II. Thomas, Edmund, 9 daughters. 

d. 1284. b. 1284. d. 1327. Earl of Norfolk. Earl of Kent, 

m. Isabella of France. d. 1338. d. 1330. 



Henry, 
d. 1274. 



EDWARD III. 

b. 1312. d. 1377. 

m. Philippa of Hainault. 

I 



John of Eltham. 
d. 1336. 



2 daughters 
(Eleanor, Joan). 



Edward 

(the Black Prince). 

d. 1376. 

m. Joan of Kent. 

I 



William, 
d. 1335. 



Edward of 

Angouleme. 

d. 1371. 



RICHARD II. 
b. 1367. 
d. 1400. 



Lionel 

(Duke of 

Clarence). 

d. 1368. 

m. Elizabeth 

de Burgh. 

I 

Philippa. 

m. Edmund 

Mortimer, 

Earl of March. 



John 

of Gaunt 

(Duke of 

Lancaster). 

d. 1399. 



Edmund Thomas 

(Duke of Y'ork). (Duke of 
d. 1402. Gloucester). 

d. 1397. 



5 daughters. 

2 sons, Avho died 

in infancy. 



HENRY IV. 
b. 1366. d. 1413. 

m. 1 . Jlary of 
Bohun, 
2. Joan of Navarre. 



Roger Mortimer, 

Earl of March. 

m. Eleonora, 

daughter of 

Thomas Holland, 

Earl of Kent. 



HENRY V. 

b. 1388. 

d. 1422. 

m. Catherine 

of France. 



Thomas, 
Duke of 
Clarence. 



John, 
Duke of 
Bedford. 



Humphrey, 2 

Duke of daughters. 
Gloucester. 



Edmund. Anne, 

d. 1424. m. Richard, 

Earl of Cambridge, 

second son of Edmund, 

Duke of I'ork. 

I 

Richard, Duke of York 

(-killed near Wak«field^ 1160). 

m. Cicely, daughter-of Ralph, Earl of Westmoreland. 



HENRY VI. . 
b. 1421. d. 1471. 



Edward, b. 1453, 
kiUed at Tewkesbury, 1471. 



I 
EDWARD IV. 
b. 1441. d. 1483. 
m. Elizabeth Woodville. 



RICHARD IIL 

b. 1450. d. 1485. 
m. Anne, daughter of 
the Earl of Warwick. 



I 

George, 

Duke of Clarence, 

kUled, 1478. 

I 



8 other sons and 
daughters, most of 
whom died young. 



Edward, Earl of Warwick. Margaret, Countess of Salisbury 



EDWARD V. 
b. 1470. d. 1483 
(murdered by his uncle Richard). 



Richard, 

Duke of Y'ork. 

b. 1473. d. 1483. 



Elizabeth, 
m. HENRY VII. 



1 other son and 
6 other daughters. 




Jolm. From his tomb in Worcester 
Catliedral, 



Isabella. From her tomb at Fontevraud. 



BOOK III. 
THE FOUNDATION OF ENGLISH LIBEETY. 

FROM THE ACCESSION OF JOHN TO THE DEATH OF RICHARD III. 

A.D. 1199-1485. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



HOUSE OF PLANTAGEXET COXTIXUED. JOHN AND HENRY IH. 

A.D. 1199-1272. 

1. Introduction. § 2. Accession and Marriage of John. § 3. War with 
France. Mm*der of Prince Arthur. John is expelled from France. § 4. 
The King's Quarrel with the Court of Rome. Interdict of the Kingdom. 
§ 5. Excommunication and Submission of the King. He does Homage 
to the Pope. § 6. War with France. § 7. Discontent and Insurrection 
of the Barons. § 8. Magna Charta. § 9. Civil Wars. Prince Lewis 
called over. Death and Character of the King. § 10. Accession of 
Henry III. General Pacification. § 11. Commotions. War with 
France. § 12. King's Administration. His Partiality to Foreigners. 
§ 13. Usurpations and Exactions of the Court of Rome. § 14. Richard, 
Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans. Simon de Montfort. § 15. 
Parliament of Oxford, or Mad Parliament. § 16. Opposition to the Bar- 
ons. Treaty with France. § 17. Civil Wars. Battle of Lewes. § 18. 
Leicester's Parliament. House of Commons. § 19. Battle of Evesham 
and Death of Leicester. § 20. P-rince Edward's Crusade. Death and 
Character of the King. 

§ 1. The reign of John marks an important epoch in the his- 



136 JOHN. Chap. VIII. 

tory of the English nation. Under the early Anglo-Norman kings 
there had been two diflerent races dwelling upon the English soil, 
speaking different languages, and possessing no common interests ; 
but during the reigns of Henry II. and Richard I. the Saxons and 
Normans became fused into the English people, and they now 
united to oppose the tyranny of John, and to uphold their com- 
mon interests.* During the reign of John and that of his suc- 
cessor the Saxon and Norman languages were supplanted by the 
English tongue ; and not only were the foundations laid, but much 
of the superstructure was reared, of those liberties which are still 
the glory and the safety of the English nation. 

§ 2. John, 1199-1216. — John was the fifth and youngest son 
of Henry II., and as he received from his father no fiefs, like his 
other brothers, he obtained the surname oi Sans terre, or Lackland, 
by which he is commonly known. Although Geoffrey, the third 
son of Henry II., had left two children, Arthur and Eleanor, and 
John had attempted to deprive Eichard of his crown, yet the lat- 
ter was induced, by the influence of their mother, to name John 
as his successor. But Arthur, who had become Duke of Brittany 
in right of his mother, was not left without supporters. The bar- 
ons of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine immediately declared in his 
favor, and applied for assistance to the French monarch as their 
superior lord. Philip, who desired only an occasion to embarrass 
John, and dismember his dominions, embraced Arthur's cause, 
and sent him to Paris to be educated, along with his own son 
Louis. John, after being crowned at Westminster on the 27th 
May, crossed over to France, in order to conduct the war against 
Philip, and to recover the revolted provinces from his nephew, 
Arthur. His mother, Constantia, seized with a violent jealousy 
that Philip intended to usurp his dominions, found means to carry 
off her son secretly from Paris ; she put him into the hands of 
his uncle and restored the provinces which had adhered to the 
young prince. From this incident Philip saw that he could not 
hope to make any progress against John ; and the two monarchs 
entered into a treaty (1200), by which they adjusted the limits of 
all their territories. John, now secure, as he imagined, on the 
side of France, indulged his passion for Isabella, the daughter and 
heir of Aymar Tailleffer, Count of Angouleme, a lady with whom 
he had become much enamored. His queen, the heiress of the 
family of Gloucester, was still alive ; Isabella was married to the 
Count de la Marche, and was already consigned to the care of 
that nobleman, though, by reason of her tender years, the mar- 
riage had not been consummated. The passion of John made 

* See Notes and Illustrations (A) on the amalgamation of the Saxon 
and Norman races. 



A.D. 1199-1-203. WAR WITH FRANCE. I37 

liim overlook all these obstacles ; he persuaded the Count of An- 
gouleme to carry off his daughter from her husband ; and having, 
on some pretense or other, procured a divorce from his own wife, 
he espoused Isabella, regardless both of the menaces of the Pope 
and the resentment of the injured count. 

§ 3. But John's government, equally feeble and violent, gave 
great offense to his barons, who appealed to the King of France, 
and demanded redress from him as their superior lord. Philip 
perceived his advantage, opened his mind to great projects, inter- 
posed in behalf of the French barons, and began to talk in a high 
and menacing style to the King of England. The young Duke of 
Brittany, who was now rising to man's estate, sensible of the dan- 
gerous character of his uncle, determined to seek both his security 
and elevation by a union with Philip and the malcontent barons. 
(1203). He joined the French army, which had begun hostilities 
against the King of England ; he was received with great marks 
of distinction by Philip, was knighted by him, espoused his daugh- 
ter Mary, and was invested not only in the duchy of Brittany, but 
in the counties of Anjou and Maine, which he had formerly re- 
signed to his uncle. Every attempt succeeded with the allies till 
an event happened which seemed to turn the scales in favor of John, 
and to give him a decisive superiority over his enemies. He fell 
on Arthur's camp, who was besieging Mirebeau, before that prince 
was aware of the danger, dispersed his army, took him prisoner, 
together with the most considerable of the revolted barons, and 
returned in triumph to Normandy. The greater part of the pris- 
oners were sent over to England, but Arthur was shut up in the 
castle of Falaise. The fate of Arthur is involved in obscurity ; 
but there is no reason to doubt the common report that John, after 
removing his nephew to Rouen, stabbed him with his own hands, 
and, fastening a stone to the dead body, threw it into the Seine. 

The states of Brittany now carried their complaints before Philip 
as their liege lord, and demanded justice for the violence commit- 
ted by John on the person of Arthur. Philip received their ap- 
plication with pleasure, summoned John to stand a trial before 
him, and, on his non-appearance, passed sentence, with the con- 
currence of the peers, upon that prince, declared him guilty of 
felony and parricide, and adjudged him to forfeit to his superior 
lord all his seignories and fiefs in France. Philip now embraced 
the project of expelling the English, or rather the English king, 
from France, and of annexing to the crown so many considerable 
fiefs, which during several ages had been dismembered from it. 
While he was making considerable progress in this design, John 
remained in total inactivity at Rouen, passing all his time, with 
his young wife, in pastimes and amusements, as if his state had 



138 JOHN. Chap. VIII. 

been in the most profound tranquillity, or his affairs in the most 
prosperous condition. Philip pursued his victorious career with- 
out opposition from the English monarch. Town after town fell 
into his hands ; and, at length, by the surrender of Rouen, the 
whole of Normandy was reunited to the crown of France, about 
three centuries after the cession of it by Charles the Simple to 
RoUo the first duke (1204). Philip carried his victorious army 
into the western provinces ; soon reduced Anjou, Maine, Tou- 
raine, and part of Poitou ; and in this manner the French crown, 
during the reign of one able and active prince, received such an 
accession of power and grandeur, as in the ordinary course of 
things it would have required several ages to attain. 

§ 4. The papal chair was then filled by Innocent III., who, be- 
ing endowed with a lofty and enterprising genius, gave full scope 
to his ambition, and attempted, perhaps more openly than any of 
his predecessors, to convert that superiority which was yielded 
him by all the European princes into a real dominion over them. 
A favorable incident soon happened which enabled so aspiring a 
pontiff to extend his usurpations on so contemptible a prince as 
John. Hubert, the primate, died in 1205 ; and as the monks or 
canons of Christchurch, Canterbury, possessed a right of voting 
in the election of their archbishop, some of the juniors of the order 
met clandestinely the very night of Hubert's death, chose Regi- 
nald, their sub-prior, for the successor, and, having enjoined him 
to the strictest secrecy, sent him immediately to Rome, in order 
to solicit the confirmation of his election. The vanity of Regi- 
nald prevailed over his prudence, and he no sooner arrived in 
Flanders than he revealed to every one the purpose of his journey, 
which was immediately known in England. The king was en- 
raged at the novelty and temerity of the attempt, in filling so im- 
portant an office without his knowledge or consent ; the suffragan 
bishops of Canterbury, who were accustomed to concur in the 
choice of their primate, were no less displeased at the exclusion 
given them in this election ; while the senior monks of Christ- 
church were injured by the irregular proceedings of their juniors. 
The canons of Christchurch, with the approbation of the king, now 
chose the Bishop of Norwich for their primate, and the suffragans 
subsequently concurred in their choice. The king and the con- 
vent of Christchurch dispatched twelve monks of that order to 
support before the tribunal of Innocent, the election of the Bishop 
of Norwich. But Innocent, refusing to recognize their election, 
compelled the twelve monks, under the penalty of excommunica- 
tion, to choose for their primate Cardinal Langton, an Englishman 
by birth, but educated in France, and connected, by his interests 
and attachments, with the see of Rome. 



A.D. 1203-1214. QUARREL WITH ROME. I39 

John was inflamed with the utmost rage when he heard of this 
attempt of the court of Rome ; and he immediately vented his 
passion on the monks of Christchurch, by expelling them from the 
convent and taking possession of their revenues. Innocent, find- 
ing that John was not sufficiently tamed to submission, fulminated 
at last a sentence of interdict (March, 1208) which he had for 
some time held suspended over him. 

§ 5. The interdict was followed up in the next year (1209) by 
the sentence of excommunication ; and, as the king still refused 
to yield, the Pope three years afterward (1212) absolved John's 
subjects from their oaths of allegiance, and called upon Philip to 
carry the sentence of deposition into effect. The French monarch 
collected a large force for the purpose of invading England ; and 
John, finding that he could not rely upon his own subjects, agreed 
to submit to all the requirements of the Pope. He not only ac- 
knowledged Langton as primate, but he passed a charter, in which 
he resigned England and Ireland to God, to St. Peter and St. Paul, 
and to Pope Innocent and his successors in^the apostolic chair, 
and agreed to hold these dominions as feudatory of the Church of 
Rome, by the annual payment of 1000 marks. In consequence 
of this agreement, he did homage to Pandolf, the Pope's envoy, 
with all the submissive rites which the feudal law required of vas- 
sals before their liege lord and superior (1213). 

§ 6. When Pandolf, after receiving the homage of John, return- 
ed to France, he congratulated Philip on the success of his pious 
enterprise ; and informed him that John, having thus made his 
kingdom a part of St. Peter's patrimony, had rendered it impossi- 
ble for any Christian prince, without the most manifest and most 
flagrant impiety, to attack him. Philip was enraged on receiving 
this intelligence, and resolved to continue his enterprise, but the 
English fleet assembled under the Earl of Salisbury, the king's 
natural brother, attacked the French in their harbors, and de- 
stroyed and captured a great number of their ships. Philip, find- 
ing it impossible to prevent the rest from falling into the hands 
of the enemy, set fire to them himself, and thereby rendered it 
impossible for him to proceed farther with his enterprise. 

§ 7. The interdict being at length removed, the king, as if he 
had nothing farther to attend to but triumphs and victories, went 
over to Poitou (1214), which still acknowledged his authority; 
and he carried the war into Philip's dominions. About the same 
time the great and decisive victory gained by the King of France 
at Bovines, over the Emperor Otho, established for ever the glory 
of Philip, and gave full security to all his dominions. John could 
therefore think henceforth of nothing farther than of ruling peace- 
ably in his own kingdom, and concluded a peace at Chinon (Sept. 



140 - JOHN. Chap. Vlll. 

18) ; but he was destined to pass through a series of more humili- 
ating circumstances than had ever yet fallen to the lot of any 
other monarch. Equally odious and contemptible both in public 
and private life, he had affronted the barons by his insolence, dis- 
honored their families by his gallantries, enraged them by his tyr- 
anny, and given discontent to all ranks of men by his endless ex- 
actions and impositions. The effect of these lawless practices had 
already appeared in the general demand made by the barons of a 
restoration of their privileges ; and after he had reconciled himself 
to the Pope, by abandoning the independence of the kingdom, he 
appeared to all his subjects in so mean a light that they univers- 
ally thought they might with safety and honor insist upon their 
pretensions. Nothing forwarded this confederacy so much as the 
concurrence of Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury — a man whose 
memory, though he was obtruded on the nation by a palpable en- 
croachment of the see of Rome, ought always to be respected by 
the English. The patriotic efforts of this prelate were warmly 
seconded by William, Earl of Pembroke ; and to these two dis- 
tinguished men the English nation are under the deepest obliga- 
tions for the foundation of their liberties. Langton showed some 
of the principal barons a copy of Henry I.'s charter, which he said 
he had happily found in a monastery ; and he exhorted them to 
insist on the renewal and observance of it. John, in order to 
break or subdue the league of his barons, endeavored to avail him- 
self of the ecclesiastical power, of whose influence he had, from 
his own recent misfortunes, had such fatal experience. He grant- 
ed to the clergy a charter, relinquishing forever that important 
prerogative for which his father and all his ancestors had zealous- 
ly contended, yielding to them the free election on all vacancies, 
reserving only the power to issue a conge d'elire, and to sub- 
join a confirmation of the election ; and declaring that, if either 
of these were withheld, the choice should nevertheless be deemed 
just and valid ; and he sent an agent to Rome in order to appeal 
to the Pope against the violence of his barons, and procure him a 
favorable sentence from that powerful tribunal. The barons, who 
had also endeavored to engage the Pope in their interests, easily 
saw, from the tenor of his letters, that they must reckon on hav- 
ing him as well as the king for their adversary ; but they had al- 
ready advanced too far to recede from their pretensions, and their 
passions were so deeply engaged, that it exceeded even the power 
of superstition itself any longer to control them. They chose 
Robert Fitz-Walter their general, whom they called the Marshal 
of the army of God, and of Holy Church ; and they proceeded Mdth- 
out farther ceremony to levy war upon the king. They were re- 
ceived without opposition into the capital ; and finding now the 



A.D. 1215. . MAGNA CHARTA. 141 

great superiority of their force, they issued proclamations requir- 
ing the other barons to join them. The king was left at Odiham 
in Hampshire, with a poor retinue of only seven knights ; and 
after trying several expedients to elude the blow, he' found him- 
self at last obliged to submit at discretion. 

§ 8. A conference between the king and the barons was ap- 
pointed at Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, a place 
which has ever since been celebrated on account of this great 
event. The two parties encamped apart, like open enemies, the 
barons on the field of Runnymede, the king on a little shady island 
on the Buckinghamshire side of the river ; and, after a debate of 
a few days, the king, with a facility somewhat suspicious, signed 
and sealed the charter which was required of him (19th June, 
1215). This famous deed, commonly called the Magna Chakta, 
or Great Charter, either granted or secured very important lib- 
erties and privileges to every order of men in the kingdom — to 
the clergy, to the barons, and to the people. The privileges 
granted to the clergy in the preceding February are confirmed by 
the Great Charter, and have been already enumerated. The bar- 
ons were relieved from the chief grievances to which they had 
been subject by the crown. The " reliefs" of heirs of the tenants 
in chief, succeeding to an inheritance, were limited to a certain 
sum, according to the rank of the tenant ; the guardians in chiv- 
alry were restrained from wasting the lands of their wards ; heirs 
were to be married without disparagement, and widows secured 
from compulsory marriages. The next clause was still more im- 
portant. It enacted that no " scutage" or " aid" should be im- 
posed without the consent of the great council of the kingdom, 
except in the three feudal cases of the king's ransom, the knight- 
ing of his eldest son, and the marriage of his eldest daughter ; and 
it provided that the prelates, earls, and greater barons should be 
summoned to this great council, each by a particular writ, and all 
other tenants in chief by a general summons of the sherifis. All 
the privileges and immunities granted to the tenants in chief were 
extended to the inferior vassals. The franchises of the city of 
London, and of all other cities and boroughs, were declared invio- 
lable ; and aids in like manner were not to be required of them, 
except by the consent of the great council. One weight and one 
measure Avere extended throughout the kingdom. The freedom of 
commerce was granted to alien merchants. The Court of Com- 
mon Pleas was to be stationary, instead of following the king's 
person. But "the essential clauses" of Magna Charta, as Mr. 
Hallam has well observed, are those " which protect the personal 
liberty and property of all freemen, by giving security from arbi- 
trary imprisonment and arbitrary spoliation." No freeman shall 



142 JOHN. Chap. VIII, 

BE TAKEN OR IMPRISONED, OR BE DISSEISED OF HIS FREEHOLD, OR 
LIBERTIES, OR FREE CUSTOMS, OR BE OUTLAWED, OR EXILED, OR 
ANY OTHERWISE DESTROYED ; NOR WILL WE PASS UPON HIM, NOR 
SEND UPON HIM, BUT BY LAWFUL JUDGMENT OF HIS PEERS, OR BY 
j THE LAW OF THE LAND. We WILL SELL TO NO MAN, WE WILL NOT 
/ DENY OR DELAY TO ANY MAN, JUSTICE OR RIGHT.* "It is obvi- 

ous," adds Mr. Hallam, " that these words, mterpreted by any 
honest court of law, convey an ample security for the two main 
rights of civil society. From the era therefore of King John's 
charter it must have been a clfear principle of our Constitution that 
no man can be detained in prison without trial. Whether courts 
of justice framed the writ of Habeas Corpus in conformity to the 
spirit of this clause, or found it already in their register, it became 
from that era the right of every subject to demand it. That writ, 
rendered more actively remedial by the statute of Charles II., but 
founded upon the broad basis of Magna Charta, is the principal 
bulwark of English liberty ; and if ever temporary circumstances, 
or the doubtful plea of political necessity, shall lead men to look 
on its denial with apathy, the most distinguishing characteristic 
of our Constitution will be efFaced."t 

Other clauses of the charter protected freemen and even villeins 
from excessive fines. The latter were not to be deprived of their 
carts, plows, and implements of husbandry. J 

The barons obliged the king to agree that London should re- 
main in their hands, and the tower be consigned to the custody 
of the primate, till the 15th of August ensuing, or till the execu- 
tion of the several articles of the Great Charter. The better to 
insure the same end, he allowed them to choose five-and-twenty 
members from their own body, as conservators of the public lib- 
erties ; and no bounds were set to the authority of these men either 
in extent or duration. All men throughout the kingdom were 
bound, under the penalty of confiscation, to swear obedience to 
them ; and the freeholders of each county were to choose twelve 
knights, who were to make report of such evil customs as required 
redress, conformably to the tenor of the Great Charter. 

John seemed to submit passively to all these regulations, how- 
ever injurious to majesty ; but he only dissembled till he should 
find a favorable opportunity for annulling all his concessions, and 
he was determined, at all hazards, to throw off so ignominious a 

* These are the words of the 4th chapter of Heniy III.'s charter, which 
is the existing law. They differ only ^lightly from those in Jolm's charter. 

t Middle Ages, vol. ii., p. 321. / 

X John's charter is printed in^tlie 1st volume of Eymer's Foedel'a, and 
other places. Eespecting the subsequent confirmations of the charter, see 
Notes and Illustrations (B), 



A.D. 1216. CIVIL WARS, I43 

slavery. He secretly sent abroad his emissaries to enlist foreign 
soldiers, and he dispatched a messenger to Rome, in order to lay 
before the Pope the Great Charter, which he had been compelled 
to sign, and to complain, before that tribunal, of the violence which 
had been imposed upon him. Innocent, considering himself as 
feudal lord of the kingdom, was incensed at the temerity of the 
barons, and issued a bull, in which he annulled and abrogated the 
whole charter, as unjust in itself, as obtained by compulsion, and 
as derogatory to the dignity of the apostolic see. 

§ 9. The king, as his foreign forces arrived along with this bull, 
now ventured to take off the mask ; and, under sanction of the 
Pope's decree, recalled all the liberties which he had granted to 
his subjects, and which he had solemnly sworn to observe. The 
barons, after obtainins; the Great Charter, seem to have been lulled 
into a fatal security ; the king was, from the first, master of the 
held; and immediately laid siege to the castle of Rochester, which 
was obstinately defended by AVilliam de Albiney, at the head of 
140 knights with their retainers, but was at last reduced by fam- 
ine. The captivity of William de Albiney, the best officer among 
the confederated barons, was an irreparable loss to their cause, 
and no regular opposition was thenceforth made to the progress 
of the royal arms. The ravenous and barbarous mercenaries, in- 
cited by a cruel and enraged prince, were let loose against the es- 
tates, tenants, manors, houses, parks of the barons, and spread 
devastation over the face of the kingdom. The kino;, marchmo; 
through the whole extent of England, from Dover to Berwick, laid 
the provinces waste on each side of him, and considered every 
state, which was not his immediate property, as entirely hostile, 
and the object of military execution. 

The barons, reduced to this desperate extremity, and menaced 
with the total loss of their liberties, their properties, and then- 
lives, employed a remedy no less desperate ; and making applica- 
tions to the court of France, they offered to acknowledge Louis, 
the eldest son of Philip, for their sovereign, on condition that he 
would afford them protection from the violence of their enraged 
prince. Philip was strongly tempted to lay hold on the rich prize 
which was offered to him ; and having exacted from the barons 
25 hostages of the most noble birth in the kingdom, he sent over 
an army with Louis himself at its head (1216). The king was 
assembling a considerable army, with a view of fighting one great 
battle for his crowTi ; but passing from Lynn to Lincolnshire his 
road lay along the sea-shore, which was overflowed at high water, 
and, not choosing the proper time for his journey, he lost in the 
inundation all his carriages, treasure, baggage, and regalia. The 
affliction for this disaster, and vexation from the distracted state 



144 JOHN— HENRY HI. Chap.VHI. 

of his affairs, increased the sickness under which he then labored ; 
and, though he reached the castle of Newark, he was obliged to 
halt there, and his distemper soon after put an end to his life, 17th 
October, 1216, in the 49th year of his age, and 18th of his reign, 
and freed the nation from the dangers to which it was equally 
exposed by his success or by his misfortunes. 

The character of this prince is nothing but a complication of 
vices, equally mean and odious, ruinous to himself, and destruc- 
tive to his people. Cowardice, inactivity, folly, levity, licentious- 
ness, ingratitude, treachery, tyranny, and cruelty ; all these qual- 
ities appear too evidently in the several incidents of his life to give 
us room to suspect that the disagreeable picture has been anywise 
overcharged by the prejudices of the ancient historians. It is hard 
to say whether his conduct to his father, his brother, his nephew, 
or his subjects was most culpable ; or whether his crimes, in 
these respects, were not even exceeded by the baseness which ap- 
peared in his transactions with the King of France, the Pope, and 
the barons. His European dominions, when they devolved to 
him by the death of his brother, were more extensive than have 
ever, since his time, been ruled by an English monarch ; but he 
first lost, by his misconduct, the flourishing provinces in France, 
the ancient patrimony of his family; he subjected his kingdom to 
a shameful vassalage under the see of Rome ; he saw the prerog- 
atives of his crown diminished by law, and still more reduced by 
faction ; and he died at last when in danger of being totally ex- 
pelled by a foreign power, and of either ending his life miserably 
in prison, or seeking shelter as a fugitive from the pursuit of his 
enemies. 

It was this king who, in the year 1215, first gave by charter, 
to the city of London, the right of electing, annually, a mayor- out 
of their own body, an office which was till now held for life. He 
gave the city also power to elect and remove its sheriffs at pleas- 
ure, and its common councilmen annually. London Bridge was 
finished in this reign. The former bridge was of wood. Maud, 
the empress, was the first that built a stone bridge in England. 

§ 10. Henry IIL, 1216-1272— The Earl of Pembroke, who, 
at the time of John's death, was Marshal of England, was, by his 
office, at the head of the armies, and consequently, during a state 
of civil wars and convulsions, at the head of the government ; and 
it happened fortunately for the young monarch and for the nation 
that the power could not have been intrusted into more able and 
more faithful hands. He immediately carried young Prince Hen- 
ry, now 9 years of age, to Gloucester, where the ceremony of cor- 
onation was performed (Oct. 28, 1216). As the concurrence of 
the papal authority was requisite to support the tottering throne, 



A.D. 1218. 



GENERAL PACIFICATION. 



145 



HeAiy was obliged to swear fealty to the Pope, and renew that 
homage to which his father had already subjected the kingdom ; 
and, in order to enlarge the authority of Pembroke, and give him 
a more regular and legal title to it, a general council of the barons 
was soon after summoned at Bristol, where that nobleman was 
chosen protector of the realm. 




Henry III. From his Tomb in Westminster Abbey. 

Pembroke, by renewing and confirming the Great Charter with 
some alterations, gave much satisfaction and security to the na- 
tion in general. He also wrote letters, in the king's name, to all 
the malcontent barons, most of whom began secretly to negotiate 
with him, and many of them openly returned to their duty. Louis 
soon found that the death of John had, contrary to his expecta- 
tions, given an incurable wound to his cause, and that every En- 
glish nobleman was plainly watching for an opportunity of return- 
ing to his allegiance. The French army was totally defeated at 
Lincoln, and driven from that city. A French fleet, bringing over 
a strong re-enforcement, were attacked by the English, and were 
routed with considerable loss. Louis, whose cause was now to- 
tally desperate, concluded a peace with Pembroke, and promised 
to evacuate the kingdom. Thus was happily ended a civil war 
which seemed to be founded on the most incurable hatred and 
jealousy, and had threatened the kingdom with the most fatal 
consequences. 

§ 11. The Earl of Pembroke did not long survive the pacifica- 
tion, which had been chiefly owing to his wisdom and valor, and 

G 



146 . HENRY III. Chap. VIII. 

he was succeeded in the government by Peter des Roches, Bishop 
of Winchester, and Hubert de Burgh, the justiciary (1218). The 
counsels of the latter were chiefly followed ; and had he possessed 
equal authority in the kingdom with Pembroke, he seemed to be 
every way worthy of filling the place of that virtuous nobleman. 
But the powerful barons, who had once broken the reins of sub- 
jection to their prince, and obtained an enlargement of their lib- 
erties and independence, could ill be restrained by laws under a 
minority. They retained by force the royal castles, which they 
had seized during the past convulsions, or which had been com- 
mitted to their custody by the protector ; and they usurped the 
king's demesnes. 

Notwithstanding these intestine commotions in England, and 
the precarious authority of the crown, Henry was obliged to carry 
on war in France. Louis VIII., who had succeeded to his father 
Philip, instead of complying with Henry's claim, who demanded 
the restitution of Normandy and the other provinces wrested from 
England, made an irruption into Poitou (1224), took Rochelle after 
a long siege, and seemed determined to expel the English from 
the few provinces which still remained to them. Henry sent over 
his uncle, the Earl of Salisbury, who stopped the progress of 
Louis's arms ; but no military action of any moment was per- 
fornied on either side. 

§ 12. The character of the king, as he grew to man's estate, 
became every day better known ; and he was found in every re- 
spect unqualified for maintaining a proper sway among those tur- 
bulent barons whom the feudal constitution subjected to his au- 
thority. Gentle, humane, and merciful even to a fault, he seems 
to have been steady in no other circumstance of his character ; but 
to have received every impression from those who surrounded him, 
and whom he loved, for the time, with the most imprudent and 
most unreserved aiFection. Hubert de Burgh, while he enjoyed 
his authority, had an entire ascendant over Henry, and was load- 
ed with honors and favors beyond any other subject. Besides 
acquiring the property of many castles and manors, he married 
the eldest sister of the King of Scots, was created Earl of Kent, 
and, by an unusual concession, was made chief justiciary of En- 
gland for life ; yet Henry, in a sudden caprice, threw off this faith- 
ful minister (1231), and exposed him to the violent persecutions 
of his enemies. The man who succeeded him in the government 
of the king and kingdom was Peter, Bishop of Winchester, a Poi- 
tevin by birth, who had been raised by the late king, and who 
was no less distinguished by his arbitrary principles and violent 
conduct than by his courage and abilities. This prelate had been 
left by King John justiciary and regent of the kingdom during an 



A.D. 1218-1253. PAPAL USURPATIONS. I47 

expedition which that prince made into France ; and his illegal 
administration was one chief cause of that great combination 
among the barons, which finally extorted from the crown the char- 
ter of liberties, and laid the foundations of the English Constitu- 
tion. Henry, though incapable from his character of pursuing the 
same violent maxims which had governed his father, had imbibed 
the same arbitrary principles ; and in prosecution of Peter's ad- 
vice, he invited over a great number of Poitevins and other for- 
eigners, who, he believed, could be more safely trusted than the 
English, and who seemed useful to counterbalance the great and 
independent power of the nobility. Every office and command 
was bestowed on these strangers ; they exhausted the revenues of 
the crown, already too much impoverished ; they invaded the 
rights of the people ; and their insolence drew on them the hatred 
and envy of all orders of men in the kingdom. 

The king, having married Eleanor, daughter of the Count of 
Provence (14th January, 1236), was surrounded by a great num- 
ber of strangers from that country also, whom he caressed with 
the fondest affection, and enriched by an imprudent generosity. 
The resentment of the English barons rose high at the preference 
given to foreigners, but no remonstrance or complaint could ever 
prevail on the king to abandon them, or even to moderate his at- 
tachment toward them. The king's conduct would have appear- 
ed more tolerable to the English had any thing been done mean- 
while for the honor of the nation, or had Henry's enterprises in 
foreign countries been attended with any success or glory to him- 
self or to the public. But though he declared war against Louis 
IX. in 1242, and made an expedition into Guienne, upon the in- 
vitation of his step-father, the Count de la Marche, who promised 
to join him with all his forces, he was unsuccessful in his attempts 
against that great monarch, was worsted at Taillebourg, was de- 
serted by his allies, lost what remained to him of Poitou, and was 
obliged to return, with the loss of honor, into England. He was 
more successful in 1253 in repelling an invasion made by the 
King of Castile upon Guienne ; but he thereby involved himself 
and his nobility in an enormous debt, which both increased their 
discontents, and exposed him to great danger from their enter- 
prises. 

§ 13. The chief grievances suffered by the English during this 
reign were, however, the usurpations and exactions of the court 
of Rome. All the chief benefices of the kingdom were conferred 
on Italians ; gi'eat numbers of that nation were sent over at one 
time to be provided for, and non-residence and pluralities were car- 
ried to an enormous height. The benefices of the Italian clergy in 
England amounted to 60,000 marks a year, a sum which exceeded 



148 HENRY m. Chap. VIII. 

the annual revenue of the crown itself. The Pope exacted the 
revenues of all vacant benefices, the twentieth of all ecclesiastical 
revenues without exception, the third of such as exceeded 100 
marks a year, and the half of such as were possessed by non-resi- 
dents. He claimed the goods of all intestate clergymen ; he pre- 
tended a title to all money gotten by usury ; he levied benevo- 
lences upon the people ; and when the king, contrary to his usual 
practice, prohibited these exactions, he threatened him with ex- 
communication. ^ 

But the most oppressive expedient employed by the Pope was 
the embarking of Henry in a project for the conquest of Naples, 
or Sicily on this side the Fare (1255). He pretended to dispose 
of the Sicilian crown, both as superior lord of that particular 
kingdom, and as vicar of Christ, to whom all kingdoms of the 
earth were subjected; and he made a tender of it to Henry for his 
second son Edmund. Henry accepted the insidious proposal, gave 
the Pope unlimited credit to expend whatever sums he thonght 
necessary for completing the conquest, and was surprised to find 
himself on a sudden involved in an immense debt of 135,541 
marks, besides interest. He applied to the parliament for supplies, 
but the barons, sensible of the ridiculous cheat imposed by the 
Pope, determined not to lavish their money on such chimerical 
projects. In this extremity the clergy was his only resource. The 
Pope published a crusade for the conquest of Sicily from King 
Mainfroy, a more terrible enemy, as he pretended, to the Chris- 
tian faith than any Saracen. He levied a tenth on all ecclesias- 
tical benefices in England for three years, and gave orders to ex- 
communicate all bishops who made not punctual payment. Pie 
granted to the king the goods of intestate clergj^men, the revenues 
of vacant benefices, and the revenues of all non-residents. 

§ 14. About the same time Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the 
brother of the king, was engaged in an enterprise no less expens- 
ive and vexatious than that of Henry, and not attended with much 
greater probability of success. The immense opulence of Eichard 
having made the German princes cast their eyes on him as a can- 
didate for the empire, he was tempted to expend vast sums of 
money on his election ; and he succeeded so far as to be chosen 
King of the Romans, which seemed to render his succession infal- 
lible to the imperial throne (1256); but he found at last that he 
had lavished away the frugality of a whole life in order to procure 
a splendid title. 

The king was engaged in constant disputes with his barons, 
who frequently addressed him with the severest remonstrances. 
He was compelled several times to confirm the Great Charter ; 
and on one of these occasions it was done in the most solemn and 



A. D. 1253-1258. SIMON D£ MONTFORT. I49 

even awful manner. All the prelates and abbots were assembled ; 
they held burning tapers in their hands ; the Great Charter was 
read before them ; they denounced the sentence of excommunica- 
tion against every one who should thenceforth violate that funda- 
mental law ; they threw their tapers on the ground, and exclaim- 
ed, May the soul of evei^ one wJio incurs this sentence so stink and cor- 
rupt in hell! The king bore a part in this ceremony, and subjoin- 
ed, " So help me God I will keep all these articles inviolate, as I 
am a man, as I am a Christian, as I am a knight, and as I am a 
king crowned and anointed." Yet was the tremendous ceremony 
no sooner finished than his favorites, abusing his weakness, made 
him return to the same arbitrary and irregular administration, and 
the reasonable expectations of his people were thus perpetually 
eluded and disappointed. All these imprudent and illegal meas- 
ures afforded a pretense to Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, 
a younger son of that Simon de Montfort who had conducted the 
crusade against the Albigenses, to attempt an innovation in the 
government, and to ^vrest the sceptre from the feeble and irreso- 
lute hand which held it. He had married the king's sister, Elea- 
nor, widow of the Earl of Pembroke, and had governed Gascony 
for many years with vigor and success. He secretly called a meet- 
ing of the most considerable barons, who embraced the resolution 
of redressing the public grievances by taking into their own hands 
the admin isti'ation of government. Henry having summoned a 
Parliament (May 2, 1258) in expectation of receiving supplies for 
his Sicilian project, the barons appeared in the hall clad in com- 
plete armor, and with their swords by their side. A violent al- 
tercation ensued ; and the king at length promised to summon an- 
other Parliament at Oxford, on June 11, in order to arrange a 
new plan of government. -> 

§ 15. This Parliament, which ffi^vRoyalists, and even the na- 
tion, from experience of the confusions that attended its measures, 
afterward denominated the mad Parliament, met on the day ap- 
pointed ; and as all the barons brought along with them their mil- 
itary vassals, and appeared with an armed force, the king, who 
had taken no precautions against them, was in reality a prisoner 
in their hands, and was obliged to submit to all the terms which 
they were pleased to impose upon him. A council of state, consist- 
ing of 15 barons, was selected to make the necessary reforms. The 
king himself took an oath that he would maintain whatever or- 
dinances they should think proper to enact for that purpose. Si- 
mon de Montfort was at the head of this supreme council, to which 
the legislative power was thus in reality transferred ; and all their 
measures were taken by his secret influence and direction. Their 
chief enactments, called the Provisions of Oxford, were, that four 



150 HENRY III. Chap. VIH, 

knights should be chosen by each county, to point out the griev- 
ances of their neigrhborhood ; that three sessions of Parliament 
should be regularly held every year, in the months of February, 
June, and October ; that a new sheriff should be annually elected 
by the votes of the freeholders in each county ; that no heirs 
should be committed to the wardship of foreigners, and no castles 
intrusted to their custody; and that no new warrens or forests 
should be created, nor the revenues of any counties or hundreds 
be let to farm. 

The Earl of Leicester and his associates roused anew the pop- 
ular clamor which had long prevailed against foreigners, and they 
fell with the utmost violence on the king's half-brothers, who were 
supposed to be the authors of all national grievances, and whom 
the kino; was obliged to banish. The barons formed an associa- 
tion among themselves, and swore that they would stand by each 
other with their lives and fortunes ; they displaced all the chief 
officers of the crown, the justiciary, the chancellor, the treasurer, 
and advanced either themselves or their o^vn creatures in their 
place. The whole power of the state being thus transferred to 
them, they ventured to impose an oath, by which all the subjects 
were obliged to swear, under the penalty of being declared public 
enemies, that they would obey and execute all the regulations, 
both known and unknown, of the barons. Not content with the 
usurpation of the royal power, they introduced an innovation in 
the constitution of Parliament, which was of the utmost import- 
ance. They ordained that this assembly should choose a com- 
mittee of 12 persons, who should, in the intervals of the session, 
possess the authority of the whole Parliament, and should attend, 
on a summons, the person of the king in all his motions. Thus 
the monarchy was totally subverted without its being possibl'e for 
the kinof to strike a single stroke in defense of the constitution 
against the newly-erected oligarchy. 

§ 16. But the barons, in proportion to their continuance in 
power, began gradually to lose that popularity which had assisted 
them in obtaining it ; and the fears of the nation were aroused 
by some new edicts, which were plainly calculated to procure to 
themselves an impunity in all their violences. They appointed 
that the circuits of the itinerant j ustices, the sole check on their 
arbitrary conduct, should be held only once in seven years ; and 
men easily saw that a remedy which returned after such long in- 
tervals, against an oppressive power which was perpetual, would 
prove totally insignificant and useless. The cry became loud in 
the nation that the barons should finish their intended regulations. 
The current of popularity was now much turned to the side of 
the crown, and the rivalship between the Earls of Leicester and 



A. D. 1258-1261 BATTLE OF LEWES. 251 

Gloucester, the chief leaders among the barons, began to disjoint 
the whole confederacy. 

Louis IX., who then governed France, used all his authority 
with the Earl of Leicester, his native subject, to bend him to com- 
pliance with Henry. He made a treaty with England (20th May, 
1259) at a time when the distractions of that kingdom were at 
the greatest height, and when the king's authority was totally an- 
nihilated ; and the terms which he granted might, even in a more 
prosperous state of their affairs, be deemed reasonable and ad- 
vantageous to the English. He yielded up some territories which 
had been conquered from Poitou and Guienne; he insured the 
peaceable possession of the latter province to Henry ; he agreed 
to pay that prince a large sum of money ; and he only required 
that the king should in return make a final cession of Normandy 
and the other provinces, which he could never entertain any hopes 
of recovering by force of arms. This cession was ratified by Hen- 
ry, by his two sons and two daughters, and by the King of the 
Romans and his three sons : Leicester alone, either moved by a 
vain arrogance, or desirous to ingratiate himself with the English 
populace, protested against the deed, and insisted on the right, 
however distant, which might accrue to his consort. 

§ 17. The situation of Henry soon after wore a more favorable 
aspect, and the secret desertion of the Earl of Gloucester to the 
crown seemed to promise him certain success in any attempt to 
resume his authority. The Pope absolved him from his oath ; the 
king soon afterward resumed the government ; and Leicester was 
obliged to fly to France. The death of the Earl of Gloucester, 
and the accession of his son to Leicester's side, soon changed the 
scene again. The civil war was renewed and carried on with va- 
rious success, till at length the king and the barons agreed to sub- 
mit their differences to the arbitration of the King of France. At 
a congress at Amiens (1264) Louis annulled the Provisions of 
Oxford, and determined that Henry might retain whatever for- 
eigners he pleased in his service. But this decision, instead of 
quenching the flames, only caused them to break forth with re- 
doubled vehemence. Leicester, having summoned his partisans 
from all quarters, gained a decisive victory over the royal forces 
at Lewes (May 13), taking Henry and his brother, the King of 
the Romans, prisoners. Prince Edward, the eldest son of Hen- 
ry, who commanded the royal army, was obliged to assent to a 
treaty with the conqueror, called the Mise of Lewes, from an ob- 
solete French term of that meaning. In order to obtain the lib- 
eration of the English monarch. Prince Edward and Henry, son 
of the King of the Romans, were obliged to surrender themselves 
as prisoners. 



152 HENRY III. Chap. VIII. 

§ 18. Leicester had no sooner obtained this great advantage, 
and gotten the whole royal family in his power, than he openly 
violated every article of the treaty, and acted as sole master of 
the kingdom. In order to strengthen his power he summoned a 
new Parliament in London (Jan. 20, 1265), which forms a mem- 
orable epoch in constitutional history. Besides the barons of his 
own party, and several ecclesiastics, who were not immediate ten- 
ants of the crown, he ordered returns to be made of two knights 
from each shire, and, what is more remarkable, of two representa- 
tives of each borouoh, an order of men which in former ao;es had 
always been regarded as too mean to enjoy a place in the national 
councils. This is rightly regarded as the first meeting of the 
House of Commons. But Leicester's policy only forwarded by 
some years an institution for which the general state of things 
had already prepared the nation. Leicester, having thus assem- 
bled a Parliament of his own model, and trusting to the attach- 
ment of the populace of London, seized the opportunity of crush- 
ing his rivals among the powerful barons. 

§ 19. But he soon found himself embarrassed by the opposition, 
as well as by the escape, of Prince Edward. The Royalists, se- 
cretly prepared for this latter event, immediately flew to arms ; 
and the joy of this gallant prince's deliverance, the oppressions 
under which the nation labored, the expectation of a new scene 
of affairs, and the accession of the Earl of Gloucester, procured 
Edward an army which Leicester was unable to withstand. The 
contest was brought to a conclusion by the battle of Evesham 
(Aug. 4, 1265). Leicester himself was slain, with his eldest son 
Henry, and about 160 knights, and many other gentlemen of his 
party. The old king had been purposely placed by the rebels in 
the front of the battle ; and, being clad in armor, and thereby not 
known by his friends, he received a wound, and was in danger of 
his life ; but crying out, / am Henry of Winchester, your Icing, he 
was saved, and put in a place of safety by his son, who flew to his 
rescue. The lifeless body of Leicester was mangled by the vic- 
tors. The people long regarded him as a martyr to their cause 
and the champion of their liberties. The victory of Evesham 
proved decisive, and the king's authority was established in all 
parts of the kingdom. 

§ 20. Prince Edward, finding the state of the kingdom tolerably 
composed, was seduced (1270) by his avidity for glory, and by the 
prejudices of the age, as well as by the earnest solicitations of the 
King of France, to undertake an expedition against the infidels in 
the Holy Land. He sailed from England with an army, and ar- 
rived in Louis's camp before Tunis in Africa, where he found that 
monarch already dead, from the intemperance of the climate and 



A. D. 1264-1272. 



HENRY'S CHARACTER. 



153 



the fatigues of his enterprise. Prince Edward, not discouraged 
by this event, continued his voyage to the Holy Land, where he 
signalized himself (1271) by acts of valor, revived the glory of 
the English name in those parts, and struck such terror into the 
Saracens that they employed an assassin to murder him, who 
wounded him in the arm, but perished in the attempt. During 
his absence the old king, overcome by the cares of government 
and the infirmities of age, expired at Bury St. Edmonds (Novem- 
ber 16, 1272), in the 66th year of his age, and 57th of his reign. 
His brother, the King of the Romans (for he never attained the 
title of emperor), died about seven months before him. 

The most obvious feature of Henry's character is his incapac- 
ity for government, which rendered him as much a prisoner in 
the hands of his own ministers and favorites, and as little at his 
own disposal, as when detained a captive in the hands of his ene- 
mies. From this source, rather than from insincerity or treach- 
eiy, arose his negligence in observing his promises ; and he was 
too easily induced, for the sake of present convenience, to sacri- 
fice the lasting advantages arising from the trust and confidence 
of his people. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1199. Accession of King John. 

1204. Normandy conquered by Philip Au- 
gustus. 

1208. England placed under an interdict by 
the Pope. 

1212. John deposed by Pope Innocent. 

1213. John does homage to the Pope for En- 

gland. 
1215. Magna Charta granted. 



1216. Death of King John, and accession of 

Henry ILL 
125S. Parliament of Oxford, or Mad Parlia- 
ment. 

Battle of Lewes and capture of the king. 

Leicester's parliament. Burgesses first 
summoned. 

Battle of Evesham and death of Leices- 
ter. 

Death of Heniy III. 



1264 
1265. 



1272. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. ON THE AMALGAMATION OF THE 
SAXON AND NORMAN RACES. 

The period at which tliis event took place 
has given rise to much discussion. It Avas 
the favorite theoiy of Thierry that the dis- 
tinction between the two races continued till 
a very late time. Lord Macaulay supposes 
the amalgamation to have taken place be- 
tween the accession of John and the death of 
Edward I., remarking, '■'It is certain that, 
when John became king, the distinction be- 
tween Saxons and Normans was strongly 
marked, and that before the end of the reign 
of his grandson it had almost disappeared." 
(Hut. of England, i., p. 16.) But even Ma- 
caulay supposes the distinction to have lasted 
too long. It is impossible to reject the spe- 

G 



cific statement of a contemporaiy writer that 
the distinction between the two races was 
almost obliterated in the reign of Heniy II. 
("•sic pemiixtfe sunt nationes, ut vix discerni 
possit hodie, de liberis loquor, quis Anglicus, 
quis Nonnannus sit genere," quoted by Hal- 
lam, Middle Ages., ii., p. 321); and this amal- 
gamation must have been completed after 
the separation of Normandy from England 
in the reign of John. This view is in ac- 
cordance with two other facts : 1. That the 
commencement of English literature dates 
from the IBth century, for the Ormuhcm., 
which is the oldest specimen of the English 
language extant, can not be placed later than 
this date. 2. That before the 13th century 
had passed away, the difference of dress, 
which in that state of society would survive 

2 



154 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. VIII. 



many other differences, was no longer ob- 
served, and the distinctive peculiarities of 
Nomian and Saxon attire had disappeared. 
See Buckle, History of Civilization in En- 
(jland^ i., p. 566.' 

B. CONFIRMATIONS OF THE GREAT 
CHARTER. 

The Great Charter was always regarded as 
a fundamental law ; but as the English mon- 
archs were constantly disposed to evade it, 
the barons and the people repeatedly claimed 
its confirmation from their sovereigns. No 
fewer than thirty-eight solemn ratifications 
of it are recorded ; of which six were made 
by Henry HI., three by Edward I., fifteen 
by Edward HI., six by Richard II., six by 
Henry IV., one by Heniy V., and one by 
Heniy VI. The Charter received a few alter- 
ations upon its successive confirmations in 
the fii"st, second, and ninth years of Heniy 
III.'s reign, the last of which is in our statute 
book and has never received any alteration. 
The most important change in the Charter, 
as confirmed by Henry III. , was the omission 
of the clause which prohibited the levying of 
aids or escuages without the consent of Par- 
liament. But though this clause was omit- 
ted, it continued to be observed during the 
reign of Henry, for Ave find the barons con- 
stantly refusing him the aids or subsidies 
which his prodigality was demanding. But 
he still retained the right of levying money 
upon towns under the name of tallage, and 
also claimed the right of levying other con- 
tributions, such as upon the export of wool. 
But a final stop was put to all these exactions 
by the celebrated statute passed in the 25th 
year of the reign of Edward I., entitled Con- 
firviatio Chartarimi. This statute not only 
confimed the Great Charter, but gave, to use 
the words of Hallam, '• the same security to 
pi'ivate property which Magna Charta had 
given to personal liberty." In it the king 
solemnly declared that ''•for no business from 
thenceforth we shall take such manner of 
aids, tacks, nor prises, but by the common 
consent of the realm, and for the common 
profit thereof, saving the ancient aids and 
piises due and accustomed." Thus was the 
great principle of parliamentary taxation ex- 
plicitly acknowledged eighty years after the 
first enactment of the Great Charter. On 
the Magna Charta, see Blackstone's Intro- 
duction to the Charter; Thompson's Essay 
on Magna Charta; Creasy, On the English 
Constitution, p. 12S, sqq. 

C. TRIAL BY JURY. 

We have already adverted (p. 75) to the 
mistaken and now obsolete opinion that trial 
by juiy existed in England in the Anglo- 
Saxon times. The 12 thanes who sat in the 
Slierifif' s Court have no analogy to a modern 
jury except in their number. Their func- 
tion of presenting offenders gave them more 
the resemblance of the present grand jury; 
and they seem, like the scdbini or echevins 
of the Continent, to have formed a permanent 
magistracy. So also the Anglo-Saxon com- 
purgators resembled the witnesses in a mod- 
ern trial rather than the jurymen. 



Nor do we find any trace of trial by jury, 
properly so called, in the century which suc- 
ceeded the Norman conquest. The first ap- 
proach to trial by jury is the assize of novel 
disseisin introduced in the reign of Heniy H. 
By this custom, in a suit for the recoveiy of 
land, a tenant who was unwilling to risk 
a judicial combat might put himself on the 
assize — that is, refer the case to four knights 
chosen by the sheriff, who, in then- turn, se- 
lected 12 more. The 16 knights thus impan- 
neled Avere then sworn, and decided the case 
by their verdict. "Wliether this was a Nor- 
man or an Anglo-Norman institution is lost 
in obscurity, and need not be here discussed. 
Whether the Avords in the charter of John 
that '•'a man is to be tried by the laAvful 
judgment of his peers" really means trial by 
jury may admit of dispute; but at any rate 
it clearly recognizes the great principle upon 
Avhich trial by jiuy rests. 

In criminal cases at all events we find an 
approach to a jury under Henry HI. Trial 
by ordeal had noAV groAvn out of fashion ; and 
though the trial by combat still remained, it 
could not, of course, be practiced unless some 
prosecutor appeared. But as a person A-ehe- 
mently suspected of a crime might be com- 
mitted to safe custody on the presentment of 
a j ury, he had the option of appealing to a 
second jury, Avhich Avas sometisftes composed 
of 12 persons. Such a juiy, hoAvever, still 
differed from a modern one in the essential 
principle that it did not come to a decision 
upon the evidence of others. The jurors in 
fact continued to be Avitnesses, and founded 
their verdict on their OAvn knoAvledge of the 
prisoner and of the facts of the case. Hence 
they are often called recognitor's^ because 
they decided from previous knoAvledge or rec- 
ognition, including Avhat they had heard and 
belieA'ed to be true. They seem to have ad- 
mitted documentary evidence, but p'arole ev- 
idence seldom or never. 

The great distinction betAveen a modem 
and an ancient juiy lies in the circumstance 
that the former are not Avitqesses themseh'es, 
but merely judges of the testimony of others. 
A previous knoAvledge of the facts of the case, 
Avhich Avould nOAv be an objection to a jury- 
man, constituted in former days his merit 
and eligibility. At what precise period Avit- 
nesses distinct from the jury themselves, and 
Avho had no voice in the \"erdict, first began 
to be regularly summoned, can not be ascer- 
tained. The first trace of such a practice 
occurs in the 23d year of EdAvard III., and 
had probably been creeping in previously. 
That it Avas perfectly established by the mid- 
dle of the 16th century Ave have clear evi- 
dence from Fortescue's treatise De Laitdibtis 
Leguvi Anglice (c. 26), Avritten about that 
period. Personal knoAvledge of a case con- 
tinued to be alloAved in a juror, Avho was even 
required to act upon it; and it Avas not till 
a comparatively recent period that the com- 
plete separation of the functions of juryman 
and Avitness Avas established. 

For farther information on this subject see 
Hallam's Middle Ages^ vol. ii., ch. viii., pt. 
i., and note viii. ; and Forsyth's His'ory of 
Trial by Jury. 




Edward I. From the Tower. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE REIGNS OF EDWAKD I. AND EDWARD II. A.D. 1272-1327. 

§ 1. Accession of Edward I. Civil Administration. § 2. Conquest of 
Wales. § 3. Persecution of the Jews. § 4. Disputed Succession to the 
Scottish Crown. Award of Edward. § 5. War with France. § 6. 
Conquest of Scotland. § 7. War with France. Dissensions of the Bar- 
ons and Confirmation of the Charters. § 8. Peace with France. Revolt 
of Scotland. § 9. Battle of Falkirk. Death of Wallace. § 10. Insur- 
rection of Robert Bruce. § 11. Edward's last Expedition against Scot- 
land. His Death and Character. § 12. Accession of Edward II. 
Weakness of the King and Discontent of the Barons. § 13. Banishment 
and Murder of Gaveston. § 14. War with Scotland. § 15. Hugh le 
Despenser. Civil Commotions. Lancaster executed. § 16. Truce with 
Scotland. Conspiracy against the King. He is dethroned and murdered. 

§ 1. Edward L, 1272-1307. — Prince Edward had readied 
Sicily in his return from the Holy Land, when he received intel- 
ligence of the death of his father ; but as he soon learned the quiet 
settlement of the kingdom, under Walter GifFard, Archbishop of 
York, the Earl of Cornwall, son of Richard, King of the Romans, 
and the Earl of Gloucester, as guardians of the realm, he was in 
no hurry to take possession of the throne, but spent more than a 



156 EDWARD I. Chap. IX. 

year m Italy and France before he made his appearance in En- 
gland. After arranging the affairs of the province of Guienne, and 
settling a dispute between the Countess of Flanders and his sub- 
jects, he landed at Dover in August, 1274, and was crowned at 
Westminster (August 19) by Eobert, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
In a Parliament which he summoned at Westminster in the fol- 
lowing February he took care to inspect the conduct of all his 
magistrates and judges, to displace such as were either negligent 
or corrupt, to provide them with sufficient force for the execution 
of justice, to extirpate all bands and confederacies of robbers, and 
to repress those more silent robberies which-were committed either 
by the power of the nobles or under the countenance of public 
authority. 

Under the Statute of Gloucester, in 1278 [6 Edw. I., c. 1], en- 
acted for the stricter administration of justice, Edward issued 
commissions to inquire into all encroachments on the royal de- 
mesne ; into the value of escheats, forfeitures, and wardships ; and 
into the means of repairing or improving eveiy branch of the rev- 
enue. The commissioners, in the execution of their office, began 
to carry matters too far against the nobility, and to question titles 
to estates which had been transmitted from father to son for sev- 
eral generations. Earl Warrenne, who had done eminent service 
in the late reign, being required to show his titles, drew his sword, 
and subjoined that William the Bastard had not conquered the 
kingdom for himself alone, his ancestor was a joint adventurer in 
the enterprise, and he himself was determined to maintain what 
had from that period remained unquestioned in his family. The 
king, sensible of the danger, desisted from making farther inquiries 
of this nature ; but he caused a strict investigation to be instituted 
into his father's grants to the Church, and in 1279 was passed the 
Statute of Mortmain (in mortaa manu),^ by which it was forbidden 
to make over lands and tenements to ecclesiastical corporations 
without the king's license. 

§2. In the year 1283 was completed the conquest of Wales, 
one of the most important events of his reign. Llewellyn, prince 
of Wales, had been deeply engaged with the Montfort faction ; 
and in the general accommodation made with the vanquished, had 
also obtained his pardon ; but as he had reason to dread the fu- 
ture effects of resentment and jealousy in the English monarch, 
he maintained a secret correspondence with his former associates, 
and even made his addresses to a daughter of the Earl of Leices- 
ter, who was sent to him from beyond sea, but, being intercepted 

* As the members of ecclesiastical bodies (being professed) were reckoned 
dead persons in law, land therefore holden by them might with great pro- 
priety be said to be held in mortud manu, Kerr's Blackstone, i., p. 509. 



A. D. 1272-1283. CONQUEST OF WALES. 25Y 

in her passage near the Isles of Scillj, was detained in the court 
of Edward. This incident increased the mutual jealousy between 
Edward and Llewellyn. Edward sent him repeated summons to 
perform the duty of a vassal, and in 1276 levied an army to re- 
duce him to obedience. The same intestine dissensions which had 
formerly weakened England, now prevailed in Wales, and had 
even taken place in the reigning family. David and Eoderic, 
brothers to Llewellyn, dispossessed of their inheritance by that 
prince, had been obliged to have recourse to the protection of Ed- 
ward, and they seconded with all their interest, which was ex- 
tensive, his attempts to enslave their native country. Edward, 
equally vigorous and cautious, entering by the north with a for- 
midable army, pierced into the heart of the country ; and, hav- 
ing carefully explored every road before him and secured every 
pass behind him, approached the Welsh army in its last retreat 
among. the hills of Snowdon. Destitute of magazines, cooped up 
in a narrow corner, they, a-s well as their cattle, suffered all the 
rigors of famine ; and Llewellyn, without being able to strike a 
stroke for his independence, was at last obliged to submit at dis- 
cretion, and receive the terms imposed upon him by the victor 
(1277). He returned with Edward to England, and did homage 
to the king at Westminster ; after which he received back his 
bride, and was allowed to return to AYales. But complaints soon 
arose on the side of the vanquished. Prince David, seized with 
the national spirit, made peace with his brother, and promised to 
concur in the defense of public liberty. The Welsh flew to arms ; 
and Edward, not displeased with the occasion of making his con- 
quest final and absolute, assembled all his military tenants, and 
advanced into Wales with an army which the inhabitants could 
not reasonably hope to resist. The situation of the country gave 
the Welsh at first some advantage ; but Llewellyn was defeated 
and slain in an action, and 2000 of his followers were put to the 
sword (1282). David, who succeeded him in the principality, 
could never collect an army sufficient to face the English ; and 
being chased from hill to hill, and hunted from one retreat to an- 
other, was obliged to conceal himself under various disguises, and 
was at last betrayed in his lurking-place to the enemy. Edward 
"sent him in chains to Shrewsbury ; and, bringing him to a formal 
trial before all the peers of England, ordered this sovereign prince 
to be hanged, drawn, and quartered as a traitor (1283). All the 
Welsh nobility submitted to the conqueror ; the laws of England, 
with the sheriffs and other ministers of justice, were established 
in that principality ; and though it was long before national an- 
tipathies were extinguished, and a thorough union attained be- 
tween the people, yet this important conquest, which it had re- 



/ 



158 EDWARD I. Chap. IX. 

quired 800 years fully to effect, was at last, through the abilities 
of Edward, completed by the English. The king invested in the 
principality his second son Edward, then an infant, who had been 
born at Caernarvon. The death of his eldest son, Alphonso, soon 
after made young Edward heir of the monarchy, the principality 
of Wales was fully annexed to the crown, and henceforth gives a 
title to the eldest son of the kings of England. 

§ 3. The settlement of Wales appeared so complete to Edward 
that in less than two years after he went abroad (1286), in order 
to make peace between Alphonso, King of Aragon, and Philip 
the Fair, who had lately succeeded his father Philip the Hardy on 
the throne of France. Edward had powers from both princes to 
settle the terms and he succeeded in his endeavors. He staid 
abroad about three years ; and on his return found many disorders 
to have prevailed, both from open violence and from the corrup- 
tion of justice. Edward, in order to remedy this prevailing abuse, 
summoned a Parliament and brought the judges to a trial (1289), 
where all of them, except two, who were clergymen, were con- 
victed of this flagrant iniquity, were fined and deposed. The fol- 
lowing year was marked by the banishment of all the Jews from 
England. Throughout Edward's reign that people had experi- 
enced both his anxiety for their conversion and the judicial rigor 
with which he visited their real or imputed offenses. For the 
former object he set the friars to preach, and in vain supported 
their exhortations by the offer of pecuniary advantages. Of his 
rigor the following are some examples : Clipping the coin was in 
the early part of Edward's reign a crime of frequent occurrence, 
and the perpetration was facilitated by the custom, sanctioned by 
the laws, of cutting the silver penny into halves and quarters. In 
1278, 280 Jews were hanged for this crime in London alone, the 
mere possession of clipped money being deemed sufficient evidence 
of guilt. Many Christians, however, suffered the same punish- 
ment. About eight years afterward all the Jews in England, 
including women and children, were thrown into prison for some 
imputed offense, and detained till they had paid a fine of £12,000. 
At last, in the year 1290, the whole race was banished the king- 
dom, to the number of 16,311. This severe step is attributed to 
the persuasion of Eleanor, the king's mother. Edward allowed 
them to carry abroad all their money and movables, which proved 
a temptation to the sailors and others to murder many of them ; 
for which, however, the king inflicted capital punishment. Jews 
were not perrnitted to come again into England till the time of 
the Commonwealth. 

§ 4. We now come to give an account of the state of affairs in 
Scotland, which gave rise to the most interesting transactions of 



A.D. 1283-1291. DISPUTED SUCCESSION IN SCOTLAND. 159 

this and of some of the subsequent reigns. Alexander III., who 
had espoused the sister of Edward, died in 1286, without leaving 
any male issue, and without any descendant, except Margaret, 
born of Eric, King of Norway, and of Margaret, daughter of the 
Scottish monarch. Tliis princess, commonly called the Maid of 
Norway, had, through her grandfather's care, been recognized as 
his successor by the states of Scotland ; and on Alexander's death 
was acknowledged Queen of Scotland. Edward was naturally led to 
build mighty projects on this incident; and having lately, by force 
of arms, brought Wales under subjection, he attempted, by the 
marriage of Margaret with his eldest son, to unite the whole 
island into one monarchy. The states of Scotland readily gave 
their assent to the English proposals ; but this project, so hap- 
pily formed and so amicably conducted, failed of success by the 
sudden death of the Norwegian princess, who expired on her pas- 
sage to Scotland (1291), and left a very dismal prospect to the 
kingdom. There were numerous competitors ; but three only 
had any real claim to the croTVTi. These were the descendants 
of the three daughters of David, Earl of Huntingdon, and brother 
of William, King of Scotland, the prince taken prisoner by Henry 
II. John Baliol, Lord of Galloway, was the grandson of Mar- 
garet, the eldest daughter; Robert Bruce, Lord of Anandale, was 
the son of Isabel, the second daughter ; and Hastings, Lord of 
Abergavenny, was the grandson of Ada, the third daughter. Ba- 
liol and Bruce laid claim to the whole kingdom ; and Hastings 
maintained that, in right of his mother, he had a title to a third 
of it. The parliament of Scotland, threatened with a furious civil 
war, agreed in making a reference to Edward. The temptation 
was too strong for the virtue of the English monarch to resist ; 
and he purposed to lay hold of the present favorable 'opportunity, 
if not to create, at least to revive, his claim of a feudal superior- 
ity over Scotland. Carrying with him a great army, he advanced 
to the frontiers, and invited the Scottish parliament, and all the 
competitors, to attend him in the castle of Norham, a place sit- 
uated on the southern banks of the Tweed, in order to determine 
that cause Avhich had been referred to his arbitration. When the 
whole Scottish nation had«thus unwarily put themselves in his 
power, Edward claimed the right of determining among the com- 
petitors to the crown, not in virtue of the reference made to him, 
but in quality of superior and liege lord of the kingdom, and re- 
quired an acknowledgment of his claim. The Scottish parlia- 
ment was astonished at so new a pretension, and answered only 
by their silence ; but the king, in order to maintain the appear- 
ance of free and regular proceedings, desired them to remove into 
their own country to deliberate upon his claim, and to inform him 



1(30 EDWARD I. Chap. IX. 

of tlieir resolution ; and he appointed a plain at Upsettleton, on 
the northern banks of the Tweed, for that purpose. 

When the Scottish barons assembled in this place, though moved 
with indignation at the injustice of this unexpected claim, and at 
the fraud with which it had been conducted, thej found them- 
selves betrayed into a situation in which it was impossible for 
them to make any defense for the ancient liberty and independ- 
ence of their country. The king, therefore, interpreting their si- 
lence as consent, addressed himself to the several competitors ; 
and, previously to his pronouncing sentence, required their ac- 
knowledgment of his superiority. There appeared on this occa- 
sion no fewer than nine claimants, who all proved themselves 
equally obsequious. Edward next gave orders that Baliol should 
choose 40 commissioners : Bruce 40 more ; to these the king 
added 24 Englishmen : he ordered these 104 commissioners to 
examine the cause deliberately among themselves, and make their 
report to him ; and he promised in the ensuing year to give his 
determination. During this interval, Edward, in order to give 
greater authority to his intended decision, proposed this general 
question both to the commissioners and to all the celebrated law- 
yers in Europe : whether a person descended from the eldest sis- 
ter, but farther removed by one degree, were preferable, in the 
succession of kingdoms, fiefs, and other indivisible inheritances, to 
one descended from the younger sister, but one degree nearer to 
the common stock ? This was the true state of the case ; and the 
principle of representation had now gained such ground every 
where that a uniform answer was returned to the king in the 
affirmative. He therefore pronounced sentence in favor of Baliol, 
who, upon renewing his oath of fealty to England, was put in pos- 
session of the kingdom (1292). The conduct of Edward, both in 
the deliberate solemnity of the proceedings and in the justice of 
the award, was so far unexceptionable ; but he immediately pro- 
ceeded in such a manner as made it evident that, not content with 
his claim of superiority, he aimed at the absolute sovereignty and 
dominion of the kingdom. He required King John himself, by six 
different summons on trivial occasions, to come to London; re- 
fused him the privilege of defending Jiis cause by a procurator ; 
and obliged him to appear at the bar of his parliament as a pri- 
vate person. His intention plainly was to enrage Baliol by these 
indignities, to engage him in rebellion, and to assume the domin- 
ion of the state as the punishment of his treason and felony. 
Accordingly Baliol, though a prince of a soft and gentle spirit, 
returned into Scotland highly provoked at this usage, and deter- 
mined at all hazards to vindicate his liberty ; and the war which 
soon after broke out between France and England gave him a 
favorable opportunity of executing his purpose. 



A D. 1291-1294. WAR WITH FRANCE. Igl 

§ 5. In an accidental rencontre between the crews of an En- 
glish and a Norman vessel at a watering-place near Bayonne, one 
of the latter was killed. A series of reprisals ensued on both 
sides, and the sea became a scene of piracy between the nations. 
At length a fleet of 200 Norman vessels set sail to the south for 
wine and other commodities, and in their passage seized all the 
English ships which they met with, hanged the seamen, and seized 
the goods. The inhabitants of the English seaports, informed of 
this incident, fitted out a fleet of 60 sail, stronger and better man- 
ned than the others, and awaited the enemy on their return. 
After an obstinate battle they put them to rout, and sunk, de- 
stroyed, or took the greater part of them (1293). The affair was 
now become too important to be any longer overlooked by the 
sovereigns. Phihp cited the king, as Duke of Guienne, to appear 
in his court at Paris, and answer for these offenses ; and Edward, 
finding himself in immediate danger of war with the Scots, allow^- 
ed himself to be deceived by the gross artifice of Philip, who pro- 
posed that, if Edward would once consent to give him possession 
of Guienne, he should think his honor fully repaired, would engage 
to restore that province immediately, and would accept of a very 
easy satisfaction for all other injuries. But the French monarch 
was no sooner put in possession of Guienne than the citation was 
renewed, Edward was condemned for nonappearance, and Gui- 
enne, by a formal sentence, was declared to be forfeited and an- 
nexed to the crown (1294). Edward, fallen into a like snare with 
that which he himself had spread for the Scots, was enraged ; and 
the more so as he was justly ashamed of his own conduct in being 
so egregiously overreached by the court of France. He formed 
alliances with several princes on the Continent, and sent a power- 
ful army into Guienne, which met at first with some success, but 
was ultimately defeated in every quarter. The French king, in 
order to make a greater diversion of the English force, and to en- 
gage Edward in dangerous and important wars, formed a secret 
alliance with John Baliol,.King of Scotland — the commencement 
of that strict union which during so many centuries was main- 
tained by mutual interests and necessities between the French and 
Scottish nations. 

>( § 6. The expenses attending these multiplied wars of Edward, 
and his preparations for war, joined to alterations which had in- 
sensibly taken place in the general state of affairs, obliged him to 
have frequent recourse to Parliamentary supplies. Edward be- 
came sensible that the most expeditious way of obtaining supply 
was to assemble the deputies of all the boroughs, to lay before 
them the necessities of the state, and to require their consent to 
the demands of their sovereisn. For this reason he issued writs 



162 EDWARD 1. Chap. IX. 

to the sheriffs, enjoining them to send to Parliament, along with 
two knights of the shire, two deputies from each borough within 
their county ; and these provided with sufficient powers from their 
community to consent, in their name, to what he and his council 
should require of them : as it is a most equitable rule, says he, in 
his preamble to this writ, that luhat concerns all should he approved 
of by ally and common dangers be repelled by united efforts — a noble 
principle which laid the foundation of a free and equitable govern- 
ment. These writs were issued in the 23d year of his reign 
(1295), and are regarded by Hume and others as the true epoch 
of the House of Commons ; but there is now sufficient evidence 
that the representatives of the boroughs had been summoned on 
previous occasions during his reign ; and accordingly the Parlia- 
ment summoned by Simon de Montfort under Henry III. must be 
regarded as the real foundation of the House of Commons.* 

When Edward received intelligence of the treaty secretly con- 
cluded between John and Philip, he marched into Scotland with 
a numerous army to chastise his rebellious vassal (1294). He 
gained a decisive victory over the Scots near Dunbar. All the 
southern parts of the country were instantly subdued by the En- 
glish ; and the feeble and timid Baliol hastened to make a solemn 
and irrevocable resignation of his crown into the hands of Ed- 
ward. The English king marched northward to Aberdeen and 
Elgin, without meeting an enemy ; and, having brought the whole 
kingdom to a seeming state of tranquillity, returned to the south 
with his army, carrying away with him the stone on which the 
Scotch kings were inaugurated, and to which the popular super- 
stition paid the highest veneration. Baliol was carried prisoner 
to London, and committed to custody in the Tower. Two years 
after he was restored to liberty, and submitted to a voluntary ban- 
ishment in France, where, without making any farther attempts 
for the recovery of his royalty, he died in a private station. Earl 
Warrenne was left Governor of Scotland, and Edward returned 
.with his victorious army into England. 
•s| § 7. An attempt which he made about the same time for the 
recovery of Guienne was not equally successful. In order to carry 
on the war, the king stood in need of large sums of money, which 
he raised by arbitrary exactions both on the clergy and laity. 
Notwithstanding his many noble qualities, Edward was of an im- 
perious disposition. He resolutely refused to confirm the Great 
Charter ; and among his other heavy exactions, without the con- 
sent of Parliament, those on the export of wool are particularly 
mentioned. The clergy, after a violent struggle, were obliged to 

* For an account of the rise and progress of the English Parliament, see 
Notes and Illustrations to chap. xii. 



A.D. 1294-1297. DISSENSIONS OF THE BARONS. 1(33 

submit, and to pay a fifth part of all their movables. But the 
nobles and the commons were more successful in their resistance. 
They found intrepid leaders in Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Here- 
ford, the constable, and Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, the mar- 
shal of England, two patriots, to whom England owes the deepest 
gratitude, since they had the courage to withstand the arbitrary 
will of one of the most prudent and successful monarchs that had 
sat upon the English throne since the Conquest, Edward assem- 
bled on the sea-coast an army which he purposed to send over to 
Guienne, while he himself should in person make an impression 
on the side of Flanders ; and he intended to put these forces under 
the command of the Earls of Hereford and Norfolk ; but these 
two powerful earls refused to execute his commands, and affirmed 
that they were only obliged by their office to attend his person in 
the wars. A violent altercation ensued ; and the king, in the 
height of his passion, addressing himself to the constable, ex- 
claimed, Si7^ Earl, by God, you shall either go or hang. By God, 
Sir King, replied Hereford, / ivill neither go nor hang. And he 
immediately departed with the marshal, and above thirty other 
considerable barons. Upon this opposition the king laid aside the 
project of an expedition against Guienne, and crossed over into 
Flanders ; but the constable and marshal, with the barons of their 
party, resolved to take advantage of Edward's absence, and to ob- 
tain an explicit assent to their demands. When summoned to at- 
tend the Parliament at London, they came with a great body of 
cavalry and infantry, and before they would enter the city re- 
quired that the gates should be put into their custody. Their 
demands, however, were moderate, and such as sufficiently justify 
the purity of their intentions in all their past measures. They 
only required that the two charters (the Great Charter and that 
of the forests) should receive a solemn confirmation ; that a clause 
should be added to secure the nation forever against all imposi- 
tions and taxes without consent of Parliament; and that they 
themselves and their adherents, who had refused to attend the 
king into Flanders, should be pardoned for the offense, and should 
be aofain received into favor. The Prince of Wales and his coun- 
oil assented to these terms, and the charters were sent over to the 
king at Ghent in Flanders, to be there confirmed by him. Ed- 
ward was at last obliged, after many internal struggles, to affix 
his seal to the charters, as also to the clause that bereaved him 
of the power which he had hitherto assumed of imposing arbitrary 
taxes upon the people. This took place in 1297, and in the 25th 
year of his reign. Edward subsequently attempted to evade these 
engagements, and in 1305 secretly applied to Rome, and pro- 
cured from that mercenary court an absolution from all the oaths 



164 EDWARD I. Chap. IX. 

and engagements wliicli he had so often reiterated to observe both 
the charters ; but he soon after granted a new confirmation. Thus, 
after the contests of nearly a whole century, and these ever ac- 
companied with violent jealousies, often with public convulsions, 
the Great Charter was finally established ; and the English nation 
have the honor of extorting, by their perseverance, this concession 
from the ablest, the most warlike, and the most ambitious of all 
their princes.* 

§ 8. In 1298 peace was concluded between France and En- 
gland by the mediation of Pope Boniface. Their union was ce- 
mented by a double marriage — that of Edward himself, who was 
now a widower, with Margaret, Philip's sister, and that of the 
Prince of Wales with Isabella, daughter of that monarch. Philip 
was willing to restore Guienne to the English ; Edward agreed 
to abandon his ally the Earl of Flanders, on condition that Philip 
should treat in like manner his ally the King of Scots. 

It was, indeed, high time for Edward to apply himself to the af- 
fairs of Scotland. There was one William Wallace, of a small 
fortune, but descended of an ancient family in the west of Scot- 
land, whose courage prompted him to undertake, and enabled him 
finally to accomplish, the desperate attempt of delivering his na- 
tive country from the dominion of foreigners. This man, whose 
valorous exploits are the object of just admiration, but have been 
much exaggerated by the traditions of his countrymen, had been 
provoked by the insolence of an English officer to put him to death ; 
and finding himself obnoxious, on that account, to the severity of 
the administration, he fled into the woods, and offered himself as a 
leader to all those whom their crimes or bad fortune, or avowed 
hatred of the English, had reduced to a like necessity. He was 
endowed with gigantic force of body, with heroic courage of mind, 
with disinterested magnanimity, with incredible patience, and abil- 
ity to bear hunger, fatigue, and all the severities of the seasons ; 
and he soon acquired, among those desperate fugitives, that au- 
thority to which his virtues so justly entitled him. Wallace hav- 
ing, by many fortunate enterprises, brought the valor of his fol- 
lowers to correspond to his own, resolved to strike a decisive blow 
against the English government ; and he concerted the plan of at- 
tacking Ormesby, to whom, as justiciary^ the government had been 
deputed by Warrenne, at Scone, and of taking vengeance on him 
for all the violence and tyranny of which he had been guilty. 
The justiciary, apprised of his intentions, fled hastily into En- 
gland ; all the other officers of that nation imitated his example ; 
their terror added alacrity and courage to the Scots, who betook 

* On the confirmation of the Charter, see also Notes and Illustrations 
(B) to chap. viii. 



A.D. 1297-1302. DEATH OF WALLACE. 165 

themselves to arms in every quarter. "Warrenne, having collected 
an army of 40,000 men in the north of England, suddenly entered 
Scotland, but was defeated by Wallace with great slaughter at 
Cambuskenneth, near Stirling. Among the slain was Cressing- 
ham, the English treasurer, whose memory was so extremely odi- 
ous to the Scots that they flayed his dead body, and made saddles 
and girths of his skin. "Warrenne, finding the remainder of his 
army much dismayed by this misfortune, was obliged again to 
evacuate the kingdom, and retire into England. Wallace, break- 
ing into the northern counties during the winter season, laid every 
place waste with fire and sword ; and, after extending on all sides, 
without opposition, the fury of his ravages as far as the bishopric 
of Durham, he returned, loaded with spoils and crowned with 
glory, into his own country (1297). 

§ 9. Edward now hastened over to England, collected the whole 
military force of England, AYales, and Ireland, and marched with 
an army of nearly 100,000 combatants to the northern frontiers. 
The king gained a decisive victory over the Scots at Falkirk 
(1298). The whole Scottish army was broken, and chased off 
the field with great slaughter ; and the Scots never suffered a 
greater loss in any action, nor one which seemed to threaten more 
inevitable ruin to their country. 

The subjection of Scotland, notwithstanding this great victory 
of Edward, was not yet entirely completed. The English army, 
after reducing the southern provinces, was obliged to retire for 
want of provisions, and left the northern counties in the hands 
of the natives. In 1303 the Scots again rose in arms, and gained 
several successes. The king assembled both a great fleet and a 
great army ; and, entering the frontiers of Scotland, appeared with 
a force which the enemy could not think of resisting in the open 
field. The English navy, which sailed along the coast, secured 
the army from any danger of famine ; Edward's vigilance- pre- 
served it from surprises ; and by this prudent disposition they 
marched victorious from one extremity of the kingdom to the 
other, ravaging the open country, reducing all the castles, and re- 
ceivino; the submissions of aU the nobility, even those of the resfent. 
Wallace, though he attended the English army in their march, 
found but few opportunities of signalizing that valor which had 
formerly made him so terrible to his enemies. At last that hardy 
warrior, who was determined, amid the universal slavery of his 
countrymen, -still to maintain his independency, was betrayed into 
Edward's hands by Sir John Monteith, his friend, whom he had 
made acquainted with the place of his concealment. The king, 
whose natural bravery and mag-nanimity should have induced him 
to respect like qualities in an enemy, enraged at some acts of vi- 



166 EDWARD I. Chap. IX. 

olence committed by Wallace during the fury of wai', resolved to 
overawe the Scots by an example of severity. He ordered Wal- 
lace to be carried in chains to London, to be tried as a rebel and 
traitor, though he had never made submissions or svi^orn fealty to 
England, and to be executed in Smithfield (1305). But the Scots, 
already disgusted at the great innovations introduced by the sword 
of a conqueror into their laws and government, were farther en- 
raged at the injustice and cruelty exercised upon Wallace ; and it 
was not long ere a new and more fortunate leader presented him- 
self, who conducted them to liberty, to victory, and to vengeance. 

§ 10. Robert Bruce, son of that Robert who had been one of 
the competitors for the crown, had succeeded, by his father's 
death, to all his rights ; and the demise of John Baliol, together 
with the captivity of Edward, eldest son of that prince, seemed to 
open a full career to the genius and ambition of this young noble- 
man. At a meeting of the. Scottish nobility at Dumfries (Feb. 
1306), he called upon them to throw oif the English yoke ; but 
finding that John Comyn, the son of Baliol's sister, and one of 
the most powerful of the Scottish nobles, was not ready to join 
his side, Bruce attacked him in the cloisters of the Grey Friars, 
and running him through the body, left him for dead. Sir 
Thomas Kirkpatrick, one of Bruce's friends, asked him soon after 
if the traitor were slain, / believe so, replied Bruce. And is that a 
matter, QYi^di Kirkpatrick, to he left to conjectured I will secure him. 
Upon which he drew his dagger, ran to Comyn, and stabbed him 
to the heart. 

§ 11. The murder of Comyn affixed the seal to the conspiracy 
of the Scottish nobles : they had now no resource left but to shake 
ott' the yoke of England, or to perish in the attempt. Bruce was 
solemnly crowned and inaugurated in the Abbey of Scone, by the 
Bishop of St. Andrews, who had zealously embraced his cause. 
The English were again chased out of the kingdom, except such 
as took shelter in the fortresses that still remained in their hands ; 
and Edward found that the Scots, twice conquered in his reign, 
and often defeated, must yet be anew subdued. Not discouraged 
with these unexpected difficulties, he sent Aymer de Valence with 
a considerable force into Scotland to check the progress of the 
malcontents ; and that nobleman, falling unexpectedly upon Bruce 
at Methven in Perthshire, threw his army into such disorder as 
ended in a total defeat. Bruce fought with the most heroic cour- 
age, but was at last obliged to yield to superior fortune, and take 
shelter, with a few followers, in the western isles. Edward, vow- 
ing revenge against the whole Scottish nation, assembled a great 
army, and was preparing to enter the frontiers, secure of success, 
when he unexpectedly sickened and died near Carlisle (July 7, 



A.D. 1303-1307. EDWARD II.— DISCONTENTS. 167 

1307), enjoining with liis last breath his son and successor to 
prosecute the enterprise, and never to desist till he had finally 
subdued the kingdom of Scotland. He expired in the 69th year 
of his age, and 35th of his reign, hated by his neighbors, but ex- 
tremely respected and revered by his own subjects. 

The enterprises finished by this prince, and the projects which 
he formed and brought near to a conclusion, were more prudent, 
more regularly conducted, and more advantageous to the solid in- 
terests of his kingdom, than those which were undertaken in any 
reign, either of his ancestors or his successors. Edward, however 
exceptionable his character may appear on the head of justice, is the 
model of a politic and warlike king : he possessed industry, pene- 
tration, courage, vigilance, and enterprise ; he was frugal in all 
expenses that were not necessary ; he knew how to open the pub- 
lic treasures on a proper occasion ; he punished criminals with 
severity; he was gracious and affable to his servants and courtiers ; 
and being of a majestic figure, expert in all military exercises, and 
in the main well-proportioned in his limbs, notwithstanding the 
great length and the smallness of his legs, he was as well qualified 
to captivate the populace by his exterior appearance as to gain 
the approbation of men of sense by his more solid virtues. But 
the chief advantage which the people of England reaped, and still 
continue to reap, from the reign of this great prince, was the cor- 
rection, extension, amendment, and establishment of the laws, 
which Edward maintained in great vigor, and left much improved 
to posterity ; for the acts of a wise legislator commonly remain, 
while the acquisitions of a conqueror often perish with him. 
This merit has justly gained for Edward the appellation of the 
English Justinian. 

§ 12. Edward II., 1307-1327.— This prince, called Edward 
of Caernarvon, from the place of his birth, was 23 years of age at 
his father's death. The prepossessions entertained in his favor 
kept the English from being fully sensible of the extreme loss 
which they had sustained by the death of the great monarch who 
filled the throne ; but the first act of his reign blasted all these 
hopes, and showed him to be totally unqualified to rule. The in- 
defatigable Robert Bruce, though his army had been dispersed, 
and he himself had been obliged to take shelter in the western 
isles, remained not long inactive ; but before the death of the late 
king had sallied from his retreat and again collected his followers, 
had appeared in the field and had obtained by surprise an import- 
ant advantage over Aymer de Valence, who commanded the En- 
glish forces. But Edward, after marching a little way inty Scot- 
land, immediately returned upon his footsteps and disbanded his 
army. His grandees perceived from this conduct that the author- 



168 EDWARD II. Chap. IX. 

ity of the crown, fallen into such feeble hands, was no longer to 
be dreaded ; and Edward's passion for favorites soon gave them 
a pretext for complaint. There was one Piers Gaveston, son of 
a Gascon knight of some distinction, who had honorably served 
the late king, and who, in reward of his merits, had obtained an 
establishment for his son in the family of the Prince of Wales. 
This young man soon insinuated himself into the affections of his 
master by his agreeable behavior, and by supplying him with all 
those innocent though frivolous amusements which suited his ca- 
pacity and his inclinations. Edward, after his accession, not con- 
tent with conferring on him possessions which had sufficed as an 
appanage for a prince of the blood, daily loaded him with new 
honors and riches ; married him to his own niece, sister of the 
Earl of Gloucester ; and seemed to enjoy no pleasure in his royal 
dignity but as it enabled him to exalt to the highest splendor this 
object of his fond affections. When he went to France, both in 
order to do homage for the duchy of Guienne and to espouse the 
Princess Isabella, to whom he had long been affianced, Edward 
left Gaveston guardian of the realm, with more ample powers than 
had usually been conferred. 

§ 13. It would afford but little amusement or instruction to de- 
tail all the events which at last drew down upon the favorite the 
tragical fate which he had courted through his insolence and os- 
tentation. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, cousin-german to the king, 
and first prince of the blood, headed a confederacy of the nobles 
against Gaveston, and compelled the king to banish him (1308). 
Edward, however, contrived to convert even this circumstance 
into a mark of favor by making his minion Lord-lieutenant of Ire- 
land, and shortly after managed to procure his recall. The king 
set no longer any .bounds to his extravagant fondness and affec- 
tion ; while Gaveston himself, forgetting his past misfortunes, 
and blind to their causes, resumed his former offensive behavior. 
In 1311 a junto of the barons, besides extorting some measures 
of reform, obliged the king to pass an ordinance for the removal 
of evil counselors, by which a great number of persons were by 
name excluded from every office of power and profit ; and Piers 
Gaveston himself was forever banished the king's dominions, un- 
der the penalty, in case of disobedience, of being declared a public 
enemy. But Edward, removing to York, freed himself from the 
immediate terror of the barons' power, invited back Gaveston from 
Flanders, Avhich that favorite had made the place of his retreat, 
and declaring his banishment to be illegal, and contrary to the 
laws and customs of the kingdom, openly reinstated him in his 
former credit and authority (1312). The barons, highly provoked 
at this disappointment, and apprehensive of danger to themselves, 



A.D. 1307-1314. HUGH LE DESPENSER. Igg 

from the declared animosity of so powerful a minion, saw that 
either his or their ruin was now inevitable. The Earl of Lan- 
caster, Guy, Earl of Warwick, Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Here- 
ford, Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and others, renewed 
with redoubled zeal their former confederacies against him. The 
Earl of Lancaster suddenly raised an army and marched to York, 
where he found the king already removed to Newcastle. He flew 
thither in pursuit of him ; and Edward had just time to escape to 
Tynemouth, wligre he embarked, and sailed with Gaveston to 
Scarborough. He Teft-his-favorite in that fortress ; but Gaveston, 
sensible of the bad condition ofTtis-garrison, Was obliged to capit- 
ulate, and to surrender himself prisoner. He was ultimately con- 
ducted to Warwick Castle. The Earls of Lancaster, Hereford, 
and Arundel immediately repaired thither ; and without any re- 
gard to the laws, or the military capitulation, they ordered the 
head of the obnoxious favorite to be struck off by the hands of the 
executioner. 

§ 14. The terror of the English power being abated by the fee- 
ble conduct of the king, even the least sanguine of the Scots began 
to entertain hopes of recovering their independence ; and the whole 
kingdom, except a few fortresses which he had not the means to 
attack, acknowledged the authority of Robert Bruce. But the 
union of all parties in England, after the death of Gaveston, re- 
stored that kingdom to its native force, and opened again the pros- 
pect of reducing Scotland. Edward assembled forces from Gas- 
cony, Flanders, Ireland, and Wales, for this important enterprise, 
which, joined with the English, formed an army amounting, ac- 
cording to the Scotch writers, to 100,000. The army collected 
by the Bruce exceeded not 30,000 combatants ; but, being com- 
posed of men who had distinguished themselves by many acts of 
valor, who were rendered desperate by their situation, and who 
were inured to all the varieties of fortune, they might justly, un- 
der such a leader, be deemed formidable to the most numerous 
and best appointed armies. He posted himself at Bannockburn, 
about two miles from Stirling, where, on the 25th June, 1314, he 
gained a great and decisive victoiy over the English, Avhich se- 
cured the independence of Scotland, and fixed Bruce on the throne 
of that kingdom. The king himself narrowly escaped by taking 
shelter in Dunbar, whose gates were opened to him by the Earl 
of March, and he thence passed by sea to Berwick. 

§ 15. The king's chief favorite, after the death of Gaveston, was 
Hugh le Despenser, or Spenser, a young man of English birth, of 
high rank, and of a noble family, who possessed all the exterior 
accomplishments of person and address which were fitted to en- 
gage the weak mind of Edward. His father was a nobleman 

H, 



170 EDWARD II. Chap. IX. 

venerable from his years, respected through all his past life for 
wisdom, valor, and integrity, and well fitted, by his talents and 
experience, to have supplied the defects both of the king and of 
his minion ; but no sooner was Edward's attachment declared for 
young Spenser than the turbulent Lancaster, and most of the 
great barons, regarded him as their rival, made him the object of 
their animosity, and formed violent plans for his ruin. After com- 
mitting many disorders they entered London with their troops 
(1321) ; and giving in to the Parliament, which was then sitting, 
a charge against the Spensers, of which they attempted not to 
prove one article, they procured, by menaces and violence, a sen- 
tence of attainder and perpetual exile against these ministers. Li 
the following year Edward hastened with his army to the marches 
of Wales, the chief seat of the power of his enemies, whom he 
found totally unprepared for resistance. Lancaster, in order to 
prevent the total ruin of his party, summoned together his vassals 
and retainers ; declared his alliance with Scotland, which had 
long been suspected ; and, being joined by the Earl of Hereford, 
advanced with all his forces against the king. But being disap- 
pointed in that plan of operations, he fled with his army to the 
north, in expectation of being there joined by his Scottish allies ; 
he was pursued by the king ; and his army diminished daily, till 
he came to Boroughbridge, where he was defeated and captured. 
Lancaster, who was guilty of open rebellion, was condemned by a 
court martial, and led to execution. He was clothed in a mean 
attire, placed on a lean jade mthout a bridle, conducted to an em- 
inence near Pomfret, one of his own castles, and there beheaded 
(1322). 

§ 16. Edward, after making one more fruitless attempt against 
Scotland, whence he retreated with dishonor, found it necessary to 
terminate hostilities with that kingdom by a truce of thirteen 
years. This truce was the more seasonable for England, because 
the nation was at that juncture threatened with hostilities from 
France. Charles the Fair had some grounds of comjDlaint against 
the king's ministers in Guienne ; and Queen Isabella, who had 
obtained permission to go over to Paris, and endeavor to adjust 
in an amicable manner the difference with her brother, proposed 
that Edward should resign the dominion of Guienne to his son, 
now thirteen years of age ; and that the prince should come to 
Paris, and do the homage which every vassal owed to his superior 
lord. Spenser was charmed with the contrivance ; young Edward 
was sent to Paris ; and the ruin covered under this fatal snare 
was never perceived or suspected by any of the English council 
(1325). 

The queen, on her arrival in France, had there found a great 



A.D. 1314-1327. EDWARD DETHRONED AND MURDERED. 171 

number of English fugitives, the remains of the Lancastrian fac- 
tion ; and their common hatred of Spenser soon begat a secret 
friendship and correspondence between them and that princess. 
Among the rest was young Roger Mortimer, a potent baron in the 
"Welsh marches, who was easily admitted to pay his court to Queen 
Isabella. The graces of his person and address advanced him 
quickly in her affections. He became her confidant and counsel- 
or in all her measures ; and, gaining ground daily upon her heart, 
he engaged her to sacrifice at last to her passion all the sentiments 
of honor and of fidelity to her husband. Mortimer lived in the 
most declared intimacy with her ; a correspondence was secretly 
carried on with the malcontent party in England ; and when Ed- 
ward, informed of those alarming circumstances, required her 
speedily to return with the prince, she publicly replied that she 
would never set foot in the kingdom till Spenser was forever re- 
moved from his presence and councils — a declaration which pro- 
cured her great popularity in England, and threw a decent veil 
over all her treasonable enterprises. She afiianced young Edward 
with Philippa, daughter of the Count of Holland and Hainault ; 
and having, by the assistance of this prince, enlisted in her service 
nearly 3000 men, she set sail from the harbor of Dort, and landed 
safely and without opposition on the coast of Suffolk (1326). She 
was joined by the earls of Kent and Norfolk, and many of the 
nobility ; and Edward, being deserted by his subjects, departed for 
the West ; but, being disappointed in his expectations with regard 
to the loyalty of those parts, he passed over to Wales, where, he 
flattered himself, his name was more popular, and which he hoped 
to find uninfected with the contagion of general rage which had 
seized the English. The elder Spenser, created Earl of Win- 
chester, was left governor of the castle of Bristol ; but the gar- 
rison mutinied against him, and he was delivered into the hands 
of his enemies and executed. The king took shipping for Ire- 
land ; but being driven back by contrary winds, he endeavored to 
conceal himself in the mountains of Wales. He was soon discov- 
ered, was put under the custody of the Earl of Leicester, and was 
confined in the castle of Kenilworth. The younger Spenser also 
fell into the hands of his enemies, §ind was executed without any 
appearance of a legal trial. The queen then summoned, in the 
king's name, a Parliament at Westminster (Jan. 7, 1327). A 
charge was drawn up against the king, in which, even though it was 
framed by his inveterate enemies, nothing but his narrow genius 
or his misfortunes were objected to him. His deposition was 
voted; the prince, already declared regent by his party, was 
placed on the throne ; and a deputation was sent to Edward, at 
Kenilworth, to require his resignation, which menaces and terror 



172 EDWARD II. Chap. IX. 

soon extorted from him (Jan. 20). That unfortunate monarch 
was transferred to Berkeley Castle, and the impatient Mortimer 
secretly sent orders to his keepers instantly to dispatch him. 
These ruffians threw him on a bed, held him down violently with 
a table which they flung over him, thrust into his fundament a 
red-hot iron, which they inserted through a horn ; and though the 
outward marks of violence upon his person were prevented by^his 
expedient, the horrid deed was discovered to all the guards and 
attendants by the screams with which the agonizing king filled 
the castle while his bowels were consuming (Sept. 21). Thus 
miserably perished, in the 44th year of his age and 21st of his - 

reign, Edward II., than whom it is not easy to imagine a prince i 

less fitted for governing the fierce and turbulent people subjected | 

to his authority. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.T». 

12T2. Accession of Edward I. 

1283. Conquest of Wales. 

1290. The Jews banished from England. 

1206. Conquest of Scotland. 

1305. Wallace executed in London. 

1307. Accession of Edward II. 

1314. Battle of Bannockburn, and inde- 



A.D. 

pendence of Scotland under Eobert 
Bruce. 
1322. The Earl of Lancaster defeated and 
executed. 

1326. Queen Isabella invades England, and 

deposes her husband. 

1327. The king murdered at Berkeley Castle. 




Noble of Edward III. 

Obv. : edwaek' . dbi . gra . eex . angl' z feanc' . d. htb' g. The king standing in n 

ship (type supposed to relate to the naval victory gained by him over the French fleet off 

Sluys, A.I). 1340). Rev. : luc : teansiens : pee : medivm : illoevm : ibat +. Crosa 

fleury, with a fleur-de-lis at each point, and a lion passant under a crown in each quartei". 



CHAPTER X. 

HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET CONTIN^tJED. — EDWAKD III. AND RICHARD II. 

A.D. 1327-1399. 

§ 1. Accession of Edward III. AVar with Scotland. § 2. Fall of Morti- 
mer. § 8. King's Administration. War with Scotland. Battle of Hali- 
down Hill. § 4. Edward's Claim to the Crown of France. § 5. War 
with France. § 6. Domestic Disturbances. Affairs of Brittany. § 7. 
Renewal of the French War. Battle of Crecy. § 8. Captivity of the 
King of Scots. Calais taken. § 9. Institution of the Garter. War in 
Guienne and Battle of Poitiers. §10. Captivity of King John. Invasion 
of France and Peace of Bretigni. § 11. The Black Prince in Castile. 
Rupture with France. § 12. Death of the Prince of Wales. Death and 
Character of the King. § 13. Miscellaneous Transactions of this Reign. 
§ 14. Accession of Richard II. Insurrections. § 15. Discontents of 
the Nobility. Expulsion or Execution of the King's Ministers. § 16. 
Counter-revolution. Ascendency of the Duke of Lancaster. Cabals 
and Murder of the Duke of Gloucester. § 17. Death of John of Gaunt, 
Duke of Lancaster. Revolt of his Son Henry, Deposition, Death, and 
Character of the King. § 18. The Wiclifites. 

§ 1. Edavard III., 1327-1377.— After the king's murder a 
council of regency was appointed by Parliament, and the Earl of 
Lancaster was made guardian and protector of the king's person, 
who, at the age of 14, ascended the throne with the ti'tle of Ed- 
ward III. The real power, however, was in the hands of Isa- 
bella and Mortimer. 

The Scots seized the opportunity offered by the unsettled state 
of the English government to make some devastating incursions 
into the northern counties. The young king, who had put him- 
self at the head of an army in order to repress them, was near 
falling into the hands of the enemy. Douglas, having surveyed 



174 EDWARD III. Chap. X. . 

exactly the situation of the English camp, entered it secretly in 
the nighttime, with a body of 200 determined soldiers, and ad- 
vanced to the royal tent, with the view of killing or carrying off 
the king in the midst of his army. But some of Edward's at- 
tendants, awaking in that critical moment, made resistance ; his 
chaplain and chamberlain sacrificed their lives for his safety; 
the king himself, after making a valorous defense, escaped in the 
dark ; and Douglas, having lost the greater part of his followers, 
was glad to make a hasty retreat with the remainder. Soon after, 
the Scottish army decamped without noise in the dead of night; 
and, having thus gotten the start of the English, arrived with- 
out farther loss in their own country. This inglorious campaign 
was followed by a disgraceful peace. As the claim of superiority 
in England, more than any other cause, had tended to inflame the 
animosities between the two nations, Mortimer, besides stipulat- 
ing a marriage between Jane, sister of Edward, and David, the 
son and heir of Robert, consented "to resign absolutely this claim, 
to give up all the homages done by the Scottish Parliament and 
nobility, and to acknowledge Robert as independent sovereign of 
Scotland. This treaty was ratified by Parliament, 1328, but was, 
nevertheless, the source of great discontent among the people. 

§ 2. But the fall of Mortimer was now approaching. Having 
persuaded the Earl of Kent that his brother, King Edward, was 
still alive, and detained in some secret prison in England, he in- 
duced the unsuspicious earl to enter into a conspiracy for his res- 
toration, and then caused him to be condemned by the Parliament, 
and executed (1330). The Earl of Lancaster, on pretense of his 
having assented to this conspiracy, was soon after thrown into 
prison ; and many of the prelates and nobility were prosecuted. 
Mortimer employed this engine to crush all his enemies, and to 
enrich himself and his family by the forfeitures. He assumed the 
title of Earl of March, affected a state and dignity equal or supe- 
rior to the royal ; his power became formidable to every one ; 
and all parties, forgetting past animosities, conspired in their ha- 
tred of Mortimer. It was impossible that these abuses could long 
escape the observation of a prince endowed with so much spirit 
and judgment as young Edward. He communicated his inten- 
tions of subverting Mortimer to several nobles ; and the castle 
of Nottingham was chosen for the scene of their enterprise. The 
queen-dowager and Mortimer lodged in that fortress : the king 
also was admitted, though with a few only of his attendants ; and 
as the castle was strictly guarded, the gates locked every evening, 
and the keys carried to the queen, it became necessary to com- 
municate the design to Sir William Eland, the governor, who 
zealously took part in it. By his direction the king's associates 



A.D. 1327-1332. WAR WITH SCOTLAND. X75 

were admitted through a subterraneous passage, which had for- 
merly been contrived for a secret outlet from the castle, but was 
now buried in rubbish ; and Mortimer, without haying it in his 
power to make resistance, was suddenly seized in an apartment 
adjoining to the queen's. A Parliament was immediately sum- 
moned, which condemned him, from the supposed notoriety of the 
facts alleged against him, without trial, or hearing his answer, or 
examining a witness ; and he was hanged on a gibbet at Tyburn 
(1330). The queen was confined to her own house at Risings, 
near London ; and though the king, during the remainder of her 
life, paid her a decent visit once or twice a year, she never was 
able to reinstate herself in any credit or authority. 

§ 3. Edward, having now taken the reins of government into 
his own hands, apphed himself with industry and judgment to 
redress all those grievances which had proceeded either from want 
of authority in the crown, or from the late abuses of it. The 
robbers, thieves, murderers, and criminals of all kinds had, dur- 
ing the course of public convulsions, multiplied to an enormous 
degree, and were openly protected by the gi-eat barons, who made 
use of them against their enemies. Many of these gangs had be- 
come so numerous as to require the king's own presence to dis- 
perse them ; and he exerted both courage and industry in execut- 
ing this salutary office. For the next three or four years Ed- 
Avard's attention was engaged with the affairs of Scotland. The 
wise and valiant Robert Bruce, who had recovered by arms the 
independence of his country, died soon after the last treaty of 
peace with England, leaving David, his sou, a minor, under the 
guardianship of Randolph, Earl of MmTay, the companion of 3,11 
his victories. A good deal of discontent had been excited among 
many of the English nobility by the non-performance of that arti- 
cle of the treaty by which they were to be restored to theii* es- 
tates in Scotland. Under the influence of these feelings they re- 
solved on setting up Edward Baliol, the son of John, who was 
then residing in Kormandy, as a pretender to the Scottish crown ; 
and Edward secretly encouraged Baliol in the enterprise, and gave 
countenance to the nobles who were disposed to join in the at- 
tempt. The arms of Baliol were attended Tvith sui*prising suc- 
cess; that princ§ was crowned at Scone (1332); and David, his 
competitor, was sent over to France with his betrothed wife, Jane, 
sister to Edward. But Bahol's imprudence, or his necessities, 
making him dismiss the gTeater part of his English followers, he 
was attacked on a sudden near Annan, put to the rout, and 
chased into England in a miserable condition; and thus lost his 
kingdom by a revolution as sudden as that by which he had ac- 
quired it. 



]_76 EDWARD III. Chap. X. 

While Baliol enjoyed his short-lived and precarious royalty, he 
had offered to acknowledge Edward's superiority, and to espouse 
the Princess Jane, if the Pope's consent could be obtained for dis- 
solving her former marriage, which was not yet consummated. 
Edward, ambitious of recovering that important concession made 
by Mortimer during his minority, willingly accepted the offer ; 
but as the dethroning of Baliol had rendered this stipulation of no 
effect, the king prepared to reinstate him in possession of the 
crown, and advanced toward the north with an army for that pur- 
pose. Douglas, the Scottish regent, was defeated and slain at Hal- 
idown-hill, a little north of Berwick. Baliol was acknowledged 
as king by a Parliament held at Perth (1333), and the superi- 
ority of England was again recognized ; many of the Scottish no- 
bility swore fealty to Edward ; and to complete the misfortunes 
of that nation, Baliol ceded Berwick, Dunbar, Eoxborough, Edin- 
burgh, and all the southeast counties of Scotland, which were de- 
clared to be forever annexed to the English monarchy. But the 
Scots were still far from being subdued. In 1335, and again in 
the following year, Edward was obliged to proceed thither with 
an army ; and, as a war was now likely to break out between 
France and England, the Scots had reason to expect from this 
incident a great diversion of that force which had so long op- 
pressed and overwhelmed them. 

§ 4. This war was occasioned by Edward's claim to the crown 
of France, which embroiled the two countries for more than a 
century. Upon the death of Charles IV. in 1328 without male 
issue, Philip de Valois, the cousin of Charles, succeeded as Philip 
VI., since by the French law no female was capable of succeeding 
to the crown. Edward III., however, laid claim to the crown in 
right of his mother Isabella ; and since the last three kings of 
France had all left daughters, who were still alive, he maintained 
that, though his mother Isabella was, on account of her sex, in- 
capable of succeeding, a right to the crown could be transmitted 
to him through her. But even if this argument had been of any 
avail, Charles, King of Navarre, had a preferable title to the throne 
(see genealogical table below).* Edward's claim indeed was so 

* The following genealogical table exhibits the descent of EdAvard III. 
and Philip VI. from their common ancestor, Philip III. : 

PhUip m. 

I 



Philip rV. Charles of Valois. 
' \ i PHILIP VL 



Louis X. Philip V. Charles IV. Isahella. 

Jane. 4 daughters. 2 daughters. EDWARD KL 

Charles, King 
of Navarre. 



A.D. 1332-1340. WAR WITH FRANCE. 177 

unreasonable, and so thoroughly disavowed by the whole French 
nation, that to insist on it was no better than pretending to the 
violent conquest of the kingdom ; and it is probable that he would 
never have farther thouoht of it had it not been that in several 
particulars he had found reason to complain of Philip's conduct 
with regard to Guienne, as well as of that prince's having given 
protection to the exiled David Bruce, and supported, or at least 
encouraged the Scots in their struggles for independence. 

§ 5. Edward now began to prepare for war, formed various 
alliances on the Continent, and assumed the title of King of 
France (1337). He crossed over to Flanders, where he had ob- 
tained the adhesion of Van Artevelde, the leader of the popular 
party among the Flemings (1338) ; and in the following year he 
invaded France, but was obliged to retreat without effecting any 
thing. Edward, however, was a prince of too much spirit to be 
discouraged by the first difficulties of an undertaking; and he 
was anxious to retrieve his honor by more successful and more 
gallant enterprises. Philip, apprised from the preparations which 
were making both in England and the Low Countries that he 
must expect another invasion from Edward, fitted out a great 
fleet of 400 vessels, manned with 40,000 men ; and he stationed 
them off Sluys, with a view of intercepting the king in his pas- 
sage to the Continent (1340). The English navy was much in- 
ferior in number, consisting only of 240 sail ; but whether it were 
by the superior abilities of Edward, or the greater dexterity of 
his seamen, they gained the wind of the enemy, and had the sun 
in their backs, and with these advantages began the action. The 
Flemings, descrying the battle, hurried out of their harbors, and 
brought a re-enforcement to the English, which, coming unexpect- 
edly, had a greater effect than in proportion to its power and 
numbers. 230 French ships were taken; 30,000 Frenchmen 
were killed, with two of their admirals ; the loss of the English 
was inconsiderable compared to the greatness and importance of 
the victory. But though the lustre of this great success increased 
the king's authority among his allies, and though Edward march- 
ed to the frontiers of France at the head of above 100,000 men, 
consisting chiefly of foreigners, nothing of importance followed. 
A peace was concluded in the course of the year between the two 
monarchs, and Edward returned to England. 

§ 6. Edward now found himself in a bad situation both with 
his own people and with foreign states ; and it required all his 
genius and capacity to extricate himself from such multiplied dif- 
ficulties and embarrassments. His unjust and exorbitant claims 
on France and Scotland had engaged him in an implacable war 
with these two kingdoms ; he had lost almost all his foreign alli- 

H 2 



178 / EDWARD III. Chap.X. 

ances by his irregular payments ; he was deeply involved in debts, 
for which he owed a consuming interest ; except his naval vic- 
tory, none of his military operations had been attended with glory 
or renown ; the animosity between him and the clergy, especially 
Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom the charge of col- 
lecting the taxes had been chiefly intrusted, was open and de- 
clared ; the people were discontented on account of many arbi- 
trary measures in which he had been engaged ; and, what was 
more dangerous, the nobility, taking advantage of his present ne- 
cessities, were determined to reti'ench his power, and, by encroach- 
ing on the ancient prerogatives of the crown, to acquire to them- 
selves independence and authority. The Parliament framed an 
act to confirm the great charter anew, and to oblige all the chief 
officers of the law and of the state to swear to the regular ob- 
servance of it. They enacted that no peer should be punished 
but by the award of his peers in Parliament ; that the chief offi- 
cers of state should be appointed by the advice of Parliament ; 
and that they should answer before Parliament to any accusation 
brought against them. In return for these important concessions, 
the Parliament offered the king a grant of 20,000 sacks of wool ; 
and his wants were so urgent from the clamors of his creditors 
and the demands of his foreign allies, that he was obliged to ac- 
cept of the supply on these hard conditions. He ratified this 
statute in full Parliament ; but he subsequently issued an edict to 
abrogate and annul it ; and after two years of this arbitrary exer- 
tion of royal power, the obnoxious statute was formally repealed 
by the Parliament. 

A disputed claim to the succession of Brittany on the death of 
the Duke John III. again attracted Edward's attention toward 
France. The succession was claimed by the Count de Montfort, 
John's brother by a second marriage, and by Charles de Blois, 
nephew of the French king, who had married John's niece. Mont- 
fort offered to do homage to Edward as King of France for the 
duchy of Brittany, and proposed a strict alliance for the support 
of their mutual pretensions. Edward saw immediately the ad- 
vantages attending this treaty; Montfort, an active and valiant 
prince, closely united to him by interest, opened at once an en- 
trance into the heart of France, and afforded him much more flat- 
tering views than his allies on the side of Germany and the Low 
Countries. Montfort, however, fell into the hands of his ene- 
mies ; was conducted as a prisoner to Paris ; but Jane of Flan- 
dei'S, Countess of Montfort, the most extraordinary woman of the 
age, after she had put Brittany in a good posture of defense, shut 
herself up in Hennebonne till she was relieved by the succors 
which Edward sent her under the command of Sir Walter Man- 
ny, one of the bravest captains of England (1342). 



A.D. 1340-1346. BATTLE OF CRECY. I79 

§ 7. In the autumn of the same year Edward undertook, in 
person, the defense of the Countess of Montfort ; and, as the last 
truce with France was now expired, the war, which the English 
and French had hitherto carried on as allies to the competitors 
for Brittany, was thenceforth conducted in the name and under 
the standard of the two monarchs. This war, Jike the preceding, 
was carried on without any important advantages on either side 
till 1346, when the English gained the first of the two great vic- 
tories which have shed such a lustre upon Edward's reign. The 
king had intended to sail to Guienne, which was threatened by a 
formidable French army, and embarked at Southampton, on board 
a fleet of nearly 1000 sail of all dimensions, carrying with him, 
besides all the chief nobility of England, his eldest son, the Prince 
of Wales, now 16 years of age. The winds proved long contrary ; 
and the king, in despair of arriving in time in Guienne, at last 
ordered his fleet to sail to Normandy, and safely disembarked his 
army at La Hogue (July, 1346). 

This army, which, during the course of the ensuing campaign, 
was crowned Ynth the most splendid success, consisted of 4000 
men-at-arms, 10,000 archers, 10,000 Welsh infantry, and 6000 
Irish. Edward, after laying waste Normandy and advancing al- 
most up to the gates of Paris, retreated toward Flanders, pursued 
by the French king with an immense army. Edward had cross- 
ed the River Somme below Abbeville, when he was overtaken by 
the French army. He took up his position near the village of 
Crecy, about 15 miles east of Abbeville, and determined there to 
await the enemy. He drew up his army on a gentle ascent, and 
divided them into three lines, the first commanded by the Prince 
of Wales, and the third by himself. He had likewise the precau- 
tion to throw up trenches on his flanks, in order to secure himself 
from the numerous bodies of the French, who might assail him 
from that quarter ; and he placed all his baggage behind him in 
a wood, which he also secured by an intrenchment. Edward, be- 
sides the resources which he found in his own genius and presence 
of mind, employed also a new invention against the enemy, and 
placed in his front some pieces of artillery, the first that had yet 
been made use of on any remarkable occasion in Europe. The 
invention of artillery was at this time known in France as well 
as in England ; but Philip, in his hurry to overtake the enemy, 
had probably left his cannon behind him, which he regarded as a 
useless encumbrance. After a long day's march from Abbeville, 
the French army, imperfectly formed into three lines, arrived, al- 
ready fatigued and disordered, iii presence of the enemy. The 
first line, consisting of Genoese cross-bow men, was commanded 
by Anthony Doria and Charles Grimaldi ; the second was led by 



180 EDWARD III. Chap. X. 

the Count of AleiiQon, brother to the king ; Philip himself was at 
the head of the third. The King of Bohemia, and the King of 
the Romans, his son, were also present, with all the nobility and 
great vassals of the crown of France. The army consisted of 
above 120,000 men, more than three times the number of the En- 
glish. But the prudence of one man was superior to the advan- 
tage of all this force and splendor. 

The English, on the approach of the enemy, kept their ranks 
firm and immovable ; and the Genoese first began the attack. 
There had happened, a little before the engagement, a thunder- 
shower, which had moistened and relaxed the strings of the Geno- 
ese cross-bows ; their arrows, for this reason, fell short of the en- 
emy. The English archers, taking their bows out of their cases, 
poured in a shower of arrows upon this multitude who were op- 
posed to them, and soon threw them into disorder. The young 
Prince of Wales had the presence of mind to take advantage of 
this situation, and to lead on his line to the charge. The young 
prince had been knighted only a month before ; and Edward, who 
was watching the battle from a windmill, resolved to leave to his 
son the glory of the victory. Although the prince was then hard 
pressed by the French, the king refused to send succors to his as- 
sistance, saying, " Let the child win his spurs, and let the day be 
his." After a stout resistance the French cavalry was thrown 
into disorder ; the Count of Alengon was slain ; the Welsh in- 
fantry rushed into the throng, and with their long knives cut the 
throats of all who had fallen ; nor was any quarter given that day 
by the victors. The King of France advanced in vain with the 
rear to sustain the line commanded by his brother. He had him- 
self a horse killed under him, and was at length obliged to quit 
the field of battle. The whole French army took to flight, and 
was followed and put to the sword, without mercy, till the dark- 
ness of the night put an end to the pursuit. The king, on his 
return to the camp, flew into the arms of the Prince of Wales, 
and exclaimed, " My brave son ! persevere in your honorable 
course ; you are my son ; for valiantly have you acquitted your- 
self to-day, and worthy are you of a crown." From this time the 
young prince became the terror of the French, by whom he was 
called the Black Prince, from the color of the armor which he 
wore on that day. 

This battle, which is known by the name of the battle of Crecy, 
began about four o'clock in the afternoon, and continued till even- 
ing (Aug. 26, 1346). On the day of battle and on the ensuing 
there fell, by a moderate computation, 1200 French knights, 1400 
gentlemen, 4000 men-at-arms, besides about 30,000 of inferior 
rank : jnany of the principal nobility of France and the King of 



A. D. 1346-134?. CALAIS TAKEN. 181 

Bohemia were left on the field of battle. The fate of the King of 
Bohemia was remarkable. He was blind from age, but, being 
resolved to hazard his person and set an example to others, he oi:- 
dered the reins of his bridle to be tied on each side to two geu tie- 
men of his train ; and his dead body, and those of his attendants, 
were afterward found among the slain, with their horses standing 
by them in that situation. It is said that the crest of the King 
of Bohemia was three ostrich feathers, and his motto Ich dien, I 
perve, which the Prince of Wales and his successors adopted in 
memorial of this great victory. =^ The action may seem no less 
i-emarkable for the small loss sustained by the English than for 
the great slaughter of the French ; there were killed in it only 
one esquire and three knights, and very few of inferior rank. The 
king, not elated by his present prosperity so far as to expect the 
total conquest of France, or even that of any considerable prov- 
inces, limited his ambition to the conquest of Calais, which would 
secure an easy entrance into France ; and after the interval of a 
few days, which he employed in interring the slain, he marched 
with his victorious army, and presented himself before that place. 

§ 8. While Edward was engaged in this siege, which employed 
him nearly a twelvemonth, there passed in different places many 
other events ; and all to the honor of the English arms. The 
Earl of Derby, who commanded the English forces in Guienne, 
carried his incursions to the banks of the Loire, and filled all the 
southern provinces of France with horror and devastation. The 
Scots, under the command of their king, David Bruce, entered 
Korthnmberland, but were completely defeated by Earl Percy, at 
Neville's Cross, near Durham (Oct. 12, 1346) ; and the king him- 
self was taken prisoner, v^ith many of the nobility. David Bruce 
was detained in captivity till 1357, when he was liberated for a 
ransom of 100,000 marks. 

The town of Calais had been defended with remarkable vigi- 
lance, constancy, and bravery by the townsmen, during a siege of 
unusual length ; and Philip had made a vain attempt to relieve it. 
At length, after endurmg all the extremities of famine, John de 
Vienne, the governor, surrendered unconditionally, Aug. 4, 1347. 
The story runs that Edward had at first resolved to put all the 
garrison to death ; but that at last he only insisted that six of the 
most considerable citizens should be sent to him, to be disposed 
of as he thought proper ; that they should come to his camp, car- 
rying the keys of the city in their hands, bareheaded and bare- 
footed, with ropes about their necks ; and on these conditions he 
promised to spare the lives of all the remainder. When this in- 

* There is, however, great doubt respecting the truth of this tradition. 
See the essay bv Sir H. Nicolas in the Archaologia, vol. xxxii. 



182 



EDWARD III. 



Chap. X. 




-t««Mwtwu»z::* 



Neville's Cross. 

telligence was conveyed to Calais it struck the inhabitants with 
consternation ; and they found themselves incapable of coming to 
any resolution in so cruel and distressful a situation. At last one 
of the principal inhabitants, called Eustace de St. Pierre, stepped 
forth and declared himself willing to encounter death for the safety 
of his friends and companions ; another, animated by his example, 
made a like generous offer ; a third and a fourth presented them- 
selves to the same fate ; and the whole number was soon com- 
pleted. These six heroic burgesses appeared before Edward in 
the guise of malefactors, laid at his feet the keys of their city, and 



A.D. 1347-1349. INSTITUTION OF THE GARTER. 133 

were ordered to be led to execution. It is surj)rising that so gen- 
erous a prince should ever have entertained such a barbarous pur- 
pose against such men ; and still more that he should seriously 
persist in the resolution of executing it. But the entreaties of 
his queen saved his memory from that infamy ; she threw herself 
on her knees before him, and, with tears in her eyes, begged the 
lives of these citizens. Having obtained her request, she carried 
them into her tent, ordered a repast to be set before them, and, 
after making them a present of money and clothes, dismissed them 
in safety.* The king, after taking possession of Calais, ordered 
all the inhabitants to evacuate the tOT\Ti, and peopled it anew with 
English ; a policy which probably preserved so long to his suc- 
cessors the dominion of that important fortress. He made it the 
staple of wool, leather, tin, and lead ; the four chief, if not the 
sole, commodities of the kingdom for which there was any con- 
siderable demand in foreign markets. 

Through the mediation of the Pope's legates Edward concluded 
a truce "with France ; but, even during this cessation of arms, an 
attempt was made to deprive him of Calais (1348). Edward, 
however, being informed of the plot, proceeded to Calais with 
1000 men ; and when the French presented themselves to take 
possession of the town, according to the stipulation, he rushed 
forth with cries of battle and victory (Jan. 1, 1349). The king, 
who fought as a private man, distinguished himself in single com- 
bat with a French knight named Eibaumont, by whom he was 
twice struck to the gTound, but whom he at last made prisoner. 
The French officers who had fallen into the hands of the English 
were admitted to sup with the Prince of Wales and the EngKsli 
nobility; and after supper the king himself came into the apart- 
ment, and went about conversing familiarly with one or other of 
his prisoners. He openly bestowed the highest encomiums on 
Ribaumont ; called him the most valorous knight that he had 
ever been acquainted with ; confessed that he himself had at no 
time been in so great danger as when engaged in combat with 
him ; and presented him with a string of pearls which he wore 
about his own head. 

§ 9. It was about the same time (1349) that the king insti- 
tuted the order of the Garter. Its origin is lost in obscurity, but, 
according to the received stor}", was as follows : At a court-ball, 
Edward's mistress, commonly supposed to be the Countess of 
Salisbury, dropped her garter ; and the king, taking it up, ob- 
served some of the courtiers to smile, as if they thought that he 
had not obtained this favor merely by accident, upon which he 

* This dramatic and interesting story is narrated by Froissart alone, and 
is open to much suspicion. 



184 EDWARD III. Chap. X. 

called out, Honi soit qui mal y ijense, Evil to him that evil thinks ; 
and gave these v\^ords as the motto of the order. 

A grievous calamity, more than the pacific dispositions of the 
princes, served to maintain and prolong the truce betw^een France 
and England. A destructive pestilence invaded England as well 
as the rest of Europe ; and is computed to have swept away near 
a third of the inhabitants in every country which it attacked. 
Above 50,000 souls are said to have perished by it in London 
alone. This malady first discovered itself in the north of Asia, 
was spread over all that country, made its progress from one end 
of Europe to the other, and sensibly depopulated every state 
through which it passed. The truce between the two kingdoms, 
which had always been ill-observed on both sides, expired in 
1355. John had succeeded to the French throne on the death 
of his father, Philip de Valois, in 1350; and France was dis- 
tracted by the factions excited by Charles, King of Navarre. 
John had succeeded, indeed, in seizing and imprisoning that 
monarch; but his brother Philip and Geofirey d'Harcourt took 
up and continued his designs, and had recourse to the protection 
of England. Edward, well pleased that the factions in France 
had at length gained him some partisans in that kingdom, which 
his pretensions to the crown had never been able to accomplish, 
purposed to attack his enemy both on the side of Guienne, under 
the command of the Prince of Wales, and on that of Calais, in his 
own person. Young Edward arrived in the Garonne with his 
army, overran Languedoc, advanced even to Narbonne, laying 
every place waste around him ; and, after an incursion of six 
weeks, returned with a vast booty and many prisoners to Gui- 
enne, where he took up his winter-quarters. The King of En- 
gland's incursion from Calais was of the same nature, and attend- 
ed with the same issue. After plundering and ravaging the open 
country he retired to Calais, and thence went over to England, in 
order to defend that kingdom against a threatened invasion of the 
Scots, who, taking advantage of the king's absence, had surprised 
.Berwick. But on the approach of Edward they abandoned that 
place, which was not tenable while the castle was in the hands of 
the English ; and retiring to their mountains, gave the enemy full 
liberty of burning and destroying the whole country from Berwick 
to Edinburgh. In the following year (1356) the Prince of Wales, 
encouraged by the success of the preceding campaign, took the 
field with an army of 12,000 men, of which not a third were En- 
glish ; and with this small body he ventured to penetrate into the 
heart of France. His intentions were to march into Normandy, 
and to join his forces with those of the Earl of Lancaster and the 
partisans of the King of Navarre ; but finding all the bridges on 



A.D. 1349-1356. BATTLE OF POITIERS. 185 

the Loire broken down, and every pass carefully guarded, he was 
obliged to think of making his retreat into Guienne. The King 
of France, provoked at the insult oiFered him by this incursion, 
and entertaining hopes of success from the young prince's temer- 
ity, collected a great army of above 60,000 men, and advanced by 
hasty marches to intercept his enemy. They came within sight 
at Maupertuis near Poitiers ; and Edward, sensible that his re- 
treat was now become impracticable, prepared for battle with all 
the courage of a young hero, and with all the prudence of the old- 
est and most experienced commander. John, at the instance of 
the Cardinal of Perigord, lost a day in negotiation. The Prince 
of Wales had leisure during the night to strengthen, by new in- 
trenchments, the post which he had before so judiciously chosen ; 
and he contrived an ambush of 300 men at arms and as many 
archers, whom he ordered to make a circuit, that they might fall 
on the flank or rear of the French army during the engagement. 
The van of his army was commanded by the Earl of Warwick, 
the rear by the Earls of Salisbury and Suffolk, the main body by 
the prince himself. John also arranged his forces in three divi- 
sions. There w^as no reaching the English army but through a 
narrow lane, and a body of English archers who lined the hedges 
plied the advancing enemy on each side with their arrows, and 
slaughtered them with impunity. The French detachment, much 
discouraged by the unequal combat and diminished in their num- 
ber, arrived at the end of the lane, where they met on the open 
ground the Prince of Wales himself, at the head of a chosen body, 
ready for their reception. They were discomfited and over- 
thrown, and, recoiling upon their own army, put every thing into 
disorder. In that critical moment the men placed in ambush un- 
expectedly appeared and attacked in- flank the dauphin's line, 
which fell into some confusion. The Duke of Orleans, and sev- 
eral other French commanders, fled with their divisions ; but King 
John made the utmost efforts to retrieve by his valor what his 
imprudence had betrayed ; till, spent with fatigue, and over- 
whelmed by numbers, he and his son yielded themselves prison- 
ers. Young Edward received the captive king with all the marks 
of regard and sympathy ; administered comfort to him amid his 
misfortunes ; paid him the tribute of praise due to his valor ; and 
ascribed his own victory merely to the blind chance of w^ar, or to 
a superior providence which controls all the efforts of human force 
and prudence. The behavior of John showed him not unworthy 
of this courteous treatment ; his present abject fortune never made 
him forget a moment that he was a king. More touched by Ed- 
ward's generosity than by his own calamities, he confessed that, 
notwithstanding his defeat and captivity, his honor was still nn- 



186 EDWARD III. Chap. X. 

impaired ; and that, if he yielded the victory, it was at least gained 
by a prince of such consummate valor and humanity. Edward 
ordered a repast to be prepared in his tent for the prisoner, and 
he himself served at the royal captive's table, as if he had been 
one of his retinue ; he stood at the king's back during the meal, 
constantly refused to take a place at table, and declared^ that, 
being a subject, he was too well acquainted with the distance be- 
tween his own rank and that of royal majesty to assume such 
freedom. The battle of Poitiers w^as fought Sept. 19, 1356. 

The Prince of Wales conducted his prisoner to Bordeaux ; and 
not being provided with forces so numerous as might enable him 
to push his present advantages, he concluded a two years' truce 
with France, which was also become requisite that he might con- 
duct the captive king with safety into England. On entering 
London, May 24, 1357, he was met by a great concourse of 
people of all ranks and stations. The prisoner was clad in royal 
apparel, and mounted on a white steed, distinguished by its size 
and beauty and by the richness of its furniture. The conqueror 
rode by his side in a meaner attire, and carried by a black palfrey. 
In this situation, more glorious than all the insolent parade of a 
Boman triumph, he passed through the streets of London, and 
presented the King of France to his father, who advanced to 
meet him, and received him with the same . courtesy as if he had 
been a neighboring potentate that had voluntarily come to pay 
him a friendly visit. 

§ 10. During the captivity of John, France was thrown into 
the greatest confusion by domestic factions and disorders. Ed- 
ward employed himself during a conjuncture so inviting chiefly in 
negotiations with his prisoner; and John had the weakness to 
sign terms of peace, by which he agreed to restore all the prov- 
inces which had been possessed by -Henry II. and his two sons, 
and to annex them forever to England, without any obligation 
of homage or fealty on the part of the English monarch. But the 
dauphin and the states of France rejected this treaty, so dishonor- 
able and pernicious to the kingdom ; and Edward, on the expira- 
tion of the truce, having now, by subsidies and frugality, collected 
some treasure, prepared himself for a new invasion of France 
(1359). It is unnecessary to follow the ravages of the English 
during this invasion, in which many of the French provinces were 
laid waste with fire and sword, and the people suffered incredible 
miseries. At length the dauphin agreed to the terms of a peace, 
which was concluded at Bretigni near Chartres, on the following 
conditions (May 8, 1360). It was stipulated that King John 
should be restored to his liberty, and should pay as his ransom 
three millions of crowns of gold, about 1,500,000 pounds of our 



A.D. 1356-1367. PEACE OF BRETIGNI. 187 

present money, which was to be discharged at different payments ; 
that Edward should forever renounce all claim to the crown of 
France, and to the provinces of Normandy, Maine, Touraine, and 
Anjou, possessed by his ancestors ; and should receive in ex- 
change the provinces of Poitou, Xaintonge, I'Agenois, Perigord, 
the Limousin, Quercy, Rouergue, I'Angoumois, and other districts 
in that quarter, together with Calais, Guisnes, Montreuil, and the 
county of Ponthieu, on the other side of France ; that the full 
sovereignty of all these provinces, as well as that of Guienne, 
should be invested in the croivn of England, and that France 
should renounce all title to feudal jurisdiction, homage, or appeal 
from them ; that the King of Navarre should be restored to all 
his honors and possessions ; that Edward should renounce his 
confederacy with the Flemings, John his connections with the 
Scots ; that the disputes concerning the succession of Brittany 
between the families of Blois and Montfort should be decided by 
arbiters -appointed by the two kings ; and that forty hostages, 
such as should be agreed on, should be sent to England as a se- 
curity for the execution of all these conditions. In consequence 
of this treaty the King of France was brought over to Calais, 
whither Edward also soon after repaired ; and there both princes 
solemnly ratified the treaty. John was sent to Boulogne ; the 
king accompanied him a mile on his journey, and the two mon- 
archs parted with many professions, probably cordial and sincere, 
of mutual amity. In 1363 John came over to England, as he 
was unable to fulfill the terms of his release. He was lodged in 
the Savoy, the palace where he had resided during his captivity, 
and where he soon after sickened and died. John was succeeded 
on the throne by Charles the dauphin, a prince ' educated in the 
school of adversity, and well qualified, by his consummate pru- 
dence and experience, to repair all the losses which the kingdom 
had sustained from the errors of his two predecessors. 

§ 11. In 1367 the Black Prince marched into Castile, in order 
to restore Peter, surnamed the Gruel^ who had been driven from 
the throne of that country by his natural brother, Henry, Count 
of Transtamare, with the assistance of the French. Henry was 
defeated by the English prince at Najara^ and was chased off the 
field, with the loss of above 20,000 men. There perished only 4 
knights and 40 private men on the side of the English. Peter, 
who so well merited the infamous epithet which he bore, purposed 
to murder all his prisoners in cold blood, but was restrained from 
this barbarity by the remonstrances of the Prince of Wales. All 
Castile now submitted to the victor ; Peter was restored to the 
throne ; and Edward finished this perilous enterprise with his 
usual glory. But the barbarities exercised by Peter over his 



188 EDWARD HI. ' Chap. X. 

helpless subjects, whom he now regarded as vanquished rebels, re- 
vived all the animosity of the Castilians against him ; and on the 
return of Henry of Transtamare, and some forces levied anew in 
France, the tyrant was again dethroned and was taken prisoner. 
His brother, in resentment of his cruelties, murdered him with his 
own hand ; and was placed on the throne of Castile, which he 
transmitted to his posterity. The Duke of Lancaster, who es- 
poused in second marriage the eldest daughter of Peter, inherited 
only the empty title of that sovereignty, and, by claiming the suc- 
cession, increased the animosity of the new king of Castile against 
England. 

But the prejudice which the affairs of Prince Edward received 
from this splendid though imprudent expedition ended not with it. 
He had involved himself so much in debt by his preparations and 
the pay of his troops that he found it necessary, on his return, to 
impose a new tax on his French subjects. This incident revived 
the animosity of the Gascons, who were encouraged to carry their 
complaints to Charles, as to their lord paramount, against these 
oppressions of the English government. Charles, in open breach 
of the treaty of Bretigni, sent to the Prince of Wales a summons 
to appear in his court at Paris, and there to justify his conduct 
toward his vassals. The prince replied that he would come to 
Paris ; but it should be at the head of 60,000 men. Hence tie 
war between the French and English broke out again ; and Ed- 
ward, by advice of Parliament, resumed the title of King of France 
(1369). The French invaded the southern provinces ; and by 
means of their good conduct, the favorable dispositions of the peo- 
ple, and the ardor of the French nobility, they made every day con- 
siderable progress against the English. The state of the Prince 
of Wales's health did not permit him to mount on horseback, or 
exert his usual activity ; and when he was obliged by his increas- 
ing infirmities to throw up the command and return to his native 
country, the affairs of the English in the south of France seemed 
to be menaced with total ruin. Shortly before his departure Ed- 
ward perpetrated an act of cruelty which is the greatest blot upon 
his fair name. Having retaken the town of Limoges, which had 
revolted from him, he ordered all the inhabitants to be butchered ; 
and being too ill to ride or walk, he was carried in a litter through 
the street to view the carnage. After the departure of the Black 
Prince the king endeavored to send succors into Gascony ; but all 
his attempts, both by sea and land, proved unsuccessful. He was 
at last obliged, from the necessity of his affairs, to conclude a truce 
with the enemy, after almost all his ancient possessions in France 
had been ravished from him, except Bordeaux and Bayonne, and 
all his conquests except Calais. 



A. D. 1367-1377. DEATH OF THE BLACK PRINCE. Igg 

§ 12. The decline of the king's life was thus exposed to many 
mortifications, and corresponded not to the splendid and noisy- 
scenes which had filled the beginning and the middle of it. This 
prince, who during the vigor of his age had been chiefly occupied 
in the pursuits of war and ambition, began at an unseasonable 
period to indulge himself in pleasure ; and, being now a widower, 
he attached himself to one Alice Ferrers, who acquired a great 
ascendant over him, and, by her influence, gave such general dis- 
gust, that, in order to satisfy the Parliament, he was obliged to 
remove her from court. The Prince of Wales, after a lingering 
illness, died in the 46th year of his age (June 8, 1376). His 
valor and military talents formed the smallest part of his merit : 
his generosity, affability, and moderation gained him the affec- 
tions of all men ; and he was qualified to tlirow a lustre, not only 
on that rude age in which he lived, but on the most shining pe- 
riod of ancient or modern history. He was buried in the cathe- 
dral of Canterbury, where his tomb is still shown. The king sur- 
vived about a year the death of his son, and England was de- 
prived at once of both these princes, its chief ornament and sup- 
port. He expired in the 65th year of his age, and the 51st of 
his reign (June 21, 1377), and was buried at Westminster. The 
people were then sensible, though too late, of the irreparable loss 
which they had sustained. The ascendant which the English 
then began to acquire over France, their rival and supposed na- 
tional enemy, makes them cast their eyes on this period with great 
complacency, and sanctifies every measure which Edward em- 
braced for that end. But the domestic government of this prince 
is really more admirable than his foreign victories ; and England 
enjoyed, by the prudence and vigor of his administration, a longer 
interval of domestic peace and tranquillity than she had been bless- 
ed with in any former period, or than she experienced for many 
ages after. Pie gained the affections of the ereat, yet curbed their 
licentiousness ; he made them feel his power without their darii g 
or even being inclined to murmur at it ; his affable and obliging 
behavior, his munificence and generosity, made them submit with 
pleasure to his dommion ; his valor and conduct made them suc- 
cessful in most of their enterprises ; and their unquiet spirits, di- 
rected against a public enemy, had no leisure to breed those dis- 
turbances to which they were naturally so much inclined, and 
which the frame of the government seemed so much to authorize. 
This was the chief benefit which resulted from Edward's victo- 
^ ries and conquests. His foreign wars were in other respects 
neither founded in justice, nor directed to any salutary purpose. 

Edward had six sons and five daughters by his queen Fhilippa 
of Hainault. His sons were : 1. Edward, the Black Prince, who 



190 EDWARD III. Chap. X. 

married Joan, daughter of his uncle the Earl of Kent, who was 
beheaded in the beginning of this reign. She was first married 
to Sir Thomas Holland, by whom she had children. By the 
Prince of Wales she had a son Richard, who alone survived his 
father. 2. William, who died young. 3. Lionel, Duke of Clar- 
ence, who left one daughter, Philippa, married to Edmund Mor- 
timer, Earl of March. 4. John of Gaunt, so called from being 
born at Ghent, Duke of Lancaster, and father of Henry TV. 5. 
Edmund, Duke of York. 6. Thomas, Duke of Gloucester. 

§ 13. Conquerors, though usually the bane of human kind, 
proved often, in those feudal times, the most indulgent of sover- 
eigns. They stood most in need of supplies from their people ; 
and, not being able to compel them by force to submit to the nec- 
essary impositions, they were obliged to make them some compen- 
sation by equitable laws and popular concessions. This remark 
is in some measure justified by the conduct of Edward III. He 
took no steps of moment without consulting his Parliament and 
obtaining their approbation, which he afterward pleaded as a rea- 
son for their supporting his measures. The Parliament, there- 
fore, rose into greater consideration during his reign, and acquired 
more regular authority, than in any former time.* 

One of the most popular laws enacted by any prince was the 
statute which passed in the twenty-fifth of this reign, and which 
limited the cases of high treason, before vague and uncertain, to 
three principal heads — conspiring the death of the king, levying 
war against him, and adhering to liis enemies. 

The magnificent castle of Windsor was built by Edward IIL, 
and his method of conducting the work may serve as a specimen 
of the condition of the people in that age. Listead of engaging 
workmen by contracts and wages, he assessed every county in En- 
gland to send him a certain number of masons, tilers, and carpen- 
ters, as if he had been levying an army. 

It is easy to imagine that a prince of so much sense and spirit 
as Edward would be no slave to the court of Rome. Though the 
old tribute was paid during some years of his minority, he after- 
ward withheld it ; and when the Pope, in 1367, threatened to cite 
him to the court of Rome for default of payment, he laid the mat- 
ter before his Parliament. That assembly unanimously declared 
that King John could not, without a national consent, subject his 
kingdom to a foreign power ; and that they were therefore determ- 
ined to support their sovereign against this unjust pretension. 
During this reign the statute of provisors was enacted, rendering 
it penal to procure any presentations to benefices from the court 
of Rome, and securing the rights of all patrons and electors, which 
* See Notes and Illustrations to chap. xii. : on the Parliament. 



A. D. 1377. ACCESSION OF RICHARD II. jgj^ 

had been extremely encroached on by the Pope. By a subsequent 
statute, every person was outlawed who carried any cause by ap- 
peal to the court of Rome. 

Edward III. may be called the father of English commerce. 
He encouraged Flemish weavers to settle in his kingdom, and 
protected them against the selfishness of the English weavers. 
Wool was the chief article of export and source of revenue. The 
merchants carried on an extensive trade with the Baltic. The 
use of the French language in pleadings and public deeds was 
abolished in this reign ; but the first English paper which we 
meet with in Rymer is in the year 1386, dm-ing the reign of 
Richard II. 

§ 14. Richard II., 1377-1399.— Richard H., son of the Black 
Prince, upon whom the crown devolved, was born at Bordeaux 
in 1366, and was therefore now only 11 years of age; and the 
Lords, on the petition of the House of Commons, who were now 
beginning to take a greater share in j)ublic afiairs, elected a coun- 
cil to conduct the ordinary course of business. Richard was 
crowned at Westminster July 16. 

The first three or four years of Richard's reign passed without 
any thing memorable taking place except some fruitless expedi- 
tions against France. The expenses of these armaments, and the 
usual want of economy attending a minority, much exhausted the 
English treasury, and obliged the Parliament, besides making 
some alterations in the councils, to impose a new and unusual 
tax of three groats on eveiy person, male and female, above fif- 
teen years of age ; and they ordained that, in lev^dng that tax, 
the opulent should relieve the poor by an equitable compensation. 
This imposition produced a mutiny. The firgt disorder was raised 
in a village of Essex, and Kent soon followed the example. The 
tax-gatherers came to the house of a tiler in Dartford and de- 
manded payment for his daughter, whom he asserted to be below 
the age assigned by the statute. One of these fellows offered to 
produce a very indecent proof to the contrary, and at the same 
time laid hold of the maid, which the father resenting, umnedi- 
ately knocked out the ruffian's brains with his hammer. The 
by-standers applauded the action, and exclaimed that it was full 
time for the people to take vengeance on then' tyrants, and to 
vindicate their native liberty. They immediately flew to arms ; 
the whole neighborhood joined in the sedition ; the flame spread 
in an instant over the county ; it soon propagated itself into those 
of Hertford, Sm-rey, Sussex, Sufiblk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and 
Lincoln. Before the government had the least warning of the 
danger, the disorder had grown beyond control or opposition; 
the populace had shaken off aU regard to their former masters ; 



192 RICHARD II. Chap. X. 

and, being headed by the most audacious and criminal of their 
associates, who assumed the feigned names of Wat Tyler, Jack 
Straw, Hob Carter, and Tom Miller, by which they were fond of 
denoting their mean origin, they committed every where the most 
outrageous violence on such of the gentry or nobility as had the 
misfortune to fall into their hands. 

The mutinous populace, amounting to 100,000 men, assembled 
on Blackheath, 12th June, 1381, under their leaders Tyler and 
Straw, where they were addressed by one John Ball, an itinerant 
preacher, who took for his text the following lines : 

When Adam delved, and Eve span, 
Where was then the gentleman ? 

They broke into the city, burned the Duke of Lancaster's palace 
of the Savoy, cut off the heads of all the gentlemen whom they 
laid hold of, and pillaged the warehouses of the rich merchants. 
A great body of them quartered themselves at Mile End ; and the 
king, finding no defense in the Tower, was obliged to go out to 
them and ask their demands. They required a general pardon, 
the abolition of slavery, freedom of commerce in market-towns 
without toll or impost, and a fixed rent on lands, instead of the 
services due by villenage. These requests were complied with ; 
charters to that purpose were granted them ; and this body im- 
mediately dispersed and returned to their several homes. 

During this transaction another body of the rebels had broken 
into the Tower, had murdered Simon of Sudbury the Archbishop 
of Canterbury and chancellor, with Sir Robert Hales, the treas- 
urer, and some other persons of distinction, and continued their 
ravages in the city. The next morning the king, passing along 
Smithfield, very slenderly guarded, met with Wat Tyler, at the 
head of these rioters, and entered into a conference with him. 
Tyler, having ordered his companions to retire till he should give 
them a signal, after which they were to murder all the company 
except the king himself, whom they were to detain prisoner, fear- 
ed not to come into the midst of the royal retinue. He there be- 
haved himself in such a manner, that Walworth, the Mayor of 
London, not able to bear his insolence, drew his sword and struck 
him so violent a blow as brought him to the ground, where he 
was instantly dispatched by others of the king's attendants. The 
mutineers, seeing their leader fall, prepared themselves for re- 
venge ; and this whole company, with the king himself, had un- 
doubtedly perished on the spot, had it not been for an extraordi- 
nary presence of mind which Richard discovered on the occasion. 
He ordered his company to stop ; he advanced alone toward the 
enraged m,ultitude ; and accosting them with an affable and in- 



A.D 1377-1385. INSURRECTIONS. I93 

trepid countenance, he asked tliem, " "What is the meaning of this 
disorder, my good people ? Are ye angry that ye have lost your 
leader? I am your king; I will be your leader." The popu- 
lace, overawed by his presence, implicitly followed him ; he led 
them into the fields, to prevent any disorder which might have 
arisen by their continuing in the city ; being there joined by Sir 
Robert Knollys, and a body of well-armed veteran soldiers, who 
had been secretly drawn together, he strictly prohibited that offi- 
cer from falling on the rioters and committing an undistinguished 
slaughter upon them ; and he peaceably dismissed them with the 
same charters which had been granted to their fellows. Soon 
after the nobility and gentry, hearing of the king's danger, in 
which they were all involved, flocked to London with their ad- 
herents and retainers, and Richard took the field at the head of 
an army 40,000 strong. It then behooved all the rebels to sub- 
mit ; the charters of enfrancliisement and pardon were revoked 
by Parliament ; the low people were reduced to the same slavish 
condition as before ; and several of the ringleaders were severely 
punished for the late disorders. Some were even executed with- 
out process or form of law. 

§ 15. A youth of sixteen (which was at this time the king's 
age), who had discovered so much courage, presence of mind, and 
address, raised great expectations in the nation ; but in propor- 
tion as Richard advanced in years these hopes vanished ; and his 
want of capacity, at least of solid judgment, appeared in every en- 
terprise which he attempted. In 1385 he undertook an expedi- 
tion against the Scots, who had risen with the assistance of the 
French. But, though he advanced toward Edinburgh with an 
army of 60,000 men, and destroyed in his way all the towns and 
villages on each side of him, his impatience to return to England 
and enjoy his usual pleasures and amusements outweighed every 
consideration, and he led back his army without effecting any 
thing by all these mighty preparations. 

The subjection in which Richard was held by his uncles, par- 
ticularly by the Duke of Gloucester, a prince of ambition and 
genius, was extremely disagreeable to the king, and he soon at- 
tempted to shake off the yoke imposed upon him. Robert de 
Vere, Earl of Oxford, a young man of a noble family, of an agree- 
able figure, but of dissolute manners, had acquired an entire as- 
cendant over him, and governed him with an absolute authority. 
The jealousy of power immediately produced an animosity be- 
tween the minion and his creatures on the one hand, and the 
princes of the blood and chief nobility on the other; and the 
usual complaints against the insolence of favorites were loudly 
echoed and greedily received in every part of the kingdom. Their 

I 



194 RICHARD II. Chap. X. 

first attempts were directed against the king's ministers ; and 
Michael de la Pole, the chancellor, lately created Earl of Suffolk, 
was, at the instigation of the Duke of Gloucester, impeached and 
condemned by the Parliament on somewhat frivolous charges 
(1386). Gloucester and his associates next attacked the king 
himself and his royal dignity, and framed a commission, which 
was ratified by Parliament, by which a council of regency was 
formed with the Duke of Gloucester at the head, to which the 
sovereign power was transferred. In the following year, Richard, 
having obtained from his judges, whom he met at Nottingham, a 
declaration that the commission was derogatory to the royalty 
and prerogative of the king, attempted to recover his power ; but 
the Duke of Gloucester and his adherents took up arms, defeated 
the forces of the king, and executed and banished his adherents. 
Robert de Vere, whom the king had created Duke of Ireland, 
fled into the Low Countries, where he died in exile a few years 
after. 

§ 16. In less than a twelvemonth, however, Richard, who was 
in his twenty-third year, declared in Council, that, as he had now 
attained the full age which entitled him to govern by his own au- 
thority his kingdom and household, he resolved to exercise his 
right of sovereignty ; and he proceeded to change all his minis- 
ters (1389). Even the Duke of Gloucester was removed for a 
time from the council ; and no opposition was made to these great 
changes. It is not easy for us to assign the reason of this unex- 
pected event. The Duke of Lancaster returned soon after from 
Spain ; having resigned to his rival all pretensions to the crown 
of Castile, upon payment of a large sum of money, and having 
married his daughter, Philippa, to the King of Portugal. The 
authority of this prince served to counterbalance that of the Duke 
of Gloucester, and secured the power of Richard, who paid great 
court to his eldest uncle, by whom he had never been offended, 
and whom he found more moderate in his temper than the 
younger. 

The wars, meanwhile, which Richard had inherited with his 
crown, still continued, though interrupted by frequent truces, ac- 
cording to the practice of that age, and conducted with little vigor, 
by reason of the weakness of all parties. The French war was 
scarcely heard of; the tranquillity of the northern borders was 
only interrupted by one inroad of the Scots, which proceeded 
more from a rivalship between the two martial families of Percy 
and Douglas than from any national quarrel : a fierce battle or 
skirmish, celebrated in the ballad of "Chevy Chase," was fought 
at Otterbourne, in which young Percy, surnamed Hotspur^ from 
his impetuous valor, was taken prisoner, and Douglas slain ; and 



A. D. 1385-1396. COUNTERREVOLUTION. I95 

the victory remained undecided. Some insurrections of the Irish 
obliged the king to make an expedition into that country, which 
he reduced to obedience ; and he recovered, in some degree, by 
this enterprise, his character of courage, which had suffered a lit- 
tle by the inactivity of his reign. At last the English and French 
courts began to think in earnest of a lasting peace, but found it 
so difficult to adjust their opposite pretensions, that they were 
content to establish a truce of 25 years ; and, to render the amity 
between the two crowns more durable, Eichard, who had lost his 
first consort, Anne of Bohemia, was afiianced to Isabella, the 
daughter of Charles (1396). Meanwhile, the Duke of Glouces- 
ter, taking advantage of the king's indolent character and his ad- 
diction to low pleasures, resumed his plots and cabals. The king, 
seeing that either his own or his uncle's ruin was inevitable, 
caused Gloucester to be unexpectedly arrested ; to be hurried on 
board a ship which was lying in the river ; and to be carried over' 
to Calais, where alone he could safely be detained in custody. 
The Earls of Arundel and Warwick were seized at the same time : 
the malcontents, so suddenly deprived of their leaders, were as- 
tonished and overawed ; and the concurrence of the Dukes of 
Lancaster and York in those measures bereaved them of all pos- 
sibility of resistance. A Parliament was immediately summoned, 
which passed whatever acts the king was pleased to dictate to 
them : they annulled forever the commission which usurped upon 
the royal authority, and they declared it treasonable to attempt, 
in any future period, the revival of any similar commission. The 
Commons then preferred an impeachment against Fitz-Alan, Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, and brother to Arundel, and accused him 
for his concurrence in procuring the illegal commission, and in at- 
tainting the king's ministers. The primate pleaded guilty ; but, 
as he was protected by the ecclesiastical privileges, the king was 
satisfied with a sentence which banished him the kingdom and se- 
questered his temporalities. An accusation was presented against 
the Duke of Gloucester and the Earls of Arundel and Warwick 
by several of the nobles. The Earl of Arundel was condemned 
and executed ; the Earl of Warwick was, on account of his sub- 
missive behavior, pardoned as to his life, but doomed to perpetual 
banishment in the Isle of Man- A warrant was next issued to 
the earl marshal. Governor of Calais, to bring over the Duke of 
Gloucester, in order to his trial ; but the governor returned for 
answer that the duke had died suddenly of an apoplexy in that 
fortress. In the subsequent reign proofs were produced in Par- 
liament that he had been suffocated with pillows by his keepers ; 
and it appeared that the king, apprehensive lest the public trial 
and execution of so popular a prince and so near a relation might 



196 RICHARD II. Chap.X. 

prove both dangerous and invidious, had taken this base method 
of gratifying, and, as he fancied, concealing his revenge upon him. 

§ 17. The death of the Duke of Lancaster in 1399 involved the 
king in fresh troubles. Lancaster's son and successor had been 
banished by Richard for 10 years, in order to prevent a duel be- 
tween him and the Duke of Norfolk ; and on his father's death 
Richard seized his estates. Henry, the new duke, had acquired, 
by his conduct and abilities, the esteem of the public ; he was 
connected with most of the principal nobility by blood, alliance, 
or friendship ; and as the injury done him by the king might in 
its consequences affect all of them, he easily brought them, by a 
sense of common interest, to take part in his resentment. Em- 
barking at Nantes with a retinue of 60 persons, among whom 
were the Archbishop of Canterbury and the young Earl of Arun- 
del, nephew to that prelate, he landed at Ravenspur in Yorkshire, 
and was immediately joined by the earls of Northumberland and 
Westmoreland, two of the most potent barons in England. The 
malcontents in all quarters flew to arms ; London discovered the 
strongest symptoms of its disposition to mutiny and rebellion ; and 
Henry's army, increasing on every day's march, soon amounted to 
the number of 60,000 combatants. Richard was at this time ab- 
sent on an expedition into Ireland. His uncle, the Duke of York, 
whom he had left guardian of the realm, assembled an army of 
40,000 men, but found them entirely destitute of zeal and attach- 
ment to the royal cause, and soon after openly joined the Duke of 
Lancaster, who was now entirely master of the kingdom. The 
king, receiving intelligence of this invasion and insurrection, hast- 
ened over from Ireland and landed at Milford Haven ; but, being 
deserted by his troops, was taken prisoner and carried first to 
Flint Castle and afterward to London. The Duke of Lancaster 
now began to carry his views to the crown itself. He first ex- 
torted a resignation from Richard (Sept. 29) ; but as he knew that 
this deed would plainly appear the result of force and fear, he also 
purposed, notwithstanding the danger of the precedent to himself 
and his posterity, to have him solemnly deposed in Parliament for 
his alleged tyranny and misconduct. A charge, consisting of 33 
articles, was accordingly drawn up against him and presented to 
that assembly, in which the exertion of arbitrary prerogatives was 
imputed to him : such as the dispensing power, levying purvey- 
ance, employing the marshal's court, extorting loans, granting pro- 
tections from lawsuits, etc. The charge was not canvassed, nor 
examined, nor disputed in either house, and seemed to be received 
with universal approbation. Richard was deposed by the suf- 
frages of both houses ; and the throne being now vacant, the 
Duke of Lancaster stepped forth, and having crossed himself on 



A. D. 1396-1399. LANCASTER PLACED ON THE THRONE. I97 

the forehead and on the breast, and called upon the name of 
Christ, pronounced these words : "In the name of the Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost, I, Henry of Lancaster, challenge this realm 
of England, and the crown, with all the members and appurten- 
ances, as that I am descended by right line of blood, coming from 
the good lord King Henry IH., and through that right that God 
of his grace hath sent me, with help of my kin and of my friends, 
to recover it ; the which realm was in point to be undone for de- 
fault of governance, and undoing of good laws." In order to un- 
derstand this speech, it must be observed that there was a silly 
story received among some of the lowest vulgar, that Edmond, 
Earl of Lancaster, son of Henry IIL, was really the elder brother 
of Edward I. ; but that, by reason of some deformity in his per- 
son, he had been postponed in the succession, and his younger 
brother imposed on the nation in his stead. As the present Duke 
of Lancaster inherited from Edmond by his mother, this genealogy 
made him the true heir of the monarchy,* and it is therefore in- 
sinuated in Henry's speech ; but the absurdity was too gross to 
be openly avowed either by him or by the Parliament. The case 
is the same with regard to his right of conquest : he was a sub- 
ject who rebelled against his sovereign ; he entered the kingdom 
with a retinue of no more than sixty persons ; he could not there- 
fore be the conqueror of England ; and this right is accordingly 
insinuated, not avowed. But no objection was taken to the 
claims of Henry ; and the unanimous voice of Lords and Com- 
mons placed him on the throne (Sept. 30). Henry, in six days 
after, called together, without any new election, the same mem- 
bers ; and this assembly he denominated a new Parliament. They 
were employed in the usual task of reversing every deed of the 
opposite party. On the motion of the Earl of Northumberland, 
the House of Peers resolved unanimously that Richard should be 
imprisoned under a secure guard in some secret place, and should 
be deprived of all commerce with any of his friends or partisans. 

* He was descended from Henry III. both by father and mother. 

Henry m. 



Edtvard I., king. Edmond, Earl of Lancaster. 

I I 

Edward 11. , king. Henry, Earl of Lancaster. 

I 1 

Edward HL, king. Henry, Duke of Lancaster. 

I 1 

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster — Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster. 

Heniy IV. 
There could be no doubt that the rightful heir to the crown, on the depo- 
sition of Richard, Avas the Earl of March, then a child, the grandson of Li- 
onel, Duke of Clarence. See genealogical table, p. 134. 



198 RICHARD II. Chap. X. 

It was easy to foresee that he would not long remain alive in the 
hands of such barbarous and sanguinary enemies. The exact 
manner of his death is unknown, for the common account that he 
was murdered at Pomfret by Sir Piers Exton rests on no suffi- 
cient evidence. The corpse was exhibited for two days in St. 
Paul's Church (March 12, 1400). He died in the 34th year of 
his age, and the 23d of his reign. He left no posterity, either le- 
gitimate or illegitimate. He appears to have been a weak prince, 
and unfit for government, less for want of natural parts and capac- 
ity than of solid judgment and a good education. He was vio- 
lent in his temper, profuse in his expense, fond of idle show and 
magnificence, devoted to favorites, and addicted to pleasure ; pas- 
sions, all of them, the most inconsistent with a prudent economy, 
and consequently dangerous in a limited and mixed government. 
The last two years of his reign were altogether tyrannical ; and 
his deposition, like the subsequent one of James II., seems to have 
been necessary for the preservation of national libei'ty. "The 
sincere concurrence," observes Mr. Hallam {Middle Ages, vol. iii., 
p. 81), " which most of the prelates and nobility, with the mass 
of the people, gave to changes that could not be otherwise effected 
by one so unprovided with foreign support as Henry, prove this 
revolution to have been, if not an indispensable, yet a national 
act, and should prevent our considering the Lancastrian kings as 
usurpers of the throne." 

,§ 18. There was a sensible decay of ecclesiastical authority dur- 
ing this period. The disgust which the laity had received from 
the numerous usurpations both of the court of Rome and of their 
own clergy had very much weaned the kingdom from superstition ; 
and strong symptoms appeared, from time to time, of a general de- 
sire to shake off the bondage of the Romish Church. John Wick- 
liffe, a secular priest educated at Oxford, began, in the latter end 
of Edward III., to spread the doctrine of reformation by his dis- 
courses, sermons, and writings ; and he made many disciples 
among men of all ranks and stations. Wickliffe himself, as well 
as his disciples, who received the name of Wickliffites, or Lol- 
lards, was distinguished by a great austerity of life and manners. 
His doctrines, being derived from his search into the Scriptures 
and into ecclesiastical antiquity, were nearly the same with those 
which were propagated by the reformers in the sixteenth century ; 
he only carried some of them farther than was done by the more 
sober part of these reformers. The Duke of Lancaster encouraged 
the principles of Wickliffe ; and he made no scruple, as well as 
Lord Percy, the marshal, to appear openly in court with him, 
when cited before the tribunal of the Bishop of London, in order 
to give him countenance upon his trial. The clergy, we may well 



A.D. 1390. 



THE WICKLIFFITES. 



199 



believe, were more wanting in power than in inclination to punish 
this new heresy, which struck at all their credit, possessions, and 
authority. But, besides this defect of power in the Church, which 
saved Wickliffe, that reformer himself, notwithstanding his enthu- 
siasm, seems not to have been actuated by the spirit of martyr- 
dom ; and, in all subsequent trials before the prelates, he so ex- 
plained away his doctrine by tortured meanings as to render it 
quite innocent and inoffensive. Most of his followers imitated his 
cautious disposition, and saved themselves either by recantations 
or explanations. He died of a palsy, in the year 1385, at his 
rectory at Lutterworth, in the county of Leicester. Geoffrey 
Chaucer, who flourished at this time, and who may be regarded 
as the father of English poetry, was a follower of Wickliffe. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.I>. 

132T. 
1333. 

1340. 
1346. 

134T. 

1349. 
1356. 



1360. 



A.D. 

Accession of Edward m. 1361. 

Battle of Halidon Hill and defeat of 1367. 

the Scots. 
Naval victory over the French at Sluys. 1369. 
The French defeated at Crecy. The 1376. 

Scots defeated at Xeville's Cross. 1377. 

Calais taken. 

A great pestilence. 1381. 

The French defeated by the Black 

Prince at Poitiers. The French king 1397. 

captured. 
Peace concluded with France at Bre- 1399. 

tigny. 



Another great pestilence. 

The Black Prince gains the Battle of 

Najara in Spain. 
A thii'd great pestilence. 
Death of the Black Prince. 
Death of Edward HL, and accession 

of Richard n. 
Eebellion of Jack Straw, Wat Tyler, 

and others. 
CaptiATity and murder of the Duke of 

Gloucester, the king's uncle. 
Invasion of Henry, Duke of Lancaster. 

Capture and deposition of Eichard H. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. DEATH OF EICHARD H. 

All the contemporary English authorities, 
to the number of more than a dozen, agree 
that Richard died of starvation, either forced 
or voluntary, after a few months' imprison- 
ment. The French chroniclers assert that 
he was violently murdered, still, however, 
agreeing in the fact of his death. On the 
other hand, three or four Scotch writers, of 
whom the principal are Winton and Bower, 
assert that he escaped from Pomfret to the 
Western Isles of Scotland ; that he was there 
recognized and carried to the court of Rob- 
ert ni., and that he lived under that mon- 
arch and the Regent Albany till 1419, when 
he died at Stilling. 

The truth of the Scotch account has been 
maintained at great length by ]Mr. Tytler 
{Hist, of Scotland^ vol. iii., App.), who has 
been followed by Mr. Williams (Preface to 
the Chronicque de la Traison et Mort de 
Richart 11.^ published by the Eng. Historic- 
al Soc. 1846) and a few others. That a per- 
son pretending to be Richard was maintained 
in Scotland is sufficiently clear; but an ex- 



amination of the evidence has failed to con- 
vince us that it was the deposed English 
monarch. 

B. STATUTE OF PR^ilUNIEE. 

This statute, passed 16 Eic. IL, c. 5 (a.t>. 
1393), was enacted to check the exorbitant 
power claimed and exercised by the Pope in 
England. It was so called from the words 
of the writ used for the citation of a party 
who had broken the statute: ^•prcemunire 
facias A. Z?.," cause A. B. to be forewarned 
that he appear before us to answer the con- 
tempt with which he stands charged. Hence 
the word j^i'CBinunh'e denominated, in com- 
mon speech, not only the writ, but also the 
offense of maintaining the papal power. 
"The original meaning," says Blackstone, 
" of the offense which we call jn'^emunire, is 
introducing a foreign power into this land, 
and creating ivipenum in imperio^ by pay- 
ing that obedience to papal process which con- 
stitutioiudly belonged to the king alone, long 
before the Refonnation in the reign of Henry 
Vm." Though the statute of 16 Ric. H., c. 
5, is usually called the statute of Praemunire, 



200 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap.X. 



several others of a similar kind had been en- 
acted in .preceding reigns. The 35 Edw. I. 
was the first statute made against papal pro- 
visions^ the name applied to a previous 
nomination to certain benefices, of which the 
Pope claimed the patronage, by a kind of an- 
ticipation, before they became actually void, 
though afterward indiscriminately applied to 
any kind of patronage exerted or usurped by 
the Pope. In the reign of Edward III. more 
stringent laws Avere enacted against papal 
provisions ; and in 40 Edw. III. it was enact- 
ed that King John's donation to the Pope 
was null and void, being Avithout the concur- 
rence of Parliament. The 16 Rio. 11., c. 5, 
enacts that "whoever procures at Rome, or 



elsewhere, any translations, processes, ex- 
communications, bulls, instruments, or other 
things, which touch the king, against him, 
his crown and realm, and all persons aiding 
and assisting therein, shall be put out of the 
king's protection, their lands and goods for- 
feited to the king's use, and they shall be 
attached by their bodies to answer to the 
king and his council : or process of 2)rceviu- 
nire facias shall be made out against them, 
as in any other case of provisors." In the 
reign of Heniy VlH. the penalties of prcemu- 
nire Avere extended still farther against the 
authority of the Pope. See the Student's 
Blackstoaie by Kerr, p. 404, seq. 




ileniy IV. and his queen Joan of Navarre, from their monument at Canterbury. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER. HENET IV, 
A.D. 1399-1461. 



HENRY v., HENRY VI. 



§ 1. Accession of Henry IV. Insurrections. Persecution of the Lollards. 
§ 2. Rebellions of the Earl of Northumberland. Battle of Shrewsbury. 
§ 3. Foreign Transactions. Captivity of James of Scotland. Death and 
Character of the King. § 4. Accession of Henry V. His Reformation. 
§ 5. Proceedings against the Lollards. Sir John Oldcastle^ § 6. Inva- 
sion of France. Battle of Agincourt. § 7. New Invasion of France. 
Conquest of Normandy. Treaty of Troyes and Marriage of Henry with 
Catherine of France. § 8. Farther Conquests of Henry V. His Death 
and Character. § 9. Henry VI. Settlement of the Government. French 
Affairs. § 10. Siege of Orleans. Joan d'Arc. § 11. Charles VIL 
crowned at Rheims. Henry VI. crowned at Paris. § 12. Capture, Trial, 
and Execution of the Maid of Orleans. § 13. Treaty of Arras. Death 
of Bedford. § 14. Marriage of Henry VI. Death of the Duke of Glou- 
cester. The English expelled from France. § 15. Claim of the Duke 
of York to the Ci'own. His powerful Connections. §16. Unpopularity 
of the Government. Suffolk accused and executed. § 1 7. Jnsurrection 
of Jack Cade. Disaffection of the Commons. Rising of the Duke of 
York. § 18. The Duke of York Protector. First Battle of St. Albans. 
§ 19. Civil War. Decision of the House of Peers. Battle of Wakefield 
and Death of the Duke of York. § 20. Second Battle of St. Albans. 
Edward IV. saluted King by the Citizens of London. 

§ 1. Henry IV., 1399-1413. — This monarch was born at Bol- 
ingbroke, in Lincolnshire, in 1366. He was declared king, as 



we have already seen, Sept. 30, 1399. 

12 



The rightful heir to the 



202 ^ , HENRY IV. CHAf. XI. 




crown, ET}Tlj?Frf»d Mortimer, Earl of March, was a child of only 
seven year^ old, and was detained by Henry in an honorable cus- 
tody at Windsor Castle. 

Henry was hardly seated upon the throne before several earls 
favorable to Richard's cause formed a conspiracy for seizing the 
king's person. The plot was betrayed to the king by the Earl of 
Rutland (Jan. 4, 1400), and the conspirators perished on the 
scaffold. This unsuccessful attempt hastened the death of Rich- 
ard, who was shortly afterward murdered, as narrated in the pre- 
ceding chapter. 

Henry, finding himself possessed of the throne by so precarious 
a title, resolved, by every expedient, to pay court to the clergy. 
There were hitherto no penal laws enacted against heresy ; but 
he engaged the Parliament to pass a law that, when any heretic 
who relapsed or refused to abjure his opinions was delivered over 
to the secular arm by the bishop or his commissaries, he should 
be committed to the flames by the civil magistrate before the 
whole people. This weapon did not long remain unemployed in 
the hands of the clergy ; and William Sautre, a clergyman in 
London, atoned for his erroneous opinions by the penalty of fire 
(1401). 

The revolution in England proved likewise the occasion of an 
insurrection in Wales. Owen Glendower, who pretended to be 
descended from the ancient princes of that country, and whose 
estates had been seized by Lord Grey of Ruthyn, recovered pos- 
session by the sword. Henry sent assistance to Grey ; the Welsh 
took part ^vith Glendower ; and a troublesome and tedious war 
was kindled, in which Lord Grey and Sir Edmund Mortimer, un- 
cle of the Earl of March, were taken prisoners. As Henry dread- 
ed and hated all the family of March, he allowed Mortimer to re- 
main in captivity; and, though that nobleman was nearly allied 
to the Percies, to whose assistance he himself had owed his crown, 
he refused to the Earl of Northumberland permission to treat of 
his ransom with Glendower. To this disgust was soon added an- 
other. The Percies, in repulsing an inroad of the Scots, in 1402, 
captured Earl Douglas and several other of the Scotch nobility. 
Henry seat the Earl of Northumberland orders not to ransom his 
prisoners, which that nobleman regarded as his right by the laws 
of war received in that age. The king intended to detain them, 
that he might be able, by their means, to make an advantageous 
peace with Scotland. The Percies were likewise discontented 
by the withholding from them the sums due to them as wardens 
of the marches. 

§ 2. The factious disposition, of the Earl of Worcester, younger 
brother of Northumberland, and the impatient spirit of his son, 



A.D. 1399-1407. REBELLIONS OF THE PERCIES. 203 

Harry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, inflamed the discontents of that 
nobleman ; and the precarious title of Henry tempted him to seek 
revenge by overturning that throne which he had at first estab- 
lished. He entered into a correspondence with Glendower. He 
gave liberty to the Earl of Douglas, and made an alliance with 
that martial chief; he roused up all his partisans to arms ; and 
such unlimited authority at that time belonged to the great fami- 
lies, that the same men, whom a few years before he had conduct- 
ed against Kichard, now followed his standard in opposition to 
Henry. When war was ready to break out, Northumberland was 
seized with a sudden illness at Berwick ; and young Percy, taking 
the command of the troops, about 12,000 in number, marched to- 
ward Shrewsbury, in order to join his forces with those of Glen- 
dower. The king, however, Avho had an army of about the same 
force on foot, attacked him before the junction could be effected 
(July 23, 1403). We shall scarcely find any battle in those ages 
where the shock was more terrible and more constant. Henry 
exposed his person in the thickest of the fight ; his gallant son, 
whose military achievements were afterward so renowned, and 
who here performed his novitiate in arms, signalized himself in 
his father's footsteps, and even a wound which he received in the 
face with an arrow could not oblige him to quit the field. Percy 
supported that fame which he had acquired in many a bloody 
combat; and Douglas, his ancient enemy, and now his friend, 
still appeared his rival amid the horror a,nd confusion of the day. 
But while the armies were contending in this furious manner, the 
death of Percy, by an unknown hand, decided the victory, and 
the Royalists prevailed. The loss was great on both sides, par- 
ticularly in Percy's army, of which about a third fell ; but on the 
king's side many persons of distinction were slain. The Earls of 
Worcester and Douglas were ta,ken prisoners. The former was 
beheaded at Shrewsbury, the latter was treated with the courtesy 
due to his rank and merit. The Earl of Northumberland was 
tried by his peers and condemned in a fine, which, however, the 
king remitted. 

Two years afterward Northumberland again rose in rebellion, 
and was joined by Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, and 
Richard Scrope, Archbishop of York. But they acted without 
concert. The archbishop and Nottingham were seized by a strat- 
agem of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, though the latter 
was at the head of an inferior force, were tried, condemned, and 
executed. This was the first instance in English history in which 
an archbishop perished by the hands of the executioner (1405). 
Northumberland escaped into Scotland ; but in 1407, having en- 
tered the northern coimties in hopes of raising the people, he was 



204 HENRY IV. Chap. XI. 

defeated and slain at Bramham by Sir Thomas Rokesby, Sheriff 
of Yorkshire. The only domestic enemy now remaining was 
Glendower, over whom the Prince of AVales had obtained some 
advantages ; but the Welsh leader contrived to protract the strug- 
gle for some years after the death of Henry IV. 

§ 3. The remaining transactions of this reign are not of much 
interest. In 1407 fortune gave Henry an advantage over that 
neighbor who, by his situation, was most enabled to disturb his 
government. Robert III., King of Scots, was a prince, though of 
slender capacity, extremely innocent and inoffensive in his con- 
duct; but Scotland, at that time, was still less fitted than En- 
gland for cherishing or even enduring sovereigns of that character. 
The Duke of Albany, Robert's brother, a prince of more abilities, 
at least of a more boisterous and violent disposition, had assumed 
the government of the state ; and, not satisfied with present au- 
thority, he entertained the criminal purpose of extirpating his 
brother's children, and of acquiring the crown to his own family. 
He threw into prison David, his eldest nephew, who there per- 
ished by hunger; James alone, the younger brother of David, 
stood between that tyrant and the throne ; and King Robert, sens- 
ible of his son's danger, embarked him on board a ship, with a 
view of sending him to France, and intrusting him to the protec- 
ion of that friendly power. Unfortunately, the vessel was taken 
by the English ; Prince James, a boy about nine years of age, 
was carried to London ; and, though there subsisted at that time 
a truce between the kingdoms, Henry refused to restore the young 
prince to his liberty. Robert, worn out with cares and infirmi- 
ties, was unable to bear the shock of this last misfortune ; and he 
soon after died, leaving the government in the hands of the Duke' 
of Albany. But though the king, by detaining James in the En- 
glish court, had shown himself somewhat deficient in generosity, 
he made ample amends by giving that prince an excellent educa- 
tion, which afterward qualified him, when he mounted the throne, 
to reform, in some measure, the rude and barbarous manners of 
his native country. A hostile feeling prevailed throughout this 
reign between England and France ; but the civil disturbances in 
both nations prevented it from breaking out into any serious hos- 
tilities. The cause of the deposed and murdered Richard was 
warmly espoused by the French court, but their zeal evaporated 
in menaces. Soon after his accession, Henry, at the demand of 
Charles, had restored Isabella, the widow of the late king, but re- 
tained her dowry on the pretense of setting it off against the un- 
paid ransom of the French king John. 

The king's health declined some months before his death. He 
was subject to fits, which bereaved him, for the time, of his senses ; 



A.D. 1407-1413. HENRY V.— HIS REFORMATION. 205 

and, though he was yet in the flower of his age, his end was visi- 
bly approaching. He expired at Westminster (March 20, 1413), 
in the 46th year of his age, and the 13th of his reign. The great 
popularity which Henry enjoyed before he attained the crown, and 
which had so much aided him in the acquisition of it, was entirely 
lost many years before the end of his reign ; and he governed his 
people more by terror than by affection, more by his own policy 
than by their sense of duty or allegiance. But it must be owned 
that his prudence and vigilance, and foresight in maintaining his 
power, were admirable ; his courage, both military and political, - 
without blemish ; and he possessed many qualities which fitted 
him for his high station, and which rendered his usurpation of it 
rather salutary during his own reign to the English nation. The 
augmentation of the power of the Commons during this reign de- 
serves notice. It was chiefly shown by the punishment which 
they awarded to sherifls for making false returns, by the increased 
freedom of debate, and by the control which they exercised over 
the supplies. 

Henry was twice married : by his first wife, Mary de Bohun, 
daughter and co-heir of the Earl of Hereford, he had four sons, 
Henry his successor to the throne, Thomas Duke of Clarence, John 
Duke of Bedford, and Humphrey Duke of Gloucester ; and two 
daughters, Blanche and Philippa, the former married to the Duke 
of Bavaria, the latter to the King of Denmark. His second wife, 
Jane, whom he married after he was king, and who was the daugh- 
ter of the King of Navarre, and widow of the Duke of Brittany, 
brought him no issue. 

§ 4. Henry V., 1413-1422, was born at Monmouth, Aug. 9, 
1388. The many jealousies to which Henry IV.'s situation nat- 
urally exposed him, had so infected his temper, that he had en- 
tertained unreasonable suspicions with regard to the fidelity of 
his eldest son ; and, during the latter years of his life, he had ex- 
cluded that prince from all share in public business, and was even 
displeased to see him at the head of armies, where his martial tal- 
ents, though useful to the support of government, acquired him a, 
renown which he thought might prove dangerous to his own au- 
thority. 

The active spirit of young Henry had, during his father's life, 
indulged in pleasure ; but the common stories related by the chron- 
iclers of his riots and debaucheries are doubtless gross exaggera- 
t-ions. It is said that on one occasion a riotous companion of the 
prince's had been indicted before Gascoigne, the chief justice, for 
some disorders, and Henry was not ashamed to appear at the bar 
with the criminal, in order to give him countenance and protec- 
tion. Finding that his presence had not overawed the chief jus- 



206 HENRY V. Chap. XI. 

tice, he proceeded to insult the magistrate on his tribunal ; but 
Gascoigne, mindful of the character which he then bore, and the 
majesty of the sovereign and of the laws which he sustained, or- 
dered the prince to be carried to prison for his rude behavior. 
The spectators were agreeably disappointed when they saw the 
heir of the crown submit peaceably to the sentence, make repara- 
tion for his error by acknowledging it, and check his impetuous 
nature in the midst of his extravagant career. The memory of 
this incident, and of many others of a like nature, rendered the 
prospect of the future reign nowise disagreeable to the nation, and 
increased the joy which the 'death of so unpopular a prince as the 
late king naturally occasioned. The first steps taken by the young 
prince confirmed all those prepossessions entertained in his favor. 
He dismissed his former companions ; and retained in office the 
wise ministers of his father, including the chief justice. The king- 
seemed ambitious to bury all party distinctions in oblivion ; and 
the defects of his title were forgotten amid the personal regard 
which was universally paid to him. 

§ 5. There remained among the people only one party distinc- 
tion. The Lollards were every day increasing in the kingdom, 
and were become a formed party, which appeared extremely dan- 
gerous to the Church, and even formidable to the civil authority. 
The head of this sect was Sir John Oldcastle (Lord Cobham), a 
nobleman who had distinguished himself by his valor and his mil- 
itary talents, and had on many occasions acquired the esteem both 
of the late and of the present king. Henry, after vainly endeav- 
oring to reconcile him to the Catholic faith, gave full reins to ec- 
clesiastical severity against the inflexible heresiarch. Arundel, the 
primate, indicted Cobham ; and, with the assistance of his three 
suffragans, the Bishops of London, Winchester, and St. David's, 
condemned him to the flames for his erroneous opinions. Cob- 
ham, who was confined in the Tower, made his escape before the 
day appointed for his execution, and, having raised his followers, 
made two desperate attempts to seize the king. But they were 
defeated by Henry's vigilance ; many of the Lollards were seized, 
and some executed (1414). Cobbam himself, who made his es- 
cape by flight, was not brought to justice till four years after, when 
he was hanged as a traitor, and his body was burned on the gib- 
bet, in execution of the sentence pronounced against him as a her- 
etic. This criminal design brought discredit on the party, and 
checked the progress of the sect. 

§ 6. The disorders into which France was plunged through the 
lunacy of its monarch, Charles VI., and the consequent struggle 
for the regency between his brother the Duke of Orleans, and his, 



A.D. 1413-1415. BATTLE OF AGINCOURT. 207 

cousin the Duke of Burgundy,* which resulted in open warfare, 
seemed to present a favorable opportunity for attack ; and Henry, 
impelled by the vigor of youth and the ardor of ambition, determ- 
ined to carry violent war into that distracted kingdom (1415). 
A conspiracy, which was happily detected in, its infancy, to place 
the Earl of March upon the throne, detained the king awhile. 
The Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scrope, and Sir Thomas Grey, the 
chief conspirators, were arrested, and the king, after trying them 
in an irregular manner, and procuring their execution, granted the 
Earl of March a general pardon. Then, trusting to the assistance 
of the Duke of Burgundy, who had been secretly soliciting the al- 
liance of England, but without establishing any concert with him, 
he put to sea, and landed near Harfleur, at the head of an army 
of 6000 men at arms and 24,000 foot, mostly archers. That town 
was at last obliged to capitulate (Sept. 22) ; but the fatigues of this 
siege and the unusual heat of the season had so wasted the English 
army, that Henry could enter on no farther enterprise, and was 
obliged to think of returning into England. He had dismissed 
his transports, and therefore determined on marching by land to 
Calais, although a French army of 14,000 men at arms, and 
40,000 foot, was by this time assembled in Normandy. That he 
might not discourage his army by the appearance of flight, or ex- 
pose them to those hazards which naturally attend precipitate 
marches, he made slow and deliberate journeys till he reached the 
Somme, and after encountering many difficulties and hardships he 
was so dextrous or so fortunate as to seize by surprise a passage 
near St. Quentin which had not been sufficiently guarded ; and he 
safely carried over his army. Henry then bent his march north- 
ward to Calais ; but he was still exposed to great and imminent 
danger from the enemy, who had also passed the Somme, and 
threw themselves full in his way, with a purpose of intercepting 
hip retreat. After he had passed the small river of Ternois, at 
Blangi, he was surprised to observe from the heights the whole 
French army drawn up in the plains of Agincourt, and so posted 
that it was impossible for him to proceed on his march without 

* The following genealogical table shows the relationship of these princes : 

JOHN 11., King of France. 
(Taken prisoner by Edward m.) 



CHARLES v. Philip, Duke of Burgundy, 

I • d. 1404. 



CHARLES VL Louis, Duke of Orleans, John, Duke of Burgundy, 

I knied 1407. kiUed 1418. 

CHARLES Vn. Charles, Duke of Orleans Philip the Good, 

taken at Agincourt. Duke of Burgundy. 



208 HENRY V. Chap. XI. 

coming to an engagement. The enemy was four times more nu- 
merous, as half the English who had landed at Harfleur had perish- 
ed ; was headed by the dauphin and all the princes of the blood ; 
and was plentifully supplied with provisions of every kind. Hen- 
ry's situation was exactly similar to that of Edward at Crecy, and 
that of the Black Prince at Poitiers, and he observed the same 
prudent conduct which had been followed by these great command- 
ers ; he drew up his army on a narrow ground between two woods, 
which guarded each flank, and he patiently expected in that posture 
the attack of the enemy (Oct. 25, 1415). The French archers on 
horseback and their men at arms, crowded in their ranks, advanced 
upon the English archers, who had fixed palisadoes in their front 
to break the impression of the enemy, and who safely plied them 
from behind that defense with a shower of arrows which nothing 
could resist. The clay soil, moistened by some rain which had 
lately fallen, proved another obstacle to the force of the French 
cavalry: the wounded men and horses discomposed their ranks; 
the narrow compass in which they were pent hindered them from 
recovering any order ; the whole army was a scene of confusion, 
terror, and dismay ; and Henry, perceiving his advantage, ordered 
the English archers, who were light and unencumbered, to advance 
upon the enemy and seize the moment of victory. [ They fell with 
their battle-axes upon the French, who, in their present posture, 
were incapable either of flying or of making defense ; they hewed 
them in pieces without resistance ; and, being seconded by the men 
at arms, who also pushed on against the enemy, they covered the 
field with the killed, wounded, dismounted, and overthrown. No 
battle was ever more fatal to France by the number of princes and 
nobility slain or taken prisoners. Among the prisoners were the 
Dukes of Orleans and Bourbon. The killed are computed, on the 
whole, to have amounted to 10,000 men ; and Henry was master 
of 14,000 prisoners. The loss of the English was very small ; but 
the common statement that only 40 perished is scarcely credible. 
Henry, not being in a condition to pursue his victory, interrupted 
not his march a moment after the battle ; he carried his prisoners to 
Calais, thence to England, and concluded a truce with the enemy. 
§ 7. But during this interruption of hostilities from England, 
France was exposed to all the furies of civil war ; and the several 
parties became every day more enraged against each other. In 
consequence of the capture of the Duke of Orleans at Agincourt, 
the Count of Armagnac, his father-in-law, became the head of his 
party (hence called the Armagnacs), and was created Constable of 
France. The Duke of Burgundy, who had aspired to this dignity, 
formed an alliance with the English ; and his power was strength- 
ened by the accession of Isabella, the queen, who had formerly been 



A.D. 1415-1420. TREATY OF TROYES— MARRIAGE OF HENRY. 209 

his enemy, but who had now quarreled with the Armagnacs. The 
dauphin sided with the latter ; and open war broke out between 
the two factions. While the country was so ill-prepared to resist 
a foreign enemy, Henry landed in Normandy at the head of 25,000 
men (August 1, 1417), and met with no considerable opposition 
from any quarter. He made himself master of Falaise ; Evreux 
and Caen submitted to him ; and having subdued all the lower 
Normandy, and having received a re-enforcement of 15,000 men 
from England, he formed the siege of Rouen, which he took after 
an obstinate defense (1418). But Henry stiU. continued to nego- 
tiate, and had almost arranged some advantageous terms, when 
the Duke of Burguady secretly finished a treaty with the dauphin; 
and these two princes agreed to share the royal authority during 
King Charles's lifetime, and to unite their arms in order to expel 
foreign enemies. This alliance seemed at first to cut off from 
Henry all hopes of farther success, but the treacherous assassina- 
tion of the Duke of Burgundy soon afterward by the partisans of 
the dauphm opened the way to a new and still more favorable ar- 
rangement. Philip, Count of Charolois, now Duke of Burgundy, 
thought himself bound by every tie of honor and of duty to re- 
venge the murder of his father, and to prosecute the assassins to 
the utmost extremity. A league was immediately concluded at 
Arras between him and Henry, by which the Duke of Burgundy, 
without stipulating any thing for himself except the prosecution 
of his father's murderers, and the marriage of tile Duke of Bedford 
with his sister, was willing to sacrifice the kingdom to Henry's 
ambition ; and he agreed to every demand made by that monarch. 
In order to finish this astonishing treaty, which was to transfer 
the crown of France to a stranger, Henry went to Troyes, ac- 
companied by his brothers, the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester ; 
and was there met by the Duke of Burgundy (1420). The im- 
becility into which Charles had fallen made him incapable of see- 
ing any thing but through the eyes of those who attended him ; 
as they on their part saw every thing through the medium of their 
passions. The treaty, being already concerted among the parties, 
was immediately drawn, and signed, and ratified. The principal 
articles were, that Henry should espouse the Princess Catherine, 
the daughter of the king ; that King Charles, during his lifetime, 
should enjoy the title and dignity of King of France ; that Henry 
should be intrusted with the present administration of the gov- 
ernment, and should succeed to the throne on the death of Charles, 
to the exclusion of the dauphin. In a few days after Henry es- 
poused the Princess Catherine ; he carried his father-in-law to 
Paris, and put himself in possession of that capital ; he obtained 
from the Parliament and the three estates a ratification of the 



210 HENRY V. Chap. XI. 

treaty of Troyes ; and he immediately turned his arms, with suc- 
cess, against the adherents of the dauphin. Sens, Montereau, 
and Melun yielded to his arms ; but the necessity of providing 
supplies, both of men and money, obliged him to go over to En- 
gland (1421), and he left the Duke of Exeter, his uncle. Governor 
of Paris during his absence. 

§ 8. Henry returned with 24,000 archers and 4000 horsemen, 
and was received at Paris with great expressions of joy. Mean- 
while, a body of 7000 Scots, who were afraid to see France fall 
into the power of their ancient enemy, had proceeded to the as- 
sistance of the dauphin, and had defeated the English under the 
Duke of Clarence at Bauge. But the preseaice of Henry soon 
restored all. The dauphin was chased beyond the Loire, and he 
almost totally abandoned all the northern provinces ; he was even 
pursued into the south by the united arms of the English and 
Burgundians, and threatened with total destruction. And to 
crown all the other prosperities of Henry, his queen was deliver- 
ed of a son, who was called by his father's name, and whose birth 
was celebrated by rejoicings no less pompous, and no less sincere, 
at Paris than at London. But the glory of Henry, when it had 
nearly reached the summit, was stopped short by the hand of 
Nature, and all his mighty projects vanished into smoke. He 
was seized with a fistula, a malady which the surgeons at that 
time had not skill enough to cure ; and he expired on August 31, 
1422, in the 35th fear of his age and 10th of his reign. He left 
the regency of France to his elder brother, the Duke of Bedford ; 
that of England to his younger, the Duke of Gloucester ; and the 
care of his son's person to the Earl of Warwick. 

This prince possessed many eminent virtues ; and if we give 
indulgence to ambition in a monarch, or rank it, as the vulgar are 
inclined to do, among his virtues, they were unstained by any con- 
siderable blemish. His abilities appeared equally in the cabinet 
and in the field ; the boldness of his enterprises was no less re- 
markable than his personal valor in conducting them. He had 
the talent of attaching his friends by affability, and of gaining his 
enemies by address and clemency. The exterior figure of this 
great prince, as well as his deportment, was engaging. His stat- 
ure was somewhat above the middle size, his countenance beau- 
tiful, his limbs genteel and slender, but full of vigor ; and he ex- 
celled in all warlike and manly exercises. 

Catherine of France, Henry's widow, married soon after his 
death a Welsh gentleman, Sir Owen Tudor, said to be descended 
from the ancient princes of that country ; she bore him two sons, 
Edmund and Jasper, of whom the eldest was created Earl of 
Richmond, father of Henry VII. — the second. Earl of Pembroke. 



A.D. 1240-1428. SETTLEMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT. 211 

§ 9. Hexey VI., 1422-1461, was born at Windsor, December 
6, 1421, and was consequently scarcely nine months old when he 
succeeded his father. The Lords and Commons, who had ac- 
quired great authority under the Lancastrian princes, without 
paying much regard to the verbal destination of Henry V., as- 
sumed the power of giving a new arrangement to the whole ad- ' 
ministration. They declined altogether the name of regent with 
regard to England ; they appointed the Duke of Bedford protector 
or guardian of that kingdom, a title which they supposed to imply 
less authority; they invested the Duke of Gloucester with the 
same dignity during the absence of his elder brother ; and, in or- 
der to limit the power of both these princes, they appointed a 
council, without whose advice and approbation no measure of im- 
portance could be determined. The person and education of the 
infant prince was committed to Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Win- 
chester, his great-uncle, and the legitimated son of John of Gaunt, 
Duke of Lancaster. The interest of the early part of this reign 
centres in the affairs of France. Charles Yl.^ the unhappy sov- 
ereign of that country, expired about two months after the death 
of his son-in-law Henry. His son, Charles YIL, a young prince 
of a popular character, and rightful heir to the throne, asserted 
his claim to it against his infant competitor, although the superior 
power of the English seemed to threaten him with expulsion ; and 
there were thus two rival kings of France. Bedford, the most 
accomplished prince of his age, a skillful politician, as well as a 
good general, strengthened himself by forming an alliance with 
the Duke of Brittany, who had received some disgusts from the 
French court. In order to avert from the northern border the 
hostility of the Scots, many of whom were serving under Charles 
VII., Bedford persuaded the English council to form an alliance 
with James their prisoner ; to free that prince from his long cap- 
tivity ; and to connect him with England by marrying him to a 
daughter of the Earl of Somerset and cousin of the youncr king:. 
The treaty was soon concluded ; a ransom of £40,000 was stip- 
ulated ; and the King of Scots was restored to the throne of his 
ancestors, and proved, in his short reign, one of the most illustri- 
ous princes that had ever governed that kingdom. 

§ 10. The military operations in France from 1423 to 1426, 
though they were favorable to the English, and reduced Charles 
to great straits, were not of sufficient importance to detain us. 
But in 1428 the Duke of Bedford determined to penetrate into the 
south of France, which remained in obedience to Charles VII. ; 
and with this view he caused Orleans to be invested, which com- 
manded the passage of the Loire, and was the key of the southern 
provinces. The command of the besieging forces was intrusted to 



212 HENRY VI. CHAt>. XL 

the Earl of Salisbury, one of the most distinguished commanders 
of the age. Upon his death by a cannon ball the siege was con- 
tinued by the Earl of Suffolk, and had lasted many months, when 
relief was unexpectedly brought by a female who gave rise to 
one of the most singular revolutions that is to be met with in 
history. 

In the village of Domremi, near Vaucouleurs, on the borders 
of Lorraine, there lived a country girl of 27 years of age, called 
Joan d'Arc, who was servant in a small inn, and who in that- sta- 
tion had been accustomed to tend the horses of the gues_ts, to ride 
them without a saddle to the watering-place, and to perform other 
offices which, in well-frequented inns, commonly fall to the share 
of the men-servants. This girl was of an irreproachable life, and 
had not hitherto been remarked for any singularity ; whether that 
she had met with no occasion to excite her genius, or that the 
unskillful eyes of those who conversed with her had not been able 
to discern her uncommon merit. It is easy to imagine that the 
present situation of France was an interesting object, even to per- 
sons of the lowest rank ; and Joan, inflamed by the general senti- 
ment, was seized with a wild desire of bringing relief to her sover- 
eign in his present distresses. Her inexperienced mind, working 
day and night on this favorite object, mistook the impulses of pas- 
sion for heavenly inspirations ; and she fancied that she saw vi- 
sions and heard voices, exhorting her to re-establish the throne of 
France, and to expel the foreign invaders. She went to Vau- 
couleurs ; procured admission to Baudricourt, the governor ; in- 
formed him of her inspirations and intentions; and conjured him 
not to neglect the voice of God, who spoke through her, but to 
second those heavenly revelations which impelled her to this glo- 
rious enterprise. Baudricourt treated her at first with some neg- 
lect ; but on her frequent returns to him, and importunate solici- 
tations, he began to remark something extraordinary in the maid, 
and was inclined, at all hazards, to make an easy experiment. 
He gave her some attendants, who conducted her to the French 
court, which at that time resided at Chinon. It is pretended that 
Joan immediately on her admission knew the king, though she had 
never seen his face before, and though he f)urposely kept himself 
in the crowd of courtiers, and had laid aside every thing in his 
dress and apparel which might distinguish him ; that she offered 
him, in the name of the supreme Creator, to raise the siege of 
Orleans, and to conduct him to Rheims to be there crowned and 
anointed ; and on his expressing doubts of her mission, revealed 
to him, before some sworn confidants, a secret which was unknown 
to all the world besides himself, and which nothing but a heavenly 
inspiration could have discovered to her ; and that she demanded. 



A.D. 1428-1429. JOAN OF ARC. 213 

as the instrument of her future victories, a particular sword, which 
was kept in the church of St. Catherine of Fierbois, and which, 
though she had never seen it, she described bj all its marks, and 
by the place in which it had long lain neglected. This is certain, 
that all these miraculous stories were spread abroad in order to 
captivate the vulgar. Joan's requests were at last complied with ; 
she was armed cap-a-pie, mounted on horseback, and shown in 
that martial habiliment before the whole people. Her dexterity 
in managing her steed, though acquired in her former occupation, 
was regarded as a fresh proof of her mission ; and she was re- 
ceived with the loudest acclamations by the spectators. Her first 
exploit was to conduct a convoy of provisions into Orleans (April, 
1429) ; and the English, daunted by a kind of supernatural terror 
at the preparations, did not venture to attack her. ■ The maid en- 
tered the city of Orleans arrayed in her military garb, and dis- 
playing her consecrated standard ; and was received as a celestial 
deliverer by all the inhabitants. 

She now called upon the garrison to remain no longer on the 
defensive; and she promised her followers the assistance of Heaven 
in attacking those redoubts of the enemy which had so long kept 
them in awe, and which they had never hitherto dared to insult. 
These enterprises succeeded. In one attack Joan was wounded 
in the neck with an arrow ; she retreated a moment behind the 
assailants, she pulled out the arrow with her own hands, she had 
the wound quickly dressed, and she hastened back to head the 
troops, and to plant her victorious banner on the ramparts of the 
enemy. By all these successes the English were entirely chased 
from their fortifications on that side ; and as it might prove ex- 
tremely dangerous for Suffolk, with such intimidated troops, to 
remain any longer in the presence of so courageous and victorious 
an enemy, he raised the siege, and retreated with all the precau- 
tion imaginable (May 8). 

§ 11. The raising of the siege of Orleans was one part of the 
maid's promise to Charles ; the crowning of him at Rheims was 
the other ; and she now vehemently insisted that he should forth- 
Avith set out on that enterprise. A few weeks before such a pro- 
posal would have appeared the most extravagant in the world. 
But Charles, at the head of only 12,000 men, marched, to that 
town Avithout opposition. The ceremony of his coronation was 
here performed with the holy oil, which a pigeon had brought to 
King Clovis from heaven on the first establishment of the French 
monarchy (July 12). The Maid of Orleans, as she was now 
called, stood by his side in complete armor, and displayed her 
sacred banner, which had so often dissipated and confounded his 
fiercest enemies ; and the people shouted with the most unfeigned 



214 HENRY VI. ' Chap. XI. 

joy at viewing such a complication of wonders. Charles, thus 
crowned and anointed, became more respectable in the eyes of all 
his subjects. Many towns and fortresses in that neighborhood, 
immediately after Charles's coronation, submitted to him on the 
first summons ; and the whole nation was disposed to give him the 
most zealous testimonies of their duty and affection. 

Nothing can impress us with a higher idea of the wisdom, ad- 
dress, and resolution of the Duke of Bedford than his being able 
to maintain himself in so perilous a sjtuation, and to preserve 
some footing in France, after the defection of so many places, and 
amid the universal inclination of the rest to imitate that con- 
tagious example. The small supplies, both of men and money, 
which he received from England set the talents of this great man 
in a still stronger light. It happened fortunately, in this emer- 
gency, that the Bishop of Winchester, now created a cardinal, 
landed at Calais with a body of 5000 men, which he was con- 
ducting into Bohemia on a crusade against the Hussites. He was 
persuaded to lend these troops to his nephew during the present 
difficulties ; and the regent was thereby enabled to take the field, 
and to oppose the French king, who was advancing with his army 
to the gates of Paris. The regent endeavored to revive the de- 
clining state of his affairs by bringing over the young king of En- 
gland and having him crowned and anointed at Paris (1431). 
But he expected more effect from an accident which put into 
his hands the person that had been the author of all his calam- 
ities. 

§ 12. The Maid of Orleans, in making a sally from Compiegne, 
was taken prisoner by the Burgundians. A complete victory 
would not have given more joy to the English and their partisans. 
The service of Te Deum, which has so often been profaned by 
princes, was publicly celebrated, on this fortunate event, at Paris. 
The Duke of Bedford fancied that, by the captivity of that extra- 
ordinary woman, who had blasted all his successes, he should 
again recover his former ascendant over France ; and to push 
farther the present advantage, he purchased the captive from John 
of Luxembourg, and formed a prosecution against her, which, 
whether it proceeded from vengeance or policy, was equally bar- 
barous and dishonorable. She was tried and condemned by an 
ecclesiastical court for sorcery, impiety, idolatry, and magic, ag- 
gravated by heresy ; her revelations were declared to be inventions 
of the devil to delude the people ; and she was sentenced to be de- 
livered over to the secular arm. Joan, who had borne her trial 
with amazing firmness, felt her spirit at last subdued. She pub- 
licly declared herself willing to recant ; she acknowledged the il- 
lusion of those revelations which the Church had rejected ; and 



A. D. 1429-1444. JOAN OF ARC. 215 

she promised never more to maintain them. Her sentence was 
then mitigated : she was condemned to perpetual imprisonment, and 
to be fed during life on bread and water. But the barbarous ven- 
geance of Joan's enemies was not satisfied with this victory. They 
purposely placed in her apartment a suit of men's apparel ; and 
watched for the effects of that temptation upon her. On the sight 
of a dress in which she had acquired so much renown, and which, 
she once believed, she wore by the particular appointment of 
Heaven, all her former ideas and passions revived ; and she ven- 
tured in her solitude to clothe herself again in the forbidden gar- 
ment. Her insidious enemies caught her in that situation ; her 
fault was interpreted to be no less than a relapse into heresy ; no 
recantation would now suffice, and no pardon could be granted 
her. She was condemned to be burned in the market-place of 
Rouen ; and the infamous sentence was accordingly executed 
(June 14, 1431). 

§ 13. From this period the affairs of the English in France, the 
result of which we shall here anticipate, went insensibly to decay. 
After the death of Bedford's wife, who was sister to the Duke of 
Burgundy, and the regent's subsequent hasty marriage with 
Jaqueline of Luxembourg, the last link was severed which had 
hitherto preserved some appearance of friendship between those 
princes ; an open breach took place between them, and the Duke 
of Burgundy determined to reconcile himself with the court of 
France. In 1435 a treaty was concluded at Arras between the 
Duke of Burgundy and Philip, which was followed almost imme- 
diately by the death of the Duke of Bedford at Rouen (Sept. 14, 
1435). The English continued to hold a gradually declining foot- 
ing in France for some years after that event; but the period offers 
few interesting or memorable occurrences. Shortly after the re- 
gent's death, and before his successor, the Duke of York, could 
arrive, the forces of the French king were admitted into Paris by 
the citizens; Lord Willoughby, who had retired with the small 
English garrison into the Bastile, was forced to capitulate on the 
condition of an honorable retreat (April, 1436). Yet the strug- 
gle was protracted feebly on both sides. In 1444 a truce of 22 
months, afterward prolonged to April, 1450, was concluded, 
chiefly through the influence of the Bishop of Winchester, now 
Cardinal Beaufort ; for the Duke of Gloucester still retained the 
most lofty pretensions with regard to France. 

§ 14. We now turn to the affairs of England. The death of 
the Duke of Bedford was an irreparable loss to the English na- 
tion. His ascendency had preserved some show of agreement 
between the Duke of Gloucester and the Cardinal Beaufort, who 
had long been enemies ; but after his death they openly conspired 



216 HENRY VI. Chap. XI. 

each other's ruin. We have already seen that the treaty with 
. France had been concluded through the influence of Cardinal 
Beaufort in opposition to the Duke of Gloucester; and each 
party was now ambitious of choosing a queen for Henry, as it 
was probable that this circumstance would decide forever the vic- 
tory between them. Henry was now in the 23d year of his age. 
Of the most harmless, inoffensive, simple manners, but of the most 
slender capacity, he was fitted, both by the softness of his temper, 
and the weakness of his understanding, to be perpetually govern- 
ed by those who surrounded him ; and it was easy to foresee that 
his reign would prove a perpetual minority. The Duke of 
Gloucester proposed to marry Henry to a daughter of the Count 
of Armagnac, but had not credit to effect his purpose. The Car- 
dinal and his friends had cast their eyes on Margaret of Anjou, 
daughter of Eegnier, titular King of Sicily, Naples, and Jerusa- 
lem. This princess herself was the most accomplished of her age, 
both in body and mind, and seemed to possess those qualities 
which would equally qualify her to acquire the ascendant over 
Henry, and to supply all his defects and weaknesses. The Earl 
of Suffolk, who had previously negotiated the treaty with France, 
now made proposals of marriage to Margaret, which were accept- 
ed (1445) ; and, in order to ingratiate himself with her and her 
family, engaged, by a secret article, that the province of Maine, 
which was at that time in the hands of the English, should be 
ceded to Charles of Anjou, her uncle (1445). ; The treaty of mar- 
riage was ratified in England ; Suffolk obtained first the title of 
marquis, then that of duke ; and even received the thanks of 
Parliament for his services in concluding it. The princess fell 
immediately into close connections with the cardinal and his 
party, the Dukes of Somerset, Suffolk, and Buckingham, who, 
fortified by her powerful patronage, resolved on the final ruin of 
the Duke of Gloucester. This generous prince, worsted in all 
court intrigues, for which his temper was not suited, but possess- 
ing in a high degree the favor of the public, had already received 
from his rivals a cruel mortification, which he had hitherto borne 
without violating public peace, but which it was impossible that 
a person of his spirit and humanity could ever forgive. His 
duchess, the daughter of Reginald, Lord Cobham, had been ac- 
cused of the crime of witchcraft ; and it was pretended that there 
was found in her possession a waxen figure of the king, which she 
and her associates. Sir Roger Bolingbroke, a priest, and one Mar- 
gery Jordan of Eye, melted in a magical manner before a slow 
fire, with an intention of making Henry's force and vigor waste 
away by like insensible degrees. The accusation was well calcu- 
lated to affect the weak and credulous mind of the king, and to 



A. D. 1444-1453. THE ENGLISH EXPELLED FROM FRANCE. 217 

gain belief in an ignorant age ; and tiie duchess was condemned 
to do public penance, and to suffer perpetual imprisonment (1441). 
In order to effect their purpose against the duke, the Cardinal of 
Winchester and his party caused a Parliament to be summoned, to 
meet, not at London, which was supposed to be too well affected 
to the duke, but at Bury St. Edmund's, where they expected that 
he would lie entirely at their mercy (1447). As soon as he ap- 
peared he was accused of treason, and thrown into prison. He 
was soon after found dead in his bed ; and though it was pre- 
tended that his death was natural, and though his body, which 
was exposed to public view, bore no marks of outward violence, 
no one doubted but he had fallen a victim to the vengeance of his 
enemies. The cardinal himself survived only a few M'^eeks the 
murder of his nephew, for which he is said to have felt great re- 
morse in his last moments. After this event, Suffolk, the de- 
clared favorite of the queen, and who had now been made a duke, 
became prime minister, and the affairs of the nation, owing to the 
imbecility of the king, were directed by him and Margaret ; but 
the court was divided into parties which were enraged against 
one another. In this state of things French affairs vv^ere neglect- 
ed. The province of Maine was ceded to Charles of Anjou, the 
queen's uncle, according to the marriage-treaty. After the con- 
clusion of the truce Charles VII. had employed himself Avith great 
judgment in repairing the numberless ills of France ; and in 1449 
he availed himself of a favorable opportunity to break it. Nor- 
mandy and Guienne were overrun by powerful French armies al- 
most without resistance; and by the summer of 1451 the English 
were completely expelled from France, with the exception of 
Calais. Though no peace or truce was concluded, the war was, 
in a manner, at an end, and the civil dissensions which ensued in 
England permitted but one feeble effort more, in 1453, for the re- 
covery of Guienne, in which the veteran Talbot lost his life. 

§ 15. Meanwhile, the incapacity of Henry, which appeared ev- 
ery day in a fuller light, had encouraged the appearance of a pre- 
tender to the crown. All the males of the house of Mortimer 
were extinct; but Anne, the sister of the last Earl of March, 
having espoused the Earl of Cambridge, beheaded in the reign of 
Henry Y., had transmitted her latent, but not yet forgotten, claim 
to her son, Richard, Duke of York. This prince, thus descended, 
by his mother, from Philippa, only daughter of the Duke of Clar- 
ence, third son of Edward III., stood plainly in the order of suc- 
cession before the king, who derived his descent from the Duke 
of Lancaster, fourth son of that monarch ;* and that claim could 
not, in many respects, have fallen into more dangerous hands than 

* See the genealogical table, p. LS4. 
K 



218 HENRY VI. Chap. XI. 

those of the Duke of York. Richard was a man of valor and 
abilities, of a prudent conduct and mild disposition ; he possessed 
an immense fortune from the union of so many successions, those 
of Cambridge and York on the one hand with those of Mortimer 
on the other ; and his marriage with the daughter of Ralph Nevil, 
Earl of Westmoreland, had widely extended his interest among 
the nobility. The Earls of Salisbury and Warwick were of that 
family, and were of themselves, on many accounts, the greatest 
noblemen in the kingdom. The personal qualities also of these 
two earls, especially of Warwick, enhanced the splendor of their 
nobility, and increased their influence over the people. This lat- 
ter nobleman, commonly known, from the subsequent events, by 
the appellation of the King-maker, had distinguished himself by 
his gallantry in the field, by the hospitality of his table, by the 
magnificence and still more by the generosity of his expense, and 
by the spirited and bold manner which attended him in all his 
actions. No less than 30,000 persons are said to have daily lived 
at his board in the different manors and castles which he pos- 
sessed in England ; the military men, allured by his inunificence 
and hospitality, as Avell as by his bravery, were zealously attached 
to his interests, and the people in general bore him an unlimited 
affection. 

§ 16, Though the English were never willing to grant the sup- 
plies necessary for keeping possession of the conquered provinces 
in France, they repined extremely at the loss of these boasted ac- 
quisitions. The voluntary cession of Maine to the queen's uncle 
had made them suspect treachery in the loss of Normandy and 
Guienne. They still considered Margaret as a Frenchwoman, 
and a latent enemy of the kingdom. But the most fatal blow 
giv^en to the popularity of the crown, and to the interests of the 
house of Lancaster, was by the assassination of the virtuous Duke 
of Gloucester ; and, as the Duke of Suffolk was known to have 
had an active hand in the crime, he partook deeply of the hatred 
attending it. The revenues of the crown, which had long been 
disproportioned to its power and dignity, had been extremely di- 
lapidated during the minority of Henry. The royal demesnes 
were dissipated ; and at the same time the king was loaded with 
a debt of 372,000 pounds, a sum so great that the Parliament 
could never think of discharging it. This unhappy situation forced 
the ministers upon many arbitrary measures ; the household it- 
self could not be supported Avithout stretching to the utmost the 
right of purveyance, and rendering it a kind of universal robbery 
upon the people. Suffolk, once become odious, bore the blame of 
the whole ; and every grievance, in every part of the administra- 
tion, was universally imputed to his tyranny and iiijustice. The 



A.D. 1453-1454. CIVIL WAR. 219 

Commons sent up to the Peers an accusation of high treason 
against him (1450). The king, to save him from present ruin, ban- 
ished him the kingdom during five years. But a captain of a ves- 
sel was employed by his enemies to intercept him in his passage to 
France : he was seized near Dover ; his head struck off on the 
side of a long-boat ; and his body thrown into the sea. No in- 
quiry was made after the actors and accomplices in this atrocious 
deed of violence. 

§ 17. The humors of the people, set afloat by the Parliament- 
ary impeachment and by the fall of so great a favorite as Suffolk, 
broke out in various commotions. The most dangerous was that 
excited by a man of low condition, one John Cade, a native of 
Ireland, who had been obliged to fly into France for crimes, and 
who took the name of John Mortimer. On the first mention of 
that popular name the common people of Kent, to the number of 
20,000, flocked to Cade's standard ; Sir Humphrey Stafford, who 
had opposed him with a small force, was defeated and slain in an 
action near Sevenoke ; and Cade, advancing with his followers 
toward London, encamped on Blackheath. Though elated by his 
victory, he still maintained the appearance of moderation ; and 
sent to the court- a plausible list of grievances. The city opened 
its gates to Cade, who maintained, during some time, great order 
and discipline among his followers. At last they broke into a 
rich house, which they plundered ; and the citizens, alarmed at 
this act of violence, shut their gates against them ; and, being sec- 
onded by a detachment of soldiers sent them by Lord Scales, 
Governor of the Tower, they repulsed the rebels with great slaugh- 
ter. The Kentish men were so discouraged by the blow, that, 
upon receiving a general pardon from the primate, then chancel- 
lor, they retreated toward Rochester, and there dispersed. The 
pardon was soon after annulled, as extorted hj violence ; a price 
was set on Cade's head, who was killed by one Iden, a gentleman 
of Sussex ; and many of his followers were capitally punished for 
their rebellion (1450). 

The Duke of Somerset, who had been governor of Normandy, 
succeeded Suffolk in the administration, but his loss of that prov- 
ince made him very unpopular with the English. The Duke of 
York, who had recently returned from his government of Ireland, 
raised an army of 10,000 men, with which he marched toward 
London (1452), demanding a reformation of the government, and 
the removal of the Duke of Somerset from all power and author- 
ity. Having suffered himself, however, to be entrapped into a 
conference, he was seized, but dismissed ; and he retired to his 
seat of Wigmore, on the borders of AVales. 

§ 18. The queen's delivery of a son (Oct. 13, 1454), who re- 



220 HENRY VI. Chap. XI. 

ceived the name of Edward, removed all hopes of the peaceable 
succession of the Duke of York. Henrj, always unfit to exercise 
the government, fell at this time into a distemper which so far in- 
creased his natural imbecility that it rendered him incapable of 
maintaining even the appearance of royalty. The queen and the 
council, destitute of this support, found themselves unable to re- 
sist the York party, and they were obliged to yield to the torrent. 
They sent Somerset to the Tower, and appointed the Duke of 
York lieutenant of the kingdom, with powers to open and hold a 
session of Parliament. That assembly, also, taking into consid- 
eration the state of the kingdom, created him Protector during 
pleasure (1454). But in the following year the king, having re- 
covered his health, annulled the protectorship of the duke, released 
Somerset from the Tower, and committed the administration into 
the hands of that nobleman. The D uke of York levied an army ; 
but still without advancing any pretensions to the crown. He 
complained only of the king's ministers, and demanded a reforma- 
tion of the government. A battle was fought at St. Albans (May 
23, 1455), in which the Yorkists were superior; among the slain 
were the Duke of Somerset and many other persons of distinction. 
The king himself fell into the hands of the Duke of York, who 
treated him with great respect and tenderness ; he was only 
obliged (which he regarded as no hardship) to commit the whole 
authority of the crown into the hands of his rival. This was the 
first blood spilt in that fatal quarrel which was not finished in 
less than a course of 30 years, which was signalized by 12 pitched 
battles, which opened a scene of extraordinary fierceness and cru- 
elty, is computed to have cost the lives of 80 princes of the blood, 
and almost entirely annihilated the ancient nobility of England. 
Yet affairs did not immediately proceed to the last extremities. 
In 1456 the king was restored to the sovereign authority; and 
for two or three years the parties seemed in outward appearance 
to be reconciled. But the smallest accident, without any formed 
design, was sufficient, in the present disposition of men's minds, 
to dissolve the seeming harmony. One of the king's retinue in- 
sulted one of the Earl of Warwick's, the most important partisan 
of the Duke of York ; their companions on both sides took part 
in the quarrel ; a fierce combat ensued ; the earl apprehended 
his life to be aimed at ; he fled to his government of Calais ; and 
both parties, in every county of England, openly made prepara- 
tions for deciding the contest by war and arms (1459). 

§ 19. A civil war was now fairly kindled. In 1460 the king 
was defeated and taken prisoner by the Earl of Warwick at North- 
ampton (July 10). The Duke of York displayed great seeming 
moderation after this success, though he publicly intimated his 



A.D. 1454-1461. CIVIL WAR. 221 

expectation that the Parliament should raise him to the throne. 
The rival claims were, however, submitted to the decision of the 
House of Peers, whose sentence was calculated, as far as possi- 
ble, to please both parties. They declared the title of the Duke 
of York to be certain and indefeasible ; but, in consideration that 
Henry had enjoyed the crown, without dispute or controversy, 
during the course of 38 years, they determined that he should 
continue to possess the title and dignity during the remainder of 
his life ; that the administration of the government, meanwhile, 
should remain with the Duke of York ; and that he should be 
acknowledged the true and lawful heir of the monarchy. The 
duke acquiesced in this decision, and Henry himself, being a pris- 
oner, could not oppose it. But Queen Margaret, who, after the 
defeat at Northampton, had fled to Durham, and thence to Scot- 
land, had, with the assistance of the northern barons, collected 
an army 20,000 strong. The Duke of York, informed of her 
appearance in the north, hastened thither with a body of 5000 
men, to suppress, as he imagined, the beginnings of an insurrec- 
tion ; when, on his arrival at Wakefield, he found himself so much 
outnumbered by the enemy. He nevertheless hazarded a battle, 
in which the queen gained a complete victory . (Dec. 23). The 
duke himself was killed in the action ; and as his body was found 
among the slain, the head was cut off by Margaret's orders, and 
fixed on the gates of York, with a paper crown upon it in derision 
of his pretended title. One of his sons, the Earl of Rutland, a 
youth of 17, was brought to Lord Clifford ; and that barbarian, 
in revenge of his father's death, who had perished in the battle 
of St. Albans, murdered, in cool blood, and with his own hands, 
this innocent prince, whose exterior figure, as well as other ac- 
complishments, are represented by historians as extremely amia- 
ble. The Earl of Salisbury was wounded and taken prisoner, and 
immediately beheaded, with several other persons of distinction, 
by martial law, at Pomfret. The Duke of York perished in the 
50th year of his age, and left three sons, Edward (afterward Ed- 
ward IV.), George (afterward Duke of Clarence), Richard (after- 
ward Richard HI.), with three daughters, Anne, Elizabeth, and 
Margaret. 

§ 20. The queen, after this important victory, divided her army. 
She ^ent the smaller division, under Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pem- 
broke, half-brother to the king, against Edward, the new Duke of 
York. She herself marched with the larger division toward Lon- 
don, where the Earl of Warwick had been left with the command 
of the Yorkists. Pembroke was defeated by Edward at Morti- 
mer's Cross, in Herefordshire, with the loss of nearly 4000 men 
(Feb. 2, 1461); his army was dispersed; he himself escaped by 



222 



HENKV VI. 



Chap. XI. 



flight ; but his father, Sir Owen Tudor, was taken prisoner, and 
immediately beheaded by Edward's orders. This barbarous prac- 
tice, being once begun, was continued by both parties from a spirit 
of revenge, which covered itself under the pretense of retaliation. 
Margaret compensated this defeat by a victory which she obtain- 
ed over the Earl of Warwick at St. Albans (Feb. 19), when the 
person of the king fell again into the hands of his own party ; but 
the queen made no great advantage of this victory. Young Ed- 
ward advanced upon her from the other side, and, collecting the 
remains of Warwick's army, was soon in a condition to give her 
battle with superior forces. She was sensible of her danger while 
she lay between the enemy and the city of London ; and she 
found it necessary to retreat with her army to the north. Ed- 
ward entered the capital amid the acclamations of the citizens, 
and was proclaimed king by the title of Edward IV. (March 3, 
1461). 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A. p. 

1399. 
1400. 
1401. 

1403. 



1413. 

1415. 
1420. 



1422. 



Ileniy IV. crowned. 

Revolt of Owen Glendower and others. 

William Sautre, a clergyman, burned 
for Lollardism. 

Revolt of the Earl of Northumberland. 
Battle of Shrewsbury and death of 
Percy. 

Death of Heniy IV. and accession of 
Henry V. 

Battle of Agincourt. 

Treaty of Troyes. Henry marries Cath- 
erine of France and is named heir 
and regent of that kingdom. 

Death of Heniy V. and accession of 
Henry VI. 



A.D. 

1429. Siege of Orleans. Joan of Arc. 
1431. Henry VI. crowned at Paris, Execu- 
tion of Joan of Arc. 
1445. The king marries Margaret of Anjou. 
1460. Jack Cade's insurrection. 

1451. The English expelled from France. 

1452. Insurrection of the Duke of York. 
1455. Commencement of the civil wars. 

First battle of St. Albans. 

1460. Battle of Wakefield and death of Rich- 

ard, Duke of York. 

1461. Second battle of St, Albans. Edward 

IV. declared king by the citizens of 
London. 




Eeverse of Great :Seal of Ed^vard IV. 



Edwardus : Dei : Gracia. Rex : anglie 
et : Francie : et : Douiinua : Hibemie. 



Ileve-rse of Great seal of lUchard III. 



Ricardiis . dei t gracia . P.ex . anglie . 
et . francie . et . Doruiniia . Ilibernie. 



THE HOUSE OF YORK. 



CHxVPTER XII. 

EDWARD IV., ED"V\^A.RD V. 
A.D. U61-U85. 



RICHARD in. 



§ 1. Edward IV. assumes the Crown. War of the Roses. Battle of Tow- 
ton. §2. Battle of Hexham. Flight of ^Margaret and Capture of Hen- 
ry YI. §3. Edward's Marriage. Discontent of Warwick. §4. War- 
wick flies to France and leagues himself with Margaret. § 5. Warwick 
invades England, expels Edward, and restores Henry. § G. Rettirn of 
Edward. Battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. Death of Henry VI. § 7. 
Peace of Pecquigni. Exectttion of Clarence. Death and Character of 
the King. § 8. Accession of Edward V. Violent Proceedings of Rich- 
ard, Duke of Gloucester. § 9. Execution of Rivers, Hastings, and oth- 
ers. §10. Richard III, Mtirder of Edward V. and the Duke of York. 
§ 11. Conspiracy in favor cf the Earl of Richmond. His Invasion, and 
Death of Btickingham. § 12. Richmond's second Invasion. Battle of 
BosAVorth and Death cf Richard. § 13. State of the Nation under the 
Plantagenets. Progress of the Constitution. § 14. Civil Rights of In- 
dividuals. Villenage. §15. General Progress of the Nation. 

§ 1. Edward IV., 1461-1483. — Young Edward, now in his 
20th year, was of a temper well fitted to make his way through 
such a scene of war, havoc, and devastation as must conduct him 
to the full possession of that crown which he claimed from hered- 
itary right, but which he had assumed from the tumultuary elec- 
tion alone of his own party. He was bold, active, enterprising; 
and his hardness of heart and severity of character rendered him 
impregnable to all those movements of compassion which might 
relax his vigor in the prosecution of the most bloody revenge upon 
his enemies. The scaffold, as well as the field, incessantly stream- 



224 EDWARD Jy. Chap. XII. 

ed with the noblest blood of England, spilt in the quarrel between 
the two contending families, whose animosity was now become 
implacable. The people, divided in their aifections, took different 
symbols of party ; the partisans of the house of Lancaster chose 
the red rose as their mark of distinction ; those of York were de- 
nominated from the white ; and the civil wars were thus known, 
over Europe, by the name of the quarrel between the two roses. 

Queen Margaret had collected a force of 60,000 men in York- 
shire, while the Earl of Warwick, at the head of 40,000, hastened 
to check her progress. The hostile armies met at Towton, near 
• Tadcaster (March 29, 1461), and a fierce and bloody battle en- 
sued, which ended in a total victory on the side of the Yorkists. 
Edward issued orders to give no quarter ; and above 36,000 men 
are computed to have fallen in the battle and pursuit, of whom 
28,000 were Lan(;astrians. Henry and Margaret had remained 
at York during the action ; but learning the defeat of their army, 
and being sensible that no place in England could now afford them 
shelter, they fled with great precipitation into Scotland. Edward 
did not pursue the fugitive king and queen into their retreat, but 
returned to London, where a Parliament was summoned for set- 
tling the government. They recognized the title of Edward, by 
hereditary descent through the family of Mortimer ; and declared 
that he was king by right, from the death of his father, who had 
also the same lawful title ; and that he was in possession of the 
crown from the day that he assumed the government, tendered to 
him by the acclamations of the people. They also passed an act 
of forfeiture and attainder against Henry YI. and Queen Marga- 
ret, and their infant son Prince Edward, besides many other per- 
sons of distinction. 

§ 2. Queen Margaret sailed over twice to France to solicit as- 
sistance. Louis XI. of France, who had succeeded his father 
Charles, was prevailed upon to grant her a small body of troops, 
by a promise to surrender Calais if her family should by his means 
be restored to the throne of England. She invaded England in 
1464 ; but was defeated in two battles by Lord Montacute, brother 
of the Earl of Warwick, first at Hedgley Moor (April 25), and 
afterward at Hexham (May 15). The Duke of Somerset, the 
Lords Roos and Hungerford, were taken in the pursuit, and im- 
mediately beheaded. The fate of the unfortunate royal family 
after this defeat was singular. Margaret, flying with her son into 
a forest where she endeavored to conceal herself, was beset, dur- 
ing the darkness of the night, by robbers, who, either ignorant or 
regardless of her quality, despoiled her of her rings and jewels, 
and treated her with the utmost indignity. The partition of this 
rich booty raised a quarrel among them ; and, while their atten- 



A.D. 1461-1464. CAPTURE OF HENRY VI. 225 

tion was thus engaged, she took the opportunity of making her 
escape with her son into the thickest of the forest, where she wan- 
dered for some time, overspent with hunger and fatigue, and sunk 
with terror and affliction. A\Tiile in this wretched condition, she 
saw a robber approach with his naked sword ; and, finding that 
she had no means of escape, she suddenly embraced the resolution 
of trusting entirely for protection to his faith and generosity. 
She advanced toward him ; and presenting to him the young 
prince, called out to him, " Here, my friend, I commit to your 
care the safety of your king's son." The man, whose humanity 
and generous spirit had been obscured, not entirely lost, by his 
vicious course of life, was struck with the singularity of the event, 
was charmed with the confidence reposed in him ; and vowed not 
only to abstain from all injury against the princess, but to devote 
himself entirely to her service. By his means she dwelt some 
time concealed in the forest, and was at last conducted to the sea- 
coast, whence she made her escape into Flanders. She passed 
thence into her father's court, where she lived several years in 
privacy and retirement. Her husband was not so fortunate or so 
dextrous in finding the means of escape. Some of his friends 
took him under their protection, and conveyed him into Lanca- 
shire, where he remained concealed during a twelvemonth ; but 
he was at last detected, delivered up to Edward, and thrown into 
the Tower. 

§ o. The cruel and unrelenting spirit of Edward, though inured 
to the ferocity of civil wars, was, at the same time extremely de- 
voted to the softer passions ; and his amorous temper led him into 
a snare v/hich proved fatal to his repose, and to the stability of 
his throne. Jaqueline of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford, had, 
after her husband's death, married Sir Eichard AVoodville, a pri- 
vate gentleman, to whom she bore several children ; and among 
the rest Elizab&th, who was remarkable for the grace and beauty 
of her person, as well as for other amiable accomplishments. This 
young lady had married Sir John Grey, by whom she had chil- 
dren ; and her husband being slain in the second battle of St. Al- 
bans, fighting on the side of Lancaster, and his estate being for 
that reason confiscated, his widow retired to live with her father 
at his seat of Grafton in Northamptonshire. The king came ac- 
cidentally to the house after a hunting party, and was so charmed 
with the beauty of the young widow that he offered to share his 
throne with her. The marriage was privately celebrated at Graf- 
ton, but was not avowed by Edward till the autumn of 1464. It 
gave great offense to the Earl of Warwick, who had intended to 
strengthen the throne of Edward by some splendid connection. 
The influence of the queen soon became apparent, who sought to 

K2 



226 EDWARD IV. Chap. XII. 

draw every grace and favor to her own friends and kindred, and 
to exclude those of Warwick, whom she regarded as her mortal 
enemy. The earl perceived with disgust that his credit was lost ; 
and the nobility of England, envying the sudden growth of the 
Woodvilles, were inclined to take part with Warwick's discon- 
tent, to whose grandeur they were already accustomed, and who 
had reconciled them to his superiority by his gracious and popu- 
lar manners. But the most considerable associate that Warwick 
acquired to his party was George, Duke of Clarence, the king's 
second brother, by offering him in marriage his eldest daughter, 
and co-heir of his immense fortunes; a settlement which, as it 
was superior to any that the king himself could confer upon him, 
immediately attached him to the party of the earl. Thus an ex- 
tensive and dangerous combination was insensibly formed against 
Edward and his ministry. 

§ 4. There is no part of English history since the Conquest so ob- 
scure, so uncertain, so little authentic or consistent, as that of the 
wars between the two Roses : and, as they exhibit a mere strug- 
gle for power that involves not any great constitutional principle, 
we shall narrate them as briefly as possible. Warwick proceed- 
ed to the court of France, where he was well received by Louis. 
Margaret was sent for from Anjou; and, in spite of the injuries 
which Warwick had experienced at her hands, and the inveterate 
hatred which he bore to the house of Lancaster, an agreement 
was, from common interest, soon concluded between them. It 
was stipulated that Warwick should espouse the cause of Henry, 
and endeavor to re-establish him on the throne ; that the admin- 
istration of the government during the minority of young Edward, 
Henry's son, should be intrusted conjointly to the Earl of War- 
wick and the Duke of Clarence ; that Prince Edward should 
marry the Lady Anne, second daughter of Warwick ; and that 
the crown, in case of the failure of male issue in that prince, should 
descend to the Duke of Clarence, to the entire exclusion of King 
Edward and his posterity. 

§ 5. Louis now prepared a fleet to escort the Earl of Warwick, 
and granted him a supply of men and money. That nobleman 
landed at Dartmouth (Sept. 13, 1470), with the Duke of Clarence, 
the Earls of Oxford and Pembroke, and a small body of troops ; 
while the king was in the north, engaged in suppressing an insur- 
rection which had been raised by Lord Fitz-Hugh, brother-in-law 
to Warwick. The scene which ensues resembles more the fiction 
of a poem or romance than an event in true history. The pro- 
digious popularity of Warwick drew such multitudes to his stand- 
ard, that in a very few days his army amounted to 60,000 men, 
and was continually increasing. Edward hastened southward to 



A.D. 1464-1171. BATTLE OF BARNET. 227 

encounter him ; but, being deserted by the Marquis of Montacute, 
Warwick's brother, he hurried with a small retinue to Lynn in 
Norfolk, where he luckily found some ships ready, on board of 
wdiich he instantly embarked. Thus the Earl of Warwick, in no 
longer space than eleven days after his first landing, was left en- 
tire master of the kino-dom. That nobleman hastened to London, 
and, taking Henry from his confinement in the Tower, into which 
he himself had been the chief cause of throwing him, he proclaim- 
ed him king wdth great solemnity. A Parliament Avas summon- 
ed, in the name of that prince, to meet at Westminster ; and the 
treaty with Margaret was here fully executed (1471). Henry 
was recognized as lawful king ; but his incapacity for government 
being avowed, the regency was intrusted to Warwick and Clar- 
ence till the majority of Prince Edward ; and in default of that 
prince's issue, Clarence was declared successor to the crown. 

§ 6. The Duke of Burgundy had treated Edward with great 
coldness on his landing in Holland ; but subsequently he secretly 
hired for him a small squadron of ships and about 2000 men. 
With these the king landed on the coast of Norfolk (1471); but 
being there repulsed, he sailed northward, and disembarked at 
Ravenspur, in Yorkshire. His partisans every moment flocked to 
his standard; he was admitted into the city of York ; and he was 
soon in such a situation as gave him hopes of succeeding in all his 
claims and pretensions. Warwick assembled an army at Leices- 
ter, with the intention of meeting and of giving battle to the ene- 
my ; but Edward, by taking another road, passed him unmolested, 
and presented himself before the gates of London, where his ad- 
mittance by the citizens made him master not only of that rich 
and powerful city, but also of the person of Henry, wdio, destined 
to be the perpetual sport of fortune, thus fell again into the hands 
of his enemies. The king soon found himself in a condition to face 
the Earl of Warwick, who had taken post at Barnet in the neigh- 
borhood of London (April 14). At this juncture his son-in-law 
the Duke of Clarence, in fulfillment of some secret engagements 
which he had formerly taken with his brother, and to support the 
interests of his own family, deserted to the king in the nighttime, 
and carried over a body of 12,000 men along with him. War- 
wick was now too far advanced to retreat; and, as he rejected 
with disdain all terms of neace offered him by Edward and Clar- 
ence, he was obliged to hazard a general engagement, m which 
his army was completely routed. Warwick, contrary to his more 
usual practice, engaged that day on foot, resolving to show his 
army that he meant to share every fortune with them ; and he 
was slain in the thickest of the engagement ; his brother under- 
went the same fate ; and, as Edward had issued orders not to give 



228 EDWARD iV. Chap. Xii. 

any quarter, a great and nndistinguished slaughter was made in 
the pursuit. The same day on which this decisive battle was 
fought, Queen Margaret and her son, now about 18 years of age, 
and a young prince of great hopes, landed at Weymouth, support- 
ed by a small body of French forces. She advanced through the 
counties of Devon, Somerset, and Gloucester, increasing her army 
on each day's march ; but was at last overtaken by the rapid and 
expeditious Edward at Tewkesbury, on the banks of the Severn. 
The Lancastrians were here totally defeated (May 4). Queen 
Margaret and her son were taken prisoners, and brought to the 
king, who asked the prince, after an insulting manner, how he 
dared to invade his dominions ? The young prince, more mindful 
of his high birth than of his present fortune, replied, that he came 
thither to claim his just inheritance. The ungenerous Edward, 
insensible to pity, struck him on the face with his gauntlet ; and 
the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester, Lord Hastings, and Sir 
Thomas Grey, taking the blow as a signal for farther violence, 
hurried the prince into the next apartment, and there dispatched 
him with their daggers. Margaret was thrown into the Tower ; 
King Henry expired in that confinement a few days after the bat- 
tle of Tewkesbury; but whether he died a natural or violent 
death is uncertain. It is pretended, and was generally believed, 
that the Duke of Gloucester killed him with his own hands ; but 
the universal odium which that prince has incurred inclined per- 
haps the nation to aggravate his crimes without any sufficient au- 
thority. 

§ 7. All the hopes of the house of Lancaster seemed now to be 
utterly extinguished. Every legitimate prince of that family was 
dead ; and peace being fully restored to the nation, a Parliament 
was summoned,- which ratified, as usual, all the acts of the victor, 
and recognized his legal authority. But all the glories of Ed- 
ward's reign terminated with the civil wars ; where his laurels 
too were extremely sullied with blood, violence, and cruelty. His 
spirit seems afterward to have sunk in indolence and pleasure ; 
or his measures were frustrated by imprudence and want of fore- 
sight. Relying on the assistance of the Duke of Burgundy, he 
invaded France in 1475 with a considerable army ; but, being dis- 
appointed in that expectation, he readily listened to the advances 
of the politic Louis, who was willing to conclude a truce on terms 
more advantageous than honorable. He stipulated to pay Ed- 
ward immediately 75,000 crowns, on condition that he should 
withdraw his army from France, and promised to pay him 50,000 
crowns a year during their joint lives ; it was added that the 
dauphin, when of age, should marry Edward's eldest daughter. 
The two monarchs ratified this treaty, which did little honor to 



AD. 1471-U83. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF THE KING. 229 

either, in a personal interview at Pecquigni, near Amiens. The 
most honorable part of it was the stipulation for the liberty of 
Queen Margaret. Louis paid 50,000 crowns for her ransom ; 
and that princess, who had been so active on the stage of the 
world, and who had experienced such a variety of fortune, passed 
the remainder of her days in tranquillity and privacy, till the year 
1482, when she died. 

The Duke of Clarence, by all his services in deserting Warwick, 
had never been able to regain the king's friendship, which he had 
forfeited by his former confederacy with that nobleman. He had 
also had the misfortune to give displeasure to the queen herself, 
as well as to his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a prince 
of the deepest policy, of the most unrelenting ambition, and the 
least scrupulous in the means which he employed for the attain- 
ment of his ^nds. A combination between these potent adver- 
saries being secretly formed against Clarence, it was determined to 
begin by attacking his friends, of whom two or three were tried 
and executed on frivolous charges. Clarence, instead of securing 
his own life against the present danger by silence and reserve, was 
open and loud in justifying the innocence of his friends, and in 
exclaiming against the iniquity of their prosecutors. The king, 
highly offended with his freedom, or using that pretense against 
him, committed him to the Tower, summoned a Parliament, and 
tried him for his life before the House of Peers, by whom he was 
pronounced guilty. The manner of his death is unknown ; ac- 
cording to an absurd rumor, he was drowned in a butt of Malm- 
sey (1478). 

Louis, instead of carrying out the treaty of Pecquigni, found 
his advantage in contracting the dauphin to the Princess Mar- 
garet, daughter of Maximilian ; and the king, notwithstanding his 
indolence, prepared to revenge the indignity. But while he was 
making preparations for that enterprise, he was seized with a dis- 
temper, of which he expired (April 9, 1483) in the forty-iirst year 
of his age, and twenty-second of his reign : a prince more splendid 
and showy than either prudent or virtuous ; brave, though cruel ; 
addicted to pleasure, though capable of activity in great emergen- 
cies ; and less fitted to prevent ills by wise precautions, than to 
remedy them after they had taken place by his vigor and enter- 
prise. 

Besides five daughters, this king left two sons ; Edward, Prince 
of Wales, his successor, then in his twelfth year, and Richard, 
Duke of York, in his ninth. 

§ 8. Edward V., 1483. — The young king, at the time of his 
father's death, resided in the castle of Ludlow, on the borders of 
Wales, under the care of his uncle, the Earl of Rivers, the most 



230 EDWARD V. Chap. Xll. 

accomplished nobleman in England.* The queen, anxious to pre- 
serve that ascendant over her son which she had long maintained 
over her husband, wrote to the Earl of Rivers that he should levy 
a body of forces, in order to escort the king to London, to protect 
him during his coronation, and to keep him from falling into the 
hands of their enemies. The Duke of Gloucester, meanwhile, 
Avhom the late king, on his death-bed, had nominated as regent, 
set out from York, attended by a numerous train of the northern 
gentry. Having fallen in with the king's escort, he caused Lord 
Rivers and Sir Eichard Grey, one of the queen's sons, together 
with Sir Thomas Yaughan, to be arrested at Stony Stratford; 
and the prisoners were instantly conducted to Pomfret. Glouces- 
ter approached the young prince with the greatest demonstrations 
of respect ; and endeavored to satisfy him with regard to the vio- 
lence committed on his uncle and brother ; but Edward, much at- 
tached to these near relations, by whom he had been tenderly 
educated, was not such a master of dissimulation as to conceal his 
displeasure. 

The people, however, were extremely rejoiced at this revolution ; 
and the duke was received in London with the loudest acclama- 
tions ; but the queen no sooner received intelligence of her broth- 
er's imprisonment than she foresaw that Gloucester's violence 
would not stop there, and that her own ruin, if not that of all 
her children, was finally determined. She therefore fled into the 
sanctuary of Westminster, attended by the Marquis of Dorset ; 
and she carried thither the five princesses, together with the Duke 
of York. But, being at length persuaded by the Archbishops of 
Canterbury and York to produce her son, she was struck with a 
.kind of presage of his future fate : she tenderly embraced him ; 
she bedewed him with her tears ; and bidding him an eternal 
adieu, delivered him, with many expressions of regret and reluct- 
ance, into their custody. 

§ 9. Gloucester, who had hitherto concealed his fierce and sav- 
age nature with the most profound dissimulation, was chosen pro- 
tector by the council ; and, having so far succeeded in his views, 
no longer hesitated in removing the obstructions which lay be- 
tween him and the throne. The death of Earl Elvers, and of the 
other prisoners detained in Pomfret, was first determined ; and he 
easily obtained the consent of the Duke of Buckingham, as well 
as of Lord Hastings, the two chief leaders of the party opposed to 
the queen, to this violent and sanguinary measure. Orders were 
accordingly issued to Sir Eichard EatclifFe, a proper instrument 
in the hands of this tyrant, to cut off the heads of the prisoners. 

* This nobleman first introduced the noble art of printing into England. 
Caxton was recommended by him to the patronage of Edward IV. 



i 



\ 



A.D. 1483. PROCEEDINGS OF DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. 231 

The protector then assailed the fidelity of Buckingham by all the 
arguments capable of swaying a vicious mind, which knew no 
motive of action but interest and ambition ; and he easily obtain- 
ed from him a promise of supporting him in all his enterprises. 
He then sounded at a distance the sentiments of Hastings by 
means of Catesby, a lawyer, who lived in great intimacy with that 
nobleman ; but found him impregnable in his allegiance and fidel- 
ity to the children of Edward. He saw, therefore, that there were 
no longer any measures to be kept with him ; and he determined 
to ruin utterly the man whom he despaired of engaging to concur 
in his usurpation. He accordingly summoned a council in the 
Tower ; whither that nobleman, suspecting no design against him, 
repaired without hesitation. The Duke of Gloucester appeared 
in the easiest and most jovial humor imaginable. After some 
familiar conversation he left the council, as if called away by other 
business ; but soon after returning with an angry arid inflamed 
countenance, he asked them what punishment those deserved that 
had plotted against Ms life, who was so nearly related to the king, 
and was intrusted with the administration of srovernment '? Hast- 
ings replied, that they merited the punishment of traitors. "These 
traitors," cried the protector, " are the sorceress, my brother's 
wife, and Jane Shore, his mistress, with others, their associates ; 
see to what a condition they have reduced me by their incanta- 
tions and witchcraft ;" upon which he laid bare his arm, all shriv- 
eled and decayed. But tlie counselors, who knew that this in- 
firmity had attended him from his birth, looked on each other 
with amazement ; and above all, Lord Hastings, who, as he had 
since Edward's death engaged in an intrigue with Jane vShore, 
was naturally anxious concerning the issue of these extraordinary 
proceedings. "Certainly, my lord," said he, " if they be guilty 
of these crimes, they deserve the severest punishment." "And 
do you reply to me," exclaimed the protector, " with your ifs and 
your anclsf You are the chief abettor of that witch Shore; you 
are yourself a traitor ; and I swear by St. Paul that I will not 
dine before your head be brought to me." He struck the table 
with his hand ; armed men rushed in at the siojnal. Hastinf^s 
was seized, was hurried away, and instantly beheaded on a tim- 
ber log which lay in the court of the Tower. Lord Stanley, the 
Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Elj^, and other counselors, 
were committed prisoners in dilFerent chambers ; and the pro- 
tector, in order to carry on the farce of his accusations, ordered 
the goods of Jane Shore to be seized ; and he summoned her to 
answer before the council for sorcery and witchcraft. But as no 
proofs which could be received, even in that ignorant age, were 
produced against her, he directed her to be tried in the spiritual 



232 RICHARD Hi. Chap, XII. 

court, for her adulteries and lewdness ; and she did penance in a 
white sheet in St. Paul's, before the whole people. 

§ 10. These acts of violence, exercised against all the nearest 
connections of the late king, prognosticated the severest fate to 
his defenseless children ; and after the murder of Plastings the 
protector no longer made a secret of his intentions to usurp the 
crown. Dr. Shaw, in a sermon at St. Paul's Cross, attempted to 
persuade the people that Edward IV. had been previously mar- 
ried to Lady Butler, and that therefore Edward V. and his other 
children by Elizabeth Woodville were illegitimate.. Various other 
artific-es were in vain employed to entrap the people to salute him 
king. At length Buckingham and the lord mayor proceeded with 
a rabble to his residence at Baynard's Castle ; he was told that 
the nation were resolved to have him for their sovereign ; and, 
after some well-acted hesitation, he accepted the crown (June 26). 
This ridiculous farce was soon after followed by a scene truly 
tragical : the murder of the two young princes. Pichard gave 
orders to Sir Robert Brakenbury, Constable of the Tower, to put 
his nephews to death ; but this gentleman, who had sentiments 
of honor, refused to have any hand in the infamous office. The 
tyrant then sent for Sir James Tyrrel, who promised obedience ; 
and he ordered Brakenbury to resign to Tyrrel the keys and gov- 
ernment of the Tower for one night. Tyrrel, choosing three as- 
sociates, Slater, Dighton, and Forest, came in the nighttime to 
the door of the chamber where the princes were lodged ; and 
sending in the assassins, he bade them execute their commission, 
while he himself staid without. They found the young princes 
in bed, and fallen into a profound sleep. After suffocating them 
with the bolster and pillows they showed their naked bodies to 
Tyrrel, who ordered them to be buried at the foot of the stairs, 
deep in the ground, under a heap of stones.* 

§ 11. PiCHARD IIP, 1483-1485.— The first acts of Richard's 
administration Avere to bestow rewards on those who had assisted 
him in usurping the crown, and to gain, by favors, those who he 
thought were best able to support his future government ; and he 
loaded the Duke of Buckingham especially, who was allied to the 
royal family, with grants and honors. But it was impossible that 
friendship could long remain inviolate between two men of such 
corrupt minds as Richard and the Duke of Buckingham. The 
cause of the latter's discontent is not easily ascertained ; but it is 

* This story has been questioned by Walpole in his Historic Doubts, and 
subsequently by other writers ; but, on the whole, the balance of probability 
greatly preponderates in its favor. In 1674, during some repairs, the 'bones 
of two youths were discovered under a staircase in the White Tower, and 
were interred in Westminster Abbey by order of Charles II. as those of Ed- 
ward V. and his brother. 



A. D. 1483. BUCKINGHAM-S CONSPIRACY. 233 

certain that the duke, soon after Richard's accession, began to 
form a conspiracy against the government, and attempted to over- 
throw that usurpation which he himself had so zealously contrib- 
uted to establish. Morton, Bishop of Ely, a zealous Lancastrian, 
whom the king had imprisoned, and had afterward committed to 
the custody of Buckingham, encouraged these sentiments ; and by 
his exhortations the duke cast his eye toward the young Earl of 
Eichmond, as the only person who could free the nation from the 
tyranny of the present usurper. He was descended on his moth- 
er's side from John of Gaunt by Catherine Swynford, a branch 
legitimated by Parliament, but excluded from the succession. On 
his father's side he was grandson of Sir Owen Tudor and Cather- 
ine of France, relict of Henry V.* 

The universal detestation of Eichard's conduct turned the at- 
tention of the nation toward Henry ; and as all the descendants 
of the house of York were either women or minors, he seemed to 
be the only person from whom the nation could expect the expul- 
sion of the odious and bloody tyrant. It was therefore suggested 
by Morton, and readily assented to by the duke, that the only 
means of overturning the present usurpation was to unite the op- 
posite factions, by contracting a marriage between the Earl of 
Eiclimond and the Princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of King 
Edward, and thereby blending together the opposite pretensions 
of their families, which had so long been the source of public dis- 
orders and convulsions. Margaret, Eichmond's mother, assented 
to the "plan without hesitation ; while on the part of the queen 
dowager the desire of revenge for the murder of her brother and 
of her three sons, apprehensions for her surviving family, and in- 
dignation against her confinement, easily overcame all her preju- 
dices against the house of Lancaster, and procured her approba- 
tion of a marriage to which the age and birth, as well as the pres- 

* Genealogy of Henry of Eichmond and of the Duke of Buckirigham : 

EDWARD ni. 



John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Thoma?, Duke of 
m. Catherine Swynford. Gloucester. 

John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset. Anne. 

d. 141 S. m. Edmund, Earl 

i of Stafford, 

Catherine of France, John Beaufort, Duke of | 

widow of Henry v., Somerset, Humphrey Stafford, Duke 

m. Owen Tudor. d. 1444. of Buckingham. 

I I d. 1459. 

Edmund Tudor, Earl of Kichmond, m. Margaret. | 

I Humphrey Stafford, 

HENRY YJL d. in lifetune of his father. 

I 
Heniy Stafford, Duke 
of Buckingham, 
heheaded 1483. 



234 RICHARD III. Chap. XII. 

ent situation of the parties, seemed so naturally to invite them. 
She secretly borrowed a sum of money in the city, sent it over to 
the Earl of Richmond, who was at present detained in Brittany 
in a kind of honorable custody, required his oath to celebrate the 
marriage as soon as he should arrive in England, advised liim to 
levy as many foreign forces as possible, and promised to join him 
on his first appearance, with all the friends and partisans of her 
family. The plan was secretly communicated to the principal 
■persons of both parties in all the counties of England; and a 
wonderful alacrity appeared in every order of men to forward its 
success and completion. The Duke of Buckingham took arms in 
Wales, and gave the signal to his accomplices for a general insur- 
rection in all parts of England. But heavy rains having render- 
ed the Severn, with the other rivers in that neighborhood, im- 
passable, the Welshmen, partly moved by superstition at this ex- 
traordinary event, partly distressed by famine in their camp, fell 
off from him ; and Buckingham, finding himself deserted by his 
followers, put on a disguise, and took shelter in the house of Ban- 
ister, an old servant of his family. But being detected in his re- 
treat, he was brought to the king at Salisbury ; and was instant- 
ly executed, according to the summary method practiced in that 
age (Nov. 3, 1483). The other conspirators immediately dis- 
persed themselves. The Earl of Richmond, in concert with his 
friends, had set sail from St. Malo's, carrying on board a body 
of 5000 men levied in foreign parts ; but his fleet being at first 
driven back by a storm, he appeared not on the coast of England 
till after the dispersion of all his friends ; and he found himself 
obliged to return to the court of Brittany. 

The king, every where triumphant, ventured at last to summon 
a Parliament, whicli had no choice left but to recognize his au- 
thority, and acknowledge his right to the crown ; and Richard, 
in order to reconcile the nation to his government, passed some 
popular laws, particularly one against the late practice of extort- 
ing money on pretense of benevolence. Richard's consort, Anne, 
the second daughter of the Earl of Warwick, and widow of Ed- 
ward Prince of Wales, having borne him but one son, who died 
about this time, he considered her as an invincible obstacle to the 
settlement of his fortune, and he was believed to have carried her 
ofif by poison. He now proposed, by means of a papal dispensa- 
tion, to espouse himself the Princess Elizabeth, and to unite, in 
his own family, their contending titles. 

§ 12. Being exhorted by his partisans to prevent this marriage 
by a new invasion, and having received assistance from the court 
of France, Richmond set sail from Harfleur in Normandy, with 
a small army of about 2000 men ; and after a navigation of six 



A. D. 1483-1485. BATTLE UF BOSWORTH. 235 

days he arrived at Milford Haven, in Wales, where he landed 
without opposition (August 7, 1485). The earl, advancing to- 
ward Shrewsbury, received every day some re-enforcement from 
his partisans. 

The two rivals at last approached each other at Bosworth near 
Leicester ; Henry at the head of 6000 men, Eichard with an 
army of above double the number. Soon after the battle began. 
Lord Stanley, who, without declaring himself, had raised an army 
of 7000 men, and had so posted himself as to be able to join ei- 
ther party, appeared in the field, and declared for the Earl of Eich- 
mond. The intrepid tyrant, sensible of his desperate situation, cast 
his eyes around the field, and, descrying his rival at no great dis- 
tance, he drove against him with fury, in hopes that either Henry's 
death, or his own, would decide the victory between them. He 
killed with his own hands Sir William Brandon, standard-bearer 
to the earl ; he dismounted Sir John Cheyney ; he was now with- 
in reach of Eichmond himself, who declined not the combat ; when 
Sir William Stanley, breaking in with his troops, surrounded Eich- 
ard, who, fighting bravely to the last moment, was overwhelmed 
by numbers, and perished by a fate too mild and honorable for his 
multiplied and detestable enormities (Aug. 22, 1485). The body 
of Eichard was thrown carelessly across a horse ; was carried to 
Leicester amid the shouts of the insulting spectators ; and was in- 
terred in the Grey Friars' Church of that place. 

The historians who lived in the subsequent reign have probably 
exao:o;erated the vices of the monarch whom their master over- 
threw ; and some modern Avriters have attempted to palliate the 
crimes by which he obtained possession of the crown. It is cer- 
tain that he possessed energy, courage, and capacity ; but these 
qualities would never have made compensation to the people for 
the precedent of his usurpation, and for the contagious example 
of vice and murder exalted upon a throne. His personal appear- 
ance has even been a subject of warm controversy ; for while 
some writers represent him as of a small stature, hump-backed, 
and with a harsh, disagreeable countenance, others maintain that 
he had a pleasing expression, and that his only defect was in hav- 
ino; one shoulder a little higher than the other. 

§ 13. The reign of the house of Plantagenet expired with Eich- 
ard HI. on Bosworth Field. The change of a dynasty forms of 
itself no historical epoch ; but in a limited or constitutional mon- 
archy this change is generally accompanied by some revolution in 
the state, which gives it the character of a true historical era. 
The reigns of Henry VH., and his successors of the house of 
Tudor, bear a distinct character from those of the Plantagenet 



236 RICHARD 111. Chap. XJI. 

princes. The exhaustion of the kingdom through the protracted 
wars of the roses, and .the almost entire annihilation of the great- 
er English nobility, enabled the Tudors to rule with a despotism 
unknown to their predecessors. 

The period of the Plantagenets forms, on the whole, one of the 
most important and interesting epochs of English history. In it 
were established all those institutions by which our liberties are 
secured. The leading political feature which it presents is the 
gradual development of the English Constitution out of feudal- 
ism. The first ostensible act which marks our regenerated na- 
tionality is the Great Charter wrung from the pusillanimous and 
tyrannical John. "From this era," says Mr. Hallam,'* "a new 
soul was infused into the people of England. Her liberties, at 
the best long in abeyance, became a tangible possession ; and 
those indefinite aspirations for the laws of Edward the Con- 
fessor were changed into a steady regard for the Great Charter." 
In the subsequent struggles for our liberties Magna Charta was 
repeatedly appealed to as their foundation, and repeatedly con- 
firmed by the acts of diiFerent sovereigns. The weak and long 
reign of John's successor, Henry HI., served to foster -the infancy 
of English freedom. It appears from the writings of Bracton, 
who filled the ofiice of a judge toward the conclusion of that 
reign, that the royal prerogative was even in those early days de- 
fined and limited by law. Not only was the king considered by 
that writer as subject to the law, but also to his court of earls 
and barons ; who, indeed, before the existence of Parliament, were 
the law-makers. The establishment of the last-named great coun- 
cil of the nation forms, in a constitutional point of view, the chief 
glory of the Plantagenet era ; the main facts of its origin and 
progress are indicated at the close of this book. 

§ 14. From the Constitution we naturally turn our view to 
those who were its subjects. As early at least as the reign of 
Henry III., the legal equality of all freemen below the rank of 
the peerage appears to have been completely established. The 
civil rights of individuals were protected by that venerable body 
of ancient customs, which, under the name of the common law, 
still obtains in our courts of justice. Its origin is lost in the ob- 
scurity of remote antiquity. A very small portion of it may be 
traced to the Saxon times ; but the greater part must have sprung 
up since the Conquest, since we find the pecuniary penalties which 
marked the Saxon legislation exchanged in criminal cases for cap- 
ital punishment. The law was administered under the Plantag- 
enets by three courts, which still exist — the King's Bench, the 
Common Pleas, and the Exchequer — the origin of which has been 
narrated in the history of the Anglo-Norman Constitution. 
* Middle Ages, ii., p. 329.* 



Chap. XII. PROGRESS OF THE NATION. 237- 

It is difficult to trace the steps by wliich villenage was gradual- 
ly mitigated under the Plantagenets ; but on the whole it is certain 
that at the termination of that dynasty it had almost entirely dis- 
appeared. Tenants in villenage were gradually transformed into 
copyholders. Villeins bound to personal service escaped to dis- 
tant parts of the country, where they could not easily be traced 
and reclaimed, and entered into free and voluntary service under 
a new master. Others hid themselves in towns, where a residence 
of a twelvemonth made them free by law. Something must also 
be attributed to manumissions. The influence of the Church was 
exerted in behalf of this degraded class : and the repentant lord 
was exhorted by his spiritual adviser to give freedom to his fellow 
Christians. As public opinion became more enlightened and hu- 
mane, the courts of law leaned to the side of the oppressed peas- 
antry in all suits in which their rights were concerned. In the 
reign of Edward III. regular statutes were framed for the protec- 
tion of artisans and husbandmen. The popular insurrection in 
the time of Richard II. betrays an advance in the condition of the 
lower classes ; and though it shows a great amount of villenage, 
discovers at the same time a vast extension of freedom. 

§ 15. With regard to the general progress of the nation, we per- 
ceive under the sway of the Plantagenets a notable increase in its 
wealth and intelligence as well as in its freedom. The woolen 
manufactures were established in various parts of England, and 
began to supply foreign nations. In the reign of Edward III. the 
English were remarkable for their excellence in the arts of peace 
as well as of war. A rich literature had been produced, adorned 
with the names of Chaucer and Gower, of WicklifFe and Mande- 
ville ; while in matters of rehgion, the principles of the Reforma- 
tion were already developed and promulgated. Assisted by the 
invention of printing, which was introduced into England in the 
reign of Edward IV. , this progress might have gone on to the 
most happy results, had not certain events occurred to retard it. 
Henry IV., in order to support his usurpation of the crown, found 
it expedient to court the established Church, and to crush the 
Reformation of WicklifFe, which had also compromised itself by 
the excesses of some of its followers. The wars of Henry V. di- 
verted the attention of the English from domestic to foreign af- 
fairs; while the civil disturbances which ensued under Henry IV., 
being concerned merely about a dynasty, and involving not, like 
those under the Stuarts, any great public principle, served only to 
damp the genius and energies of the nation, and disposed it to bend 
under the tyranny of its subsequent monarchs. 

The population at the end of the reign of the Plantagenets prob- 
ablv amounted to about three millions. 



238 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. XII. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



1461. Edward IV. assumes the crown. Bat- 
tle of Towton. 

1466. Henry VI. imprisoned in the Tower. 

1410. Warwick invades England and re- 
leases Henry VI. Edward takes ref- 
uge in FlandersT 

1471. Edward returns. "Warwick defeated 
and killed at Barnet. Battle of 
Tewkesbuiy and capture of Queen 
Margaret. Death of Henry VI. in 
the Tower. 



14TS. The Duke of Clarence put to death. 

14S3. Death of Edward IV. and accession of 
Edward V. The young king and his 
brother Richard are confined and then 
murdered in the Tower, and their 
uncle, the Protector Richard III., as- 
sumes the crown. 

14S5. The Earl of Richmond lands, defeats, 
and slays Richard at Bosworth, and 
assumes the crown with the title of 
Henry VII. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF PAR- 
LIAMENT. 

This subject has been briefly adverted to 
in the preceding narrative, but its import- 
ance demands a more detailed account. The 
Avoi'd Parliament {parlemeiU or colloquium 
as some of our liistorians translate it) is de- 
rived from the F)'ench, and signifies an as- 
sembly that meets and confers together. This 
name is first applied b}' a contemporary chron- 
icler to a Great CouncU of the nation sum- 
moned in 1246. Tile constituent parts of a 
Parliament arenoAv, and were under the later 
Plantagenet kings, tlie sovereign and the 
three estates of the realm, the lords spiritual, 
the lords temporal (who sit together with 
their sovereign in one house), and the com- 
mons, who sit by themselves in another. The 
Parliament, as so constituted, is an outgrowth 
of the Great Council of the realm, held imder 
the Anglo-Noi-man kings, the constitution of 
Avhich has been already explained [p. 130]. 
It will be convenient to trace separately the 
history of each house. 

I. The House op Lords. — The spiritual 
peerage consisted originally of archbishops, 
bishops, and abbots; and tlie lay peerage 
only of barons and earls, but eveiy earl was 
also a baron. For more than two centuries 
after the Norman conquest the only baronies 
known were baronies hij tenure^ being inci- 
dent to the tenure of land held immediately 
under the crown. Hence the right of peer- 
age was originally territorial, being annexed 
to certain lands, and, when they Avere alien- 
ated, passing with them as an appendant. 
Thus in 11 Hen. VI. the possession of the 
Castle of Arundel Avas adjudged to confer an 
earldom '•'•by tenure" on its possessor. 

AfterAvard, Avhen the alienations of land 
became freqiient, and the number of those 
Avho held of the king in capite increased, it 
became tlie practice, either in the reign of 
John or Henry III., for the king to summon 
to the Great Council, hij Writ^ all such per- 
sons as he thought fit so to siunmon. In this 
Avay the dignity of the peerage became per- 
sonal instead of territorial. Proof of a tenure 
by barony became no longer necessaiy, and 
the record of the Avrit of summons came to 
be sufficient evidence to constitute a peer. 

The third mode of creating peers is by 



Letters Patent from the crown, in Avhich the 
descent of the dignity is regulated, being 
usually confined to heirs male. The first 
peer created by patent Avas in t)ie reign of 
Richard II. It is still the practice to call up 
the eldest son of a peer to the House of Lords 
by Avrit of summons in the name of his fa- 
ther's barony; but Avith this exception, peers 
are noAv ahvays created by letters patent. 

The first instance in Avhich earls and bar- 
ons are called peers is in 14 Edw. II. (1321), 
in the award of exile against the Despensers. 

The degrees of nobility are dukes, mar- 
quesses, earls, viscounts, and barons. 1. The 
title of Duke or dux Avas used among the 
Anglo-Saxons as a title of dignity; but as 
William the Conqueror and his successors 
AA^ere dukes of Noraiandy, they Avould not 
honor any subject AAdth the title till the reign 
of EdAvard III., Avho, claiming to be King of 
France, created his eldest son EdAA'-ard, the 
Black Prince, Duke of CornAvall. Several of 
the royal family subsequently received the 
title of duke. 2. The title of Marques'i or 
rtiarchio AA^as originally applied to a Lord 
Marcher, or lord of the frontier districts, 
called the marches, from the Teutonic word 
marche^ a limit; but it Avas first created a 
liarliamentary dignity by Richard H., who 
made Robert de Vere Marquess of Dublin. 
3. An E.irl corresponded to the Saxon Eal- 
domian or Aldeniian, Avho originally had the 
administration of a county. Under the ad- 
ministration of the Norman kings the title 
became merely personal, though the earl con- 
tinued to receiA^e a third penny of the emol- 
uments arising from the jjleas in the county 
courts. In Latin the earl Avas called Comes, 
and after the Norman conquest County whence 
the name eoitnty is still applied to the shires ; 
but the title of count never superseded the 
more ancient designation of earl, and soon 
fell into disuse. The title of earl continued 
to be the highest hereditary di.gnity till the 
reign of EdAvard III. 4. The dignity of Vis- 
count or Vice - Comes AA'as borrowed from 
France, and Avas first conferred by Henry 
VI., Avho had been crowned King of France. 
5. The title of Ikiron has been already ex- 
plained. [See p. 130.] 

n. The House of Commons. — The mem- 
bers of tlie House of Commons consist of the 
knights of the sliires, and the burgesses, or 



Chap. XII. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 



239 



repre.?entative5 of the cities and boroughs. 
Tne origin of the knights of tlie shires must 
be traced to the clause in the charter of John, 
by which the sheriff was bound to summon 
to the Great Council all the inferior tenants 
in chief. How long these inferior tenants 
continued to sit personallv in Parliament can 
not be detennined; but, ad their attendance 
was vexatious to themselves and disagreeable 
to the king, it became the practice for them 
to send representatives at an early period, 
2i:rha2}s in the reign of John, certainly in 
the reign of Heniy HL But the principle 
of representation was finally established in 
the celebrated Parliament summoned by Si- 
mon de Montfort in the -iOth of Henry HI. 
(12(35), when writs wei'e issued to all the 
sheriffs, commanding them to return two 
knights from each shire, and two citizens or 
burgesses for every city and borough con- 
tained in each shire. Tiiis is the true epoch 
of the House of Commons. A question aii^es 
into which our limits prevent us from enter- 
ing, whether the knights were still elected 
by the tenants in chief alone, or by all the 
freeholders in the county court ; but the lat- 
ter is more probable. That the representa- 
tion of cities and boroughs can not be traced 
earlier than the Parliament of Simon de 
Montfort is now generally admitted. From 
this time till the '23d of Edward I. (1295) the 
representatives of the cities and boroughs 
were occasionally summoned; but they were 
not pennanently ingrafted upon Parliament 
till the latter date, when the expenses of Ed- 
ward, arising from his foreign wars, led him 
to have recourse to this means for obtaining 
supplies of money. [See p. 161.] The suc- 
cess of the expeiiment insured its repetition ; 
and the king found that he could moi'e read- 
ily obtain larger sums of money by the sub- 
sidies of the citizens and burgesses than he 
had previously obtained by tallages upon 
their toT\Tis. The necessity of summoning 
the citizens and burgesses became stUl great- 
er after the Confirmatio Chartarum in 129T, 
when the king renounced the right of levy- 
ing tallages upon the towns. [See p. 151.] 
It must be recollected that the only object of 
summoning the citizens and burgesses was to 
obtain money, and that it was not intended 
to give them the power of consenting to the 
laws. But gradually the power of the purse 
gave them a share in the legislation, and the 
statement of Mr. Hallam can not be denied, 
that the liberties of England were to a great 
extent purchased by the money of our fore- 
fathers. 

It is doubtful at what time Parliament was 
divided into two houses. At first they seem 
to have sat in the same chamber; but from 
the earliest times they voted separately, and 
imposed separate taxes, each upon its own 
order. The knights of the shires voted at 
first with the earls and barons ; but in the 
reign of Edward H. the houses were probably 
divided as we now find them, and in the first 
year of Edward HL this was certainly the 
case. 

The Commons soon obtained the right to 
petition for redress of grievances; and as 
early as the reign of Edward H. it was en- 



acted that the king should hold a Parliament 
at least once a year. Under this weak mon- 
arch the Commons were not slow in exer- 
cising their rights ; and the rolls of Parlia- 
ment show that the Commons granted sup- 
plies on condition that the king should redress 
the grievances of which they complained. 
Gradually the assent of the Commons came 
to be considered necessary for the enactment 
of laws; and in the long and prosperous 
reign of Edward m. the tlrree essential prin- 
ciples of our government, as Mr. Hallam calls 
them, were established upon a firm footing : 
the illegality of raising money without con- 
sent of Parliament ; the neccessity that the 
two houses should concur for any alterations 
in the law ; and, lastly, the right of the Com- 
mons to inquire into public abuses, and to 
impeach public counselors. With regard to 
the second constitutional principle mentioned 
above, we find that in the reign of Edward 
in. laws were declared to be made by the 
king at the request of the Commons, and by 
the assent of the Lords. The practice was 
that the petitions of the Commons, with the 
respective answers made to them in the king's 
name, were drawn up after the end of the 
session in the form of laws, and entered upon 
the statute-roU. But stiU it must be obseiwed 
that the statutes do not always express the 
true sense of the Commons, as their petitions 
■were frequently modified and otherwise al- 
tered by the king's answers. Tlie first im- 
portant instance in which the Commons ex- 
ercised the third constitutional principle al- 
luded to was toward the end of the reign of 
Edward HL, when, supported by the Black 
Prince, tliey impeached Lord Latimer, and 
the other ministers of the king, the instru- 
ments of the Duke of Lancaster and Alice 
Ferrers, Avho had acquu'ed an ascendency 
over Edward. 

Under the reign of Richard H. the power 
of the House of Commons made still farther 
progress, which was continued under the 
three kings of the house of Lancaster, who 
owed their throne to a parliamentary title. 
Among the rights established under these 
kings the two following were the most im- 
portant : 1. The introduction, in the reign 
of Heniy W.^ of complete statutes under the 
name of bills, instead of the old petitions, to 
which the king gave his consent, and which 
he was not at liberty to alter, as he had done 
in the case of petitions. We have ah'eady 
seen that all statutes at first orginated by 
petitions of the House of Commons; but it 
now became the practice for either house to 
oiiginate a bill, except in the case of money 
bills, which continued to be originated ex- 
clusively by the Commons. 2. That the 
king ought not to take notice of matters 
pending in Parliament, and that the Com- 
mons should enjoy liberty of speech. 

The persons who had the right of voting 
for knights of the shire were declared by 8 
Hen. W., c. 7 to be all freeholders of lands 
and tenements of the annual value of 40s., 
equivalent at least to £20 of our value ; which 
was a limitation of the number of voters, 
since it would appear fronr T Hen. IV. c. 15 
that all persons whatever, present at the 



240 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. Xll. 



county court, had previously the right of 
voting for the knights of their shires. For 
farther particulars the reader may consult as 
to the House of Lords Sir Harris Nicolas, 
'The Historic Peerage of England^ the Intro- 
duction in the edit, of 1S5T ; as to the House 
of Commons, Hallam's Middle Ages^ vol. iii., 
c 8' and as to both houses, The Student's 
maakstone, by Kerr, p. 97, seg., 429, seq. 

B. AUTHORITIES FOR THE PERIOD OF 
THE PLANTAGENETS FROM JOHN TO 
RICHARD III. 

A reference to note C, appended to chap, 
vii. [p. 132], will show what histories already- 
mentioned extend into this period. In addi- 
tion may be named the A nnals of Dunstaple 
to 1297 ; Walter of Hemingford, Lives of the 
Edwards; John Trokelow, Annates Edioardi 
III with a continuation by Henry Blaneford; 
Robert of Avesbury, Historia de Mirabilibus 
Gestis Edwardi J II. ; the Monk of Evesham, 
Hist. Vitce et Regni Ricardi II. ; Otter- 
bourne's Chronicle^ from Brute to 1420 ; Whet- 
hamstede's Chronicle., 1441 to 1460 ; Elmham, 
Vita et Gesta Henrici V. ; Titus Livius, idem. ; 
William of Worcester, Annates Rerum An- 
glicamm., 1324 to 1491 ; Rous, Hifttoria Re- 
gum Anglice (to 1485). The preceding works 
are published in Heaime's collection. The 
following are in the collection of Hall : Nich- 



olas Trivet, Annates sex regum Angtice., 1135 
to 1318; Adam Murimuth, Chronicle (with 
continuation), 1303 to 1380. The Chronicle 
of Lanercost., published by the Bannatyne 
Club, extends from 1201 to 1346. The fol- 
lowing are in Camden's Anglica., etc. : Thos. 
De la More, De Vita et Morte Edwardi II. ; 
Walsingham, Historia brevis Anglice., 1273 
to 1423. The same author's Hypodigma 
Neustrice., containing an account of the affairs 
of Normandy to Henry V., is also in Camden. 
Froissart's Chroniquis is an interesting but 
not very trustworthy work for the times of 
Edward III. and Richard II. The Chroniques 
of Monstrelet (1400 to 1467) and the Memoires 
de Comines (1461 to 1498) may also be con- 
sulted for foreign affairs during the later 
Plantagenets. 

The early printed chronicles which treat 
of this period, with the exception of Fabyan's 
(to 1509) and Hardyng's (to 1538), are not 
contemporary. The principal are those of 
Hall, Grafton, Holinshed, and Stowe. Sir 
Thos. More's History of Richard III. is the 
best authority for that period : he was old 
enough to have heard the facts from contem- 
poraries, and especially from Bishop Morton, 
in whose sei^vice he had lived. Indeed, Sh 
Henry Ellis is of opinion (Fref. to Hardyng) 
that this work was in reality composed by 
Morton. 



Chap.XII. genealogy OF THE HOUSE OF TUDOR. 



241 



o 

Q 
H 

O 

m 
U 
O 

l-H 

W 
H 

pR 
O 

<! 
H 

o 



o 
aj . 

r ^ .fi ^^-l 

of 

o 

02 



3 iS 









o 



s cj S w S- 
" ;h '" K °* 



ti « 



<H -ti OJ ;,_ 

,C 02 o >tl 












1— I T' I— I 

<- S rpl 



S« S o § 



n 

la g 03 fl 



2 03 g 









OS 

■<3 ID 



-^=« — 03-^ 

O <I> 
oj O 






6q 



S 



> 




t5 


3 


HH 


>■ flO 


TO 
03 


tr 


CS 


=M 


-g 


03 

3 


o 


o 




£^ 


o 


»^ 


>> 


f^ 


o 


1 



^3 -; 03 

^ H G3 
O r^ ^ 



03 03 "^ 

S ,:2 "73 rrt 



, • Vi o 
t— ( o 



ra p 

"H 1-1 o O 1^ 

2/3 03 2 



n n 



bJD 






'=c;> 



«>2.g 



P-i,o 




Hemy Mf. and Mizabeth of \ oik. li-om their monument in Westmmstei Abbey. 

B O O K I V. 
THE HOUSE OF TUDOE. 

A.D. 1485-1603. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

HENRY VII, A.D. 1485-1509. 

§ 1. Introduction. § 2. Accession of Henry VII. His Coronation, Mar- 
riage, and Settlement of the Government. § 3. Discontents. Invasion 
of Lambert Simnel, and Battle of Stoke. Coronation of the Queen. § 4. 
Foreign Affairs. Peace of Estaples. §5. Perkin Warbeck. Execution 
of Lord Stanley. § 6. Farther Attempts of Perkin. Cornish Insurrec- 
tion, and Battle of Blackheath. § 7. Perkin again invades England, is 
captured, and executed. Execution of Warwick. § 8. Marriage and 
Death of Prince Arthur. Marriage of the Princess Margaret. Oppres- 
sion of Empson and Dudley. § 9. Matrimonial Intrigues of Henry. 
Death and Character of the King. § 10. Miscellaneous Occurrences. 

§ 1. The accession of the Tudors to the English throne is near- 
ly coincident with the proper era of modern history. The final 
important change in the European populations had been effected 
by the settlement of the Turks at Constantinople in 1453. The 
improvement in navigation was soon to lay open a new world, as 
well as a new route to that ancient continent of Asia, whose al- 
most fabulous riches had attracted the wonder and cupidity of 
Europeans since the days of Alexander the Great. Hence was 



A.D. U8o. ACCESSION OF HENRY VII. 243 

to arise a new system of relations among the states of Europe. 
The commerce of the East, previously monopolized by the Vene- 
tians and Genoese, began to be diverted to the Western nations ; 
its richest products to be rivaled- by those of anoth# hemisphere. 
The various European states, having consolidated their domestic 
institutions, were beginning to direct their attention to the affairs 
of their neighbors. The invasion of Italy by Charles VIII. of 
France, in the reign of Henry VII., is justly regarded as the com- 
mencement of the political system of Europe, or of that series of 
wars and negotiations among its different kingdoms which has 
continued to the present day. The house of Tudor, lifted to the 
throne by the civil wars, and strengthened by the very desolation 
which they had occasioned, was enabled to play an effective part 
upon the Continent, and to lay the foundation of that European 
influence which England still commands. 

Besides the advantages derived from commerce, the intercourse 
of nations is beneficially felt in their mutual influence upon opin- 
ion and the progress of society. Europe, first cemented into a 
whole by the conquest of the Romans, derived a still firmer bond 
of union from its common Christianity. In the darkness of the 
middle ages that sacred tie had been abused for the purposes of 
secular avarice and ambition ; and Rome, by the power of super- 
stition, ruled oiice more over the prostrate nations. The seeds of 
a reformation, choked in England by political events, were carried 
to the Continent, whence this country received the fruits which 
had found their first nurture in her own bosom. The distinguish- 
ing historical feature of the reign of the Tudors is the progress 
and final establishment of the Reformation. That great revolu- 
tion was accompanied with an astonishing progress in manners, 
literature, and the arts ; but above all it encouraged that spirit of 
civil freedom, by which, under the house of Stuart, the last seal 
was affixed to our constitutional liberties. 

§ 2. The victory which the Earl of Richmond gained at Bos- 
worth was entirely decisive ; Sir William Stanley placed upon his 
head the crown which Richard wore in battle ; and the acclama- 
tions of " Long live Henry the Seventh !" by a natural and un- 
premeditated movement, resounded from all quarters of the field 
(Aug. 22, 1485). Henry was now in his 30th year. He had, as 
we have already seen, no real title to the crown ; but he determ- 
ined to put himself in immediate possession of regal authority, 
and to show all opponents that nothing but force of arms, and a 
successful war, should be able to expel him. He brought to the 
throne all the bitter feelings of the Lancastrians. To exalt the 
Lancastrian party, to depress the adherents of the house of York, 
were the favorite objects of his pursuit ; and through the whole 



244 HENRY VII. Chap. Xlll. 

course of his reign he never forgot these early prepossessions. His 
first command after the battle of Bosworth was to secure the per- 
son of Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, son of the Duke of 
Clarence, woU had been put to death by his brother Edward IV. 
Henry immediately afterward set out for the capital. His jour- 
ney bore the appearance of an established monarch making a 
peaceable progress through his dominions, rather than of a prince 
who had opened his way to the throne by force of arms. The 
promise he had made of marrying Elizabeth, the daughter of Ed- 
ward IV., seemed to insure a union of the contending titles of the 
two families ; but, though bound by honor as well as by interest 
to complete this alliance, he was resolved to postpone it till the 
ceremony of his own coronation should be finished, and till his 
title should be recognized by Parliament. Still anxious to sup- 
port his personal and hereditary right to the throne, he dreaded 
lest a preceding marriage with the princess should imply a par- 
ticipation of sovereignty in her, and raise doubts of his own title 
by the house of Lancaster. On the 30tli of October Henry was 
crowned at Westminster by Cardinal Bourchier, Archbishop of 
Canterbury. The Parliament, which assembled soon after, seemed 
entirely devoted to him. It was enacted " That the inheritance 
of the crown should rest, remain, and abide in the king ;" but 
whether as rightful heir, or only as present possessor, was not de- 
termined. In hke manner, Henry was contented that the succes- 
sion should be secured to the heirs of his body ; but he pretended 
not, in case of their failure, to exclude the house of York, or to 
give the preference to that of Lancaster. In the following year 
he applied to papal authority for a confirmation of his title. The 
Parliament, at his instigation, passed an act of attainder against 
the late king himself and many of the nobility. .Henry bestowed 
favors and honors on some particular persons who were attached 
to him ; but the ministers whom he most trusted and favored were 
not chosen from among the nobility, or even from among the laity. 
John Morton and Eichard Fox, two clergymen, persons of indus- 
try, vigilance, and capacity, who had shared with him all his 
former dangers and distresses, were called to the privy council ; 
Morton was restored to the bishopric of Ely, Fox was created 
Bishop of Exeter. The former, soon after, upon the death of 
Bourchier, was raised to the see of Canterbury. At the beginning 
of the following year the king's marriage was celebrated at London 
(Jan. 18, 1486), and that with greater appearance of universal joy 
than either his first entry or his coronation. Henry remarked, 
with much displeasure, this general favor borne to the house of 
York. The suspicions which arose from it not only disturbed his 
tranquillity during his whole reign, but bred disgust toward his 
consort herself, and poisoned all his domestic enjoyments. 



A.D. 1485-1487. LAMBERT SIMNEL. 245 

§ 3. In the course of this year an abortive attempt at insurrec- 
tion was made by Lord Lovel and some other noblemen ; but 
though Henry had been able to defeat this hasty rebellion, raised 
by the relics of Richard's partisans, his governmeijr was become 
in general unpopular, the effects of which soon appeared by inci- 
dents of an extraordinary nature. There lived in Oxford one 
Richard Simon, a priest who possessed some subtlety, and still 
more enterprise and temerity. This man had entertained the de- 
sign of disturbing Henry's government by raising a pretender to 
his crown; and for that purpose he cast his eyes on Lambert 
Simnel, a youth of 15 years of age, who was son of a baker, and 
who, being endowed with understanding above his years, and ad- 
dress above his condition, seemed well fitted to personate a prince 
of royal extraction. A report had been spread among the people, 
and received with great avidity, that Richard, Duke of York, sec- 
ond son of Edward IV., had escaped from the cruelty of his uncle, 
and lay somewhere concealed in England. Simon, taking advan- 
tage of this rumor, had at first instructed his pupil to assume that 
name, which he found to be so fondly cherished by the public ; but 
hearing afterward a new report, that the Earl of Warwick had 
made his escape from the Tower, and observing that this news 
was attended with no less general satisfaction, he changed the 
plan of his imposture, and made Simnel personate that unfortunate 
prince. Simon determined to open the first public scene of it in 
Ireland, which was zealously attached to the house of York, and 
bore an affectionate regard to the memory of Clarence, Warwick's 
father, who had been their lieutenant. Thomas Fitzgerald, Earl 
of Kildare, the deputy of the island, and other persons of rank, 
gave attention to Simnel ; and the people in Dublin, with one con- 
sent, proclaimed him king, by the appellation of Edward VI. (May 
2, 1487). The whole island followed the example of the capital, 
and not a sword was any where drawn in Henry's quarrel. The 
king's first act on this intelligence was the seizure of the queen- 
dowager, the forfeiture of all her lands and revenue, and the close 
confinement of her person in the nunnery of Bermondsey ; and he 
next ordered that Warwick should be taken from the Tower, be 
led in procession through the streets of London, be conducted to 
St. Paul's, and there exposed to the view of the whole people. 
The expedient had its effect in England ; but in Ireland the peo- 
ple still persisted in their revolt, and Henry had soon reason to 
apprehend that the design against him was not laid on such slight 
foundations as the absurdity of the contrivance seemed to indicate. 
John, Earl of Lincoln, son of John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, 
and of Elizabeth, eldest sister of Edward TV., whom Richard III. 
had declared heir to the throne, was engaged to take part in the 



246 HENRY Vir. Chap. Xllf. 

conspiracy ; and he induced the Duchess of Burgundy, another 
sister of Edward IV., to join it. After consulting with Lincoln 
and Lovel, she hired a body of 2000 veteran Germans, under the 
command ofiSVIartin Schwartz, a brave and experienced officer, 
and sent them over, together with these two noblemen, to join 
Simnel in Ireland. An invasion of England was resolved on ; 
and Simnel landed in Lancashire, and advanced as far as Stoke, 
near Newark. Here they were defeated by Henry in a decisive 
battle (June 16, 1487). Lincoln and Schwartz perished in the 
battle, with 4000 of their followers. Lovel escaped from the field, 
but was never more seen or heard of.* Simnel, with his tutor 
Simon, was taken prisoner. Simon, being a priest, was not tried 
at law, and was only committed to close custody. Simnel was too 
contemptible to be an object either of apprehension or resentment 
to Henry. He was pardoned, and made a scullion in the king's 
kitchen, whence he was afterward advanced to the rank of a 
falconer. 

After the king had gratified his rigor by the punishment of his 
enemies, he determined to give contentment to the people in a point 
which, though a mere ceremony, was passionately desired by them. 
The queen had been married nearly two years, but had not yet 
been crowned ; and this affectation of delay had given great dis- 
content to the public, and had been one principal source of the 
disaffection which prevailed. The king, instructed by experience, 
now finished the ceremony of her coronation (Nov. 25). 

§ 4. The foreign transactions of this reign present little of in- 
terest or importance. The cautious and parsimonious temper of 
the king rendered him averse to war, and he could never be in- 
duced to take up arms when he saw the least prospect of attain- 
ing his ends by negotiation. There happened about this time in 
France some events which compelled his interference ; but it was 
exercised too late, and without vigor enough to be effective. 
Charles VIIL, who had now succeeded to the crown of France, 
was extremely desirous of annexing Brittany to his dominions ; 
and, at the invitation of some discontented Breton barons, the 
French invaded that province with a large army (1488). Henry 
entered into a league with Maximilian of Germany and Ferdinand 
of Aragon for the defense of Brittany ; but the resources of these 
princes were distant, and Henry himself only dispatched an army 

* "Toward the close of the 17th century, at his seat at Minster Lovel, 
in Oxfordshire, was accidentally discovered a chamber under the ground, in 
which was the skeleton of a man seated in a chair, with his head reclining 
on a table. Hence it is supposed that the fugitive had found an asylum in 
this subterraneous chamber, where he w-as perhaps starved to death through 
neglect." — Linpcerd. 



A. D. 1487-1492. TERKIN WARBECK. -247 

of 6000 men, which proved entirely useless (1489). An unfore- 
seen event disconcerted the policy of the allies. Anne, who had 
succeeded to the duchy of Brittany on the death of her father, had 
contracted a marriage with Maximilian, but Charles invested 
Rennes, where the duchess resided, with a large army, and extorted 
a promise of marriage as the condition of her release. The nup- 
tials were accordingly celebrated, and Anne was conducted to Par- 
is, which she entered amid the joyful acclamations of the people. 
Thus Brittany was finally annexed to the French crown (1491). 

As the King of England piqued himself on his extensive fore- 
sight and profound judgment, it could not but give him the high- 
est displeasure to find himself overreached by a raw youth like 
Charles ; but he postponed the gratification of his anger and re- 
sentment to that of his ruling passion, avarice. On pretense of a 
French war, he illegally attempted to levy a benevolence,^ as it was 
called, on his subjects ; and the Parliament, which met soon after, 
inflamed with the idea of subduing France, voted him a supply. 
Henry now crossed over to Calais with a large army, and proceed- 
ed to invest Boulogne, as if he had been serious in his enterprise ; 
but, notwithstanding this appearance of hostility, there had been 
secret advances made toward peace above three months before, 
and commissioners had been appointed to treat of the terms. They 
met at Estaples. The demands of Henry were wholly pecuniary ; 
and the King of France, who deemed the peaceable possession of 
Brittany an equivalent for any sum, and who was all on fire for 
his projected expedition into Italy, readily agreed to the proposals 
made him. A large sum of money was paid down, and a yearly 
pension promised (1492). Thus the king, as remarked by his his- 
torian, made profit upon his subjects for the war, and upon his 
enemies for the peace ; and the people agreed that he had fulfilled 
his promise when he said to the Parliament that he would make 
the war maintain itself. 

§ 5. The king had now reason to flatter himself with the pros- 
pect of durable peace and tranquillity ; but his inveterate and in- 
defatigable enemies raised him an adversary who long kept him 
in alarm, and sometimes even brought him into danger. The re- 
port was revived that Eichard, Duke of York, had escaped from 
the Tower when his elder brother was murdered ; and, finding 
this rumor greedily received by the people, the enemies of Henry 
looked out for some young man proper to personate that unfor- 
tunate prince. There was one Perkin Warbeck, born at Tournay 

* A benevolence was ostensibly a voluntary contribution, but was, in real- 
ity, a tax levied arbitrarily on the rich. Such contributions, having become 
an intolerable burden under Edward IV., had been abolished by the Parlia- 
ment of Richard III. 



248 HENRY VII. Chap. XIIl. 

of respectable parents, who by the natural versatility and sagacity 
of his genius seemed to be a youth perfectly fitted to act any part, 
or assume any character. He was comely in his person, graceful 
in his air, courtly in his address, full of docility and good sense in 
his behavior and conversation. The war which was then ready 
to break out between France and England seemed to afford a 
proper opportunity for the discovery of this new phenomenon; 
and Ireland, which still retained its attachments to the house of 
York, was chosen as the proper place for his first appearance. He 
landed at Cork ; and immediately assuming the name of Richard 
Plantagenet, drew to him partisans among that credulous people 
(1492). The news soon reached France, and Charles sent Perkin 
an invitation to repair to him at Paris. He received him with 
all the marks of regard due to the Duke of York ; settled on him 
a handsome pension ; assigned him magnificent lodgings ; and, in 
order to provide at once for his dignity and security, gave him a 
guard for his person. When peace was concluded between France 
and England at Estaples, Henry applied to have Perkin put into 
his hands ; but Charles, resolute not to betray a young man, of 
whatever birth, whom he had invited into his kingdom, would 
agree only to dismiss him. The pretended Richard retired to the 
Duchess of Burgundy, who is thought by many to have been the 
original instigator of the plot. This princess, after feigning a long 
and severe scrutiny, burst out into joy and admiration at his won- 
derful deliverance, embraced him as her nephew, the true image 
of Edward, the sole heir of the Plantagenets, and the legitimate 
successor to the English throne. She immediately assigned him 
an equipage suited to his pretended birth, and on all occasions 
honored him with the appellation of the White Hose of England 
(1493). The English, from their great communication with the 
Low Countries, were every day more and more prepossessed in 
favor of the impostor. The whole nation was held in suspense, a 
regular conspiracy was formed against the king's authority, and a 
correspondence settled between the malcontents in Flanders and 
those in England. The king was informed of all these particu- 
lars ; but agreeably to his character, which was both cautious and 
resolute, he proceeded deliberately, though steadily, in counter- 
working the projects of his enemies. His first object was to as- 
certain the death of the real Duke of York, and to confirm the 
opinion that had always prevailed with regard to that event. Of 
the persons employed in the murder of Richard's nephews, Tyrrel 
and Dighton alone were alive, and they agreed in the same story ; 
but, as the bodies were supposed to have been removed by Rich- 
ard's orders from the place where they were first interred, and 
could not now be found, it was not in Henry's power to put the 



A.D. 1492-1496. EXECUTION OF STANLEY. 249 

fact, SO much as lie wished, beyond all doubt and controversy.* 
He dispersed his spies all over Flanders and England ; and he in- 
duced Sir Robert CliiFord, one of the chief partisans of the impos- 
tor, to betray the secrets intrusted to him. Several of Warbeck's 
partisans in England were arraigned, convicted, and executed for 
high treason. Among the other victims was Sir William Stanley, 
the lord chamberlain, a man of great wealth and influence, who 
had said in confidence to Clifford, that, if he were sure the young 
man who appeared in Flanders was really son to King Edward, 
he never would bear arms against him (1495). 

§ 6. The fate of Stanley made great impression on the kingdom, 
and struck all the partisans of Perkin with the deepest dismay. 
And as Perkin found that the king's authority daily gained ground 
among the people, and that his own pretensions were becoming 
obsolete, he resolved to attempt something which might revive the 
hopes and expectations of his partisans. After a vain attempt 
upon the coast of Kent he retired into Flanders (1495), and in 
the following year crossed over into Ireland, which had always 
appeared forward to join every invader of Henry's authority. But 
Poynings, who had been appointed deputy of Ireland in 1494,t 
had put the affairs of that island into so good a posture, that Per- 
kin met with little success ; and he therefore bent his course 
toward Scotland, and presented himself to James IV., who then 
governed that kingdom. James gave him in marriage the Lady 
Catherine Gordon, daughter of the Earl of Huntley, and made an 
inroad into England (1496), carrying Perkin along with him, in 
hopes that the appearance of the pretended prince might raise an 
insurrection in the northern counties; but instead of joining the 
invaders, the English prepared to repel them ; and James retreat- 
ed into his own country. The king discovered little anxiety to 
procure either reparation or vengeance for this insult committed 
on him by the Scottish nation ; his chief concern was to draw ad- 
vantage from it, by the pretense which it afforded him to levy im- 
positions on his own subjects. But the people, who were acquaint- 
ed with the immense treasures which he had amassed, could ill 
brook the new impositions raised on every slight occasion. When 
the subsidy began to be levied in Cornwall, the inhabitants, nu- 
merous and poor, robust and courageous, murmured against a tax 

* Respecting the subsequent discoveiy of the place of their burial, see 
note, p. 232. 

f The statute of Drogheda, enacted in 1495, and known by the name of 
Poynings' law, formed the basis for the government of Ireland till the time 
of the Union. Its most important provision was that no bill could be intro- 
duced into the Irish Parliament unless it had previously received the approv- 
al of the English council. For details, see Hallam, Constitutional Historv, 
iii., 361, 362. 

L2 



250 HENRY VII. Chap. XIII. 

occasioned by a sudden inroad of the Scots, from which they es- 
teemed themselves entirely secure, and which had usually been re- 
pelled by the force of the northern counties. They took up arms, 
and determined to march to London, but they were defeated at 
Blackheath (June 22, 1497). The leaders were taken and exe- 
cuted. The rest were almost all made prisoners, but were dis- 
missed without farther punishment. 

§ 7. James now privately desired Perkin to depart the king- 
dom ; and shortly afterward a truce was concluded with Scotland. 
Perkin hid himself, during some time, in the wilds and fastnesses 
of Ireland, till he resolved to try the affections of the Cornish, 
whose mutinous disposition, notwithstanding the king's lenity, 
still subsisted after the suppression of their rebellion. No sooner 
did he appear at Bodmin in Cornwall, than the populace, to the 
number of 3000, flocked to his standard ; and Perkin, elated with 
this appearance of success, took on him, for the first time, the ap- 
pellation of Eichard IV., King of England. He attempted to get 
possession of Exeter, but, on learning the approach of the king's 
forces, retired to Taunton. Though his followers now amounted 
to the number of nearly 7000, and seemed still resolute to main- 
tain his cause, he himself despaired of success, and secretly with- 
drew to the sanctuary of Beaulien, in the New Forest. The Corn- 
ish rebels submitted to the king's mercy; a few persons of des- 
perate fortunes were executed, some others were severely fined, 
and all the rest were dismissed with impunity. Perkin himself 
was persuaded, under promise of pardon, to deliver himself into 
the king's hands. The king conducted him, in a species of mock 
triumph, to London. Perkin, having attempted^to escape, was then 
confined to the Tower, where his habits of restless intrigue and 
enterprise followed him. He insinuated himself into the intimacy 
of four servants of Sir John Digby, Lieutenant of the Tower, and 
by their means opened a correspondence with the Earl of War- 
wick, who w^as confined in the same prison. Perkin engaged him 
to embrace a project for his escape by the murder of the lieuten- 
ant, and offered to conduct the whole enterprise. The conspiracy 
escaped not the king's vigilance ; and as Perkin, by this new at- 
tempt, had rendered himself totally unworthy of mercy, he was 
arraigned, condemned, and soon after hanged at Tyburn. The 
Earl of Warwick was beheaded on Tower Hill a few days after- 
ward (1499). This violent act of tyranny, the great blemish of 
Henry's reign, by which he destroyed the last remaining male of 
the line of Plantagenet, begat great discontent among the people, 
which he vainly endeavored to alleviate by alleging that his ally, 
Ferdinand of Aragon, scrupled to give his daughter Catherine in 
marriage to his son Prince Arthur while any male descendant of 



A.D.U96-1503. MARRIAGE OF MARGARET. 251 

the house of York remained. Men, on the contrary, felt higher 
indignation at seeing a young prince sacrificed, not to law and 
justice, but to the jealous politics of two subtle and crafty tyrants. 

§ 8. Two years later (Nov. 14, 1501) the king had the satisfac- 
tion of completing a marriage which had been projected and ne- 
gotiated durino; the course of seven years ; Arthur beinor now near 
16 years of age, Catherine 18. But this marriage proved in the 
issue unprosperous. The young prince a few months after sick- 
ened and died, much regretted by the nation (April 2, 1502). 
Henry, desirous to continue his alliance with Spain, and also un- 
willing to restore Catherine's dowry, Avhich was 200,000 ducats, 
obliged his second son Henry, a boy of 1 1 years of age, whom he 
created Prince of Wales, to be contracted to the infanta ; an event 
which was afterward attended with the most important conse- 
quences. The same year another marriage was celebrated, which 
was also, in the next age, productive of great events ; the mar- 
riage of JMargaret, the king's eldest daughter, with James, King 
of Scotland. But amid these prosperous incidents the king met 
with a domestic calamity which made not such impression on him 
as it merited: his queen died in childbed (1503), and the infant 
did not long survive her. 

The situation of the king's affairs, both at home and abroad, 
being now in every respect very fortunate, he gave full scope to 
his natural propensity ; and avarice, which had ever been his rul- 
ing passion, being increased by age and encouraged by absolute 
authority, broke all restraints of shame or justice. He had found 
two ministers, Empson and Dudley, perfectly qualified to second 
his rapacious and tyrannical inclinations, and to prey upon his de- 
fenseless people. These instruments of oppression were both law- 
yers ; the first of mean birth, of brutal manners, of an unrelent- 
ing temper ; the second better born, better educated, and better 
bred, but equally unjust, severe, and inflexible. By their knowl- 
edge of law these men, whom the king made barons of the Ex- 
chequer, were qualified to pervert the forms of justice, to the op- 
pression of the innocent ; and the most iniquitous extortions were 
practiced under legal pretenses. The chief means of oppression 
employed by these ministers were the penal statutes, which, with- 
out consideration of rank, quality, or services, were rigidly put 
in execution against all men ; spies, informers, and inquisitors 
were rewarded and encouraged in every quarter of the kingdom ; 
and no difference was made whether the statute were beneficial or 
hurtful, recent or obsolete, possible or impossible to be executed. 
The sole end of the king and his ministers was to amass money, 
and bring every one under the lash of their authority. The Par- 
liament was so overawed, that at this very time, during the great-- 



252 PIENRY VII. Chap. XIII. 

est rage of Henry's oppressions, the Commons chose Dudley their 
speaker, the very man who was the chief instrument of his iniqui- 
ties (1504). By these arts of accumulation, joined to a rigid fru- 
gality in his expense, the king so filled his coffers, that he is said 
to have possessed in ready money the sum of 1,800,000 pounds ; 
a treasure almost incredible, if we consider the scarcity of money 
in those times. 

§ 9. The remaining years of Henry's reign present little that is 
memorable. The Archduke Philip, on the death of his mother- 
in-law, Isabella, proceeded by sea, with his wife Joanna, to take 
possession of Castile, but was driven by a violent tempest into 
Weymouth (1506). The king availed himself of this event to de- 
tain Philip in a species of captivity, and to extort from him a 
promise of the hand of his sister Margaret, with a large dowry. 
Nor was this the only concession which Henry wrung from Philip 
as the price of his liberty. He made him promise that his son 
Charles should espouse his daughter Mary, though that prince 
was already affianced to a daughter of the King of France. He 
also negotiated a new treaty of commerce with the Flemings, 
much to the advantage of the English. But perhaps the most 
ungenerous part of the king's conduct on this occasion was his 
obliging Philip to surrender Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, 
nephew of Edward IV., and younger brother of the Earl of Lin- 
coln, who had perished at the battle of Stoke. The Earl of Suf- 
folk, having incurred the king's resentment, had taken refuge in 
the Low Countries. Philip stipulated indeed that Suffolk's life 
should be spared ; but Henry committed him to the Tower, and, 
regarding his promise as only personal, recommended his succes- 
sor to put him to death.* Shortly afterward Henry's health de- 
clined ; and he began to cast his eye toward that future existence 
which the iniquities and severities of his reign rendered a very 
dismal prospect to him. To allay the terrors under which he 
labored, he endeavored, by distributing alms and founding relig- 
ious houses, to make atonement for his crimes, and to purchase, 
by the sacrifice of part of his ill-gotten treasures, a reconciliation 
with his offended Maker. He ordered, by a general clause in his 
will, that restitution should be made to all those whom he had 
injured. He died of a consumption, at his favorite palace of 
Richmond (April 25, 1509), after a reign of 23 years and 8 
months, and in the 5 2d year of his age. He was buried in the 
chapel he had built for himself at Westminster. The reign of 
Henry VII. was, in the main, fortunate for his people at home, 
and honorable abroad. He put an end to the civil wars with 

* Henry VIII. put him to death after the lapse of a few years (1513), 
without nlleging any new offense against him. 



A.D. 1509. HIS DEATH AND CHARACTER. 253 

which the nation had long been harassed, he maintained peace 
and order in the state, he depressed the former exorbitant power 
of the nobility, and, together with the friendship of some foreign 
princes, he acquired the consideration and regard of all. The 
rervices which he rendered the people were derived, indeed, from 
his views of private advantage, rather than the motives of public 
f^pirit. Bacon compares him with Louis XI. of France and Fer- 
dinand of Spain, and describes the three as " the tres magi of kings 
of those ages" — the great masters of kingcraft. Avarice was, 
on the whole, Henry's ruling passion ; and he remains an instance, 
almost singular, of a man placed in a high station, and possessed 
of high talents for great affairs, in whom that passion predomin- 
ated above ambition. 

§ 10. The Star Chamber, so called from the room in which it 
met, is usually said to have been founded in the reign of Henry 
VII. ; but this is not strictly correct.* In 1495 the Parliament 
enacted that no person who should by arms or otherwise assist 
the king for the time being should ever after be attainted for such 
an instance of obedience. Such a statute could not of course bind 
future Parliaments; but, as Mr. Hallam observes {Constitutional 
Hist.^ chap, i.), it remains an unquestionable authority for the 
constitutional maxim, " that possession of the throne gives a suf- 
ficient title to the subject's allegiance, and justifies his resistance 
of those who may pretend to a better right." It was by accident 
only that the king had not a considerable share in those great 
naval discoveries by Avhich the present age was so much distin- 
guished. Columbus, after meeting with many repulses from the 
courts of Portugal and Spain, sent his brother Bartholomew to 
London, in order to explain his projects to Henry, and crave his 
protection for the execution of them. The king invited him over 
to England ; but his brother, being taken by pirates, was detain- 
ed in his voyage ; and Columbus meanwhile, having obtained the 
countenance of Isabella, was supplied with a small fleet, and hap- 
pily executed his enterprise. Henry was not discouraged by this 
disappointment ; he fitted out Sebastian Cabot, a Venetian, set- 
tled in Bristol, and sent him westward (in 1498) in search of new 
countries. Cabot discovered the main land of America, New- 
foundland, and other countries ; but returned to England without 
making any conquest or settlement. 

* Sco Notes and Illustrations at the end cf this hook. 



254 



HENRY VII. 



Chap. XIII. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A. I). 

1486. 



148T. 



1492. 



1496. 



Henry VII. marries Elizabeth of York, 

and unites tlie claims of York and 

Lancaster. 
Lambert Simnel personates Edward, 

Earl of Warwick, and pretends to 

the throne. 
Perkin Warbeck appears in Ireland as 

Richard Duke of York, younger son 

of Edward IV. 
The impostor, Perkin, accompanies 

James IV. of Scotland in an invasion 

of England. 



149T. Perkin makes a descent on Cornwall, 
but is captured. 

1499. Perkin and the Earl of Warwick exe- 
cuted. 

1501. Marriage of Prince Arthur and Cath- 
erine of Aragon. Arthur dies the 
following year, and Catherine is con- 
tracted to Henry, Prince of Wales. 

1509. Death of Henry VH. and accession of 
Henry VHL 




Silver Medal of Henry VIII. 

HENBICYS . Vni . DEI . GEA EEX AJXGL . FEAXC . DOM . HYB -j- 



HENRY Yin. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

FROil HIS ACCESSION TO THE DEATH OF WOLSEY. 
A.D. 1509-1530. 



§ 1. Accession of Hexry VIII. Empson and Dudley punislied. § 2. The 
King's Marriage. War with France. Wolsev Minister. § 3. Battle of 
Guinegate. Battle of Flodden. § 4. Peace with France. Louis XII. 
marries the Princess Mary. § 5. Greatness of Wolsey. He induces Hen- 
ry to cede Tournay to France. Wolsey Legate. § 6. Election of the 
Emperor Charles V. Interview between Henry and Francis. Charles 
visits England. Field of the Cloth of Gold. § 7. Henry mediates be- 
tween Charles and Francis. Execution of Buckingham. § 8. Henrj- 
styled "Defender of the Faith." Charles again in England. War with 
France. Scotch Affairs. Defeat of Albany. § 9. Supplies illegally 
levied. League of Henry, the Emperor, and the Duke of Bourbon. § 10. 
Battle of Pavia. Treaty between England and France. § 11. Discon- 
tent of the English. Francis recovers his Freedom. Sack of Rome. 
League with France. § 12. Henry's Scruples about his Marriage with 
Catherine. Anne Boleyn. Proceedings for a Divorce. § 13. Wolsey's 
Fall. § 14. Rise of Cranmer, Death of Wolsey. 

§ 1. The death of Henry VIL had been attended Avith as open 
and visible a joy among the people as decency would permit ; and 
the accession of his son, Henry VIII., spread universally a declared 
and unfeigned satisfaction. Henry was now in his 19th year. 
The beauty and vigor of his person, accompanied with dexterity 
in every manly exercise, was farther adorned with a blooming and 
ruddy countenance, with a lively air, with the appearance of spirit 
and activity in all his demeanor. Even the vices of vehemence, 
ardor, and impatience, to which he was subject, and which after- 
ward degenerated into tyranny, were considered only as faults, in- 
cident to unguarded youth, which would be corrected when time 
had brought him to greater moderation and maturity ; and, as the 
contending titles of York and Lancaster were now at last fully 
united in his person, men justly expected from a prince obnoxious 



256 HENRY VIII. Chap. XIV. 

to no party that impartiality of administration which had long been 
unknown in England. The chief competitors for favor and au- 
thority under the new king were the Earl of Surrey,* treasurer, 
and Fox, Bishop of Winchester, secretary and privy seal. Surrey 
knew how to conform himself to the humor of his new master ; 
and no one Avas so forward in promoting that liberality, pleasure, 
and magnificence which began to prevail under the young mon- 
arch. One party of pleasure succeeded to another ; tilts, tourna- 
ments, and carousals were exhibited with all the magnificence of 
the age ; and as the present tranquillity of the public permitted 
the court to indulge itself in every amusement, serious business 
was but little attended to. The frank and careless humor of the 
king, as it led him to dissipate the treasures amassed by his father, 
rendered him negligent in protecting the instruments whom that 
prince had employed in his extortions. The informers, who had 
so long exercised an unbounded tyranny over the nation, were 
thrown into prison, condemned to the pillory, and most of them 
lost their lives by the violence of the populace. Empson and 
Dudley, who were most exposed to public hatred, were committed 
to the Tower ; and in order to gratify the people with the punish- 
ment of these obnoxious ministers, crimes very improbable, or in- 
deed absolutely impossible, were charged upon them : that they 
had entered into a conspiracy against the sovereign, and had in- 
tended on the death of the late king to have seized by force the 
administration of government. Their conviction by a jury was 
confirmed by a bill of attainder, and they were executed on Tower 
Hill. 

§ 2. Soon after his accession, Henry, by the advice of his coun- 
cil, though contrary to the opinion of the primate, celebrated his 
marriage with the Infanta Catherine (June 7) ; and the king and 
queen were crowned at AYestminster on the 24th of June. 

The first two or three years of Henry's reign were spent in pro- 
found peace ; but, impatient of acquiring that distinction in Eu- 
rope to which his power and opulence entitled him, he could not 
long remain neuter amid the noise of arms ; and the natural en- 
mity of the English against France, as well as their ancient claims 
upon that kingdom, led Henry to join the alliance which, after the 
league of Cambray, the Pope, Spain, and Venice had formed against 
the French monarch, and into which he was in a considerable de- 
gree enticed by the hopes held out to him by the pontiff, Julius 
H., that the title oi Most Christian King, hitherto annexed to the 
crown of France, should be transferred to that of England. War 

* The Earl of Surrey had been attainted on the accession of Henry VII. 
(1485), but was restored to the earldom in 1489. He was created duke of 
Norfolk in 1514. 



A.D. 1509-1511. RISE OF WOLSEY. 257 

Avas declared against France (1511); and a Parliament, being 
summoned, readily granted supplies for a purpose so much favored 
by the English nation. But Henry suffered himself to be com- 
pletely deceived by the artifices of his father-in-law, Ferdinand. 
That selfish and treacherous prince advised him not to invade 
France by the way of Calais, where he himself should not have it 
in his power to assist him ; he exhorted him rather to send forces 
to Fontarabia, whence he could easily make a conquest of Gui- 
enne, a province in which, it was imagined, the English had stiU 
some adherents. He promised to assist this conquest by the 
junction of a Spanish army ; and so forward did he seem to pro- 
mote the interests of his son-in-law, that he even sent vessels to 
England in order to transport over the forces which Henry had 
levied for that purpose. But he made use of their presence merely 
to overrun and annex the kingdom of Navarre ; and the Marquis 
of Dorset, the English commander, observing that his farther stay 
served not to promote the main undertaking, and that his men 
were daily perishing by want and sickness, returned to England 
with his army. Notwithstanding his disappointments in this cam- 
paign, Henry was still encouraged to prosecuie his warlike meas- 
ures against Louis, especially as Leo X., who had succeeded Jul- 
ius on the papal throne, had detached the EmjDeror Maximilian 
from the French interest. He determined to invade France ; and, 
all on fire for military fame, was little discouraged by the prospect 
of a war with the Scots, who had formed an alliance with France. 
And he had now got a minister who complied with all his incli- 
nations, and flattered him in every scheme to which his sanguine 
and impetuous temper was inclined. 

Thomas "\Yolsey, Dean of Lincoln and almoner to the king, 
surpassed in favor all his ministers, and was fast advancing to- 
ward that unrivaled grandeur which he afterward attained. This 
man was reputed to be the son of a butcher at Ipswich ; but hav- 
ing got a learned education, and being endowed with an excellent 
capacity, he was admitted into the Marquis of Dorset's family as 
tutor to that nobleman's children, and soon gained the friendship 
and countenance of his patron. He was afterward emjDloyed by 
Henry VIL in a secret negotiation which regarded his intended 
marriage Avith Margaret of Savoy, Maximilian's daughter, and ac- 
quitted himself to the king's satisfaction. Being introduced to 
Henry YHL, by Fox, Bishop of Winchester, he was admitted to 
Henry's parties of pleasure, took the lead in every jovial conver- 
sation, and promoted all that frolic and entertainment which he 
found suitable to the age and inclination of the young monarch. 
Henry soon advanced his favorite from being the companion of his 
pleasures to be a member of his council, and from being a member 



258 HENRY Vlir. Chap. XIV. 

of his council to be his sole and absolute minister. By this rapid 
advancement and uncontrolled authority the character and genius 
of Wolsey had full opportunity to display itself. Insatiable in his 
acquisitions, but still more magnificent in his expense ; of exten- 
sive capacity, but still more unbounded enterprise ; ambitious of 
power, but still more desirous of glory ; insinuating, engaging, 
persuasive, and, by turns, lofty, elevated, commanding ; haughty 
to his equals, but affable to his dependents ; oppressive to the 
people, but lilDeral to his friends ; more generous than grateful ; 
less moved by injuries than by contempt ; he v^^as framed to take 
the ascendant in every intercourse with others, but exerted this 
superiority of nature yv\il\ such ostentation as exposed him to 
envy, and made every one willing to recall the original inferiority, 
or rather meanness, of his fortune. 

§ 3. The war commenced in 1513 with a desperate naval action. 
Sir Edward Howard, the English admiral, was slain in attempt- 
ing to cut six French galleys out of the port of Conquet with only 
two vessels ; and the whole fleet was so discouraged by the loss of 
their commander that they retired from before Brest. The French 
navy came out of harbor, and even ventured to invade the coast 
of Sussex, but were repulsed. On the 30th of June the king 
landed at Calais with a considerable army, and was joined by 
Maximilian with some German and Flemish soldiers. Observing 
the disposition of the English monarch to be more bent on glory 
than on interest, Maximilian enlisted himself in his service, wore 
the cross of St. George, and received 100 crowns a day as one of 
his subjects and captains. But while he exhibited this extraor- 
dinary spectacle, of an emperor of Germany serving under a king 
of England, he was treated with the highest respect by Henry, and 
really directed all the operations of the English army. Henry, 
having received intelligence of the approach of the French horse, 
ordered some troops to pass the Lis in order to oppose them. 
The cavalry of France, though they consisted chiefly of gentlemen 
who had behaved with great gallantry in many desperate actions 
in Italy, were, on sight of the enemy, seized with so unaccountable 
a panic that they immediately took to flight and were pursued by 
the English, and many officers of distinction were made prisoners. 
The action, or rather rout, is sometimes called the battle of Guine- 
gate, from the place where it was fought ; but more commonly the 
Battle of Spurs, because the French that day made more use of 
their spurs than of their swords or military weapons (Aug. 16). 
But Henry, though at the head of 50,000 men, derived little ad- 
vantage from his victory. Instead of marching to Paris, he en- 
gaged in the siege of the inconsiderable town of Terouenne, which 
had been already invested by the Earl of Shrewsbury (Aug. 22). 



A-.D. 1511-1515. BATTLE OF FLODDEX. 259 

After the fall of that place the king laid siege to Tournay, which 
soon surrendered (Sept. 9.) The Bishop of Tournay was lately 
dead, and the king bestowed the administration of the see on his 
favorite Wolsey, and put him in immediate possession of the rev- 
enues, which were considerable. Then, observing the season to be 
far advanced, he thought proper to return to England, and he car- 
ried the greater part of his army with him. 

The success which during this summer had attended Henry's 
arms in the north was much more decisive. James, King of 
Scotland, had assembled the whole force of his kingdom ; and 
having passed the Tweed with a brave though a tumultuary army 
of above 50,000 men, he ravaged those parts of Northumberland 
which lay nearest that river. Meanwhile, the Earl of Surrey, 
having collected a force of 26,000 men, marched to the defense 
of the country. The two armies met at Flodden, near the Cheviot 
Hills. The action was desperate, and protracted till night separ- 
ated the combatants. The victory seemed yet undecided, and 
the numbers that fell on each side were nearly equal, amounting 
to above 5000 men ; but the morning discovered where the ad- 
vantage lay. The English had lost only persons of small note : 
but the flower of the Scottish nobility had fallen in battle, and 
their king himself, after the most diligent inquiry, could nowhere 
be found. In searching the field the English met with a dead 
body which resembled him, and was arrayed in a similar habit ; 
and they put it in a leaden coffin and sent it to London. But 
the fond conceit was lono; entertained among; the Scots that he 
was still alive, and, having secretly gone in pilgrimage to the 
Holy Land, would soon return and take possession of the throne. 
When the Queen of Scotland, Margaret, who was created regent 
during the infancy of her son, applied for peace, Henry readily 
granted it, and took compassion upon the helpless condition of his 
sister and nephew. 

§ 4. Li the following year (1514) Henry discovered that both 
the emperor and the King of Spain had deserted his alliance for 
that of Louis ; and that they had listened- to a proposition for the 
marriage of their common grandson, the Archduke Charles, to a 
daughter of the French king's, although that young prince was 
already affianced to Henry's sister Mary. Under these circum- 
stances, Henry readily listened to the suggestion of his prisoner, 
the Duke of Longueville, for a peace with France, to be confirmed 
by Mary's marriage with Louis, who was now a widower. The 
articles were easily adjusted between the monarchs ; but Louis 
died in less than three months after the marriage (Jan. 1, 1515), 
to the extreme regret of the French nation. Francis, Duke of An- 
gouleme, a youth of 21, who had married Louis's eldest daughter. 



260 HENRY Vril. Chap. XIV. 

succeeded him on the throne. Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, 
was at that time in the court of France, the most comely person- 
age of his time, and the most accomplished in all the exercises 
which were then thought to befit a courtier and soldier. He 
was Henry's chief favorite, and that monarch had even once en- 
tertained thoughts of marrying him to his sister, and had given 
indulgence to the mutual passion which took place between them. 
The queen asked Suffolk whether he had now the courage, with- 
out farther reflection, to espouse her? And she told him that 
her brother would more easily forgive him for not asking his con- 
sent than for acting contrary to his orders. Suffolk declined not 
so inviting an offer, and their nuptials were secretly celebrated at 
Paris. Wolsey, as well as Francis, was active in reconciling the 
king to his sister and brother-in-law ; and he obtained them per- 
mission to return to England. 

""^i 5. The numerous enemies whom Wolsey's sudden elevation, 
his aspiring character, and his haughty deportment had raised 
him, served only to rivet him faster in Henry's confidence, who 
valued himself on supporting the choice which he had made, and 
who was incapable of yielding either to the murmurs of the peo- 
ple or the discontents of the court. That artful prelate, well ac- 
quainted -with the king's imperious temper, concealed from him 
the absolute ascendant which he had acquired ; and while he se- 
cretly directed all public councils, he ever pretended a blind sub- 
mission to the will and authority of his master. He had now 
been promoted to the see of York, with which he was allowed to 
unite, first that of Durham, next that of Winchester, and there 
seemed to be no end of his acquisitions. The Pope created him 
a cardinal (1515). No churchman, under color of exacting re- 
spect to religion, ever carried to a greater height the state and 
dignity of that character. His train consisted of 800 servants, 
of whom many were knights and gentlemen ; some even of the 
nobility put their children into his family as a place of education ; 
and in order to gain them favor with their patron, allowed them 
to bear offices as his servants. Whoever was distinguished by 
any art or science paid court to the cardinal, and none paid court 
in vain. Literature, which was then in its infancy, found in him 
a generous patron ; and both by his public institutions and private 
bounty he gave encouragement to every branch of erudition. Not 
content with this munificence, which gained him the approbation 
of the wise, he strove to dazzle the eyes of the populace by the 
splendor of his equipage and furniture, the costly embroidery of 
his liveries, the lustre of his apparel. On the resignation of War- 
ham, Chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury, the great seal was 
immediately delivered to Wolsey. If this new accumulation of 



A.D. 1515-1519. CHARLES V. EMPEROR. 261 

dignity increased his enemies, it also served to exalt his personal 
character, and prove the extent of his capacity. A strict admin- 
istration of justice took place during his enjoyment of this high 
ofSce ; and no chancellor ever discovered greater impartiality in 
his decisions, deeper penetration of judgment, or more enlarged 
knowledge of law and equity. 

In 1518 Francis, being desirous of recovering Tournay, suc- 
ceeded, by means of flatteries and attentions, in gaining Wolsey's 
favor. By the cardinal's advice a treaty was entered into for the 
ceding of that town ; and in order to give the measure a more 
graceful appearance, it was agreed that the dauphin and the Prin- 
cess Mary, the king's daughter, both of them infants, should be 
betrothed, and that this city should be considered as the dowry of 
the princess. Francis also agreed to pay 600,000 crowns in 
twelve annual payments ; and lest the cardinal should think him- 
self neglected in these stipulations, he promised him a yearly pen- 
sion of 12,000 livres, as an equivalent for his administration of 
the bishopric of Tournay. 

The pride of Wolsey was about this time farther increased by 
his being invested with the legatine power, together with the right 
of visiting all the clergy and monasteries in England, and even of 
suspending all the laws of the Church during a twelvemonth. 
Wolsey, having obtained this new dignity, made a new display of 
that state and parade to which he was so much addicted. On 
solemn feast-days, he was not content without saying mass after 
the manner of the Pope himself; not only had he bishops and ab- 
bots to serve him ; he even engaged the first nobility to give him 
water and the towel. But he carried the matter much farther 
than vain pomp and ostentation. He erected an office which he 
called the legatine court, and conferred on it a kind of inquisito- 
rial and cens,orial powders, even over the laity. He even pretend- 
ed, by virtue of his commission, to assume the jurisdiction of all 
the bishops' courts, particularly that of judging of wills and testa- 
ments, and the right of disposing of every ecclesiastical prefer- 
ment. 

§ 6. While Henry, indulging himself in pleasure and amuse- 
ment, intrusted the government of his kingdom to this imperious 
juinister, the death of the Emperor Maximilian left vacant the 
first station among Christian princes, and proved a kind of era in 
the general system of Europe (1519). The Kings of France and 
Spain immediately declared themselves candidates for the imperial 
crown, and employed every expedient of money or intrigue which 
promised them success in so great a point of ambition. Henry 
also was 4&ncouraged to advance his pretensions ; but his minister, 
Pace, who was dispatched to the electors, found that he began to 



262 HENRY VIII. Chap.XIY. 

solicit too late, and that the votes of all these princes were already 

pre-engaged, either on one side or the other. Charles ultimate^ 
prevailed ; and thus fortune alone, without the concurrence of pru- 
dence or valor, never reared up of a sudden so great a power as 
that which centred in him. He reaped the succession of Castile, 
of Aragon, of Austria, of the Netherlands; he inherited the con- 
quest of Naples, of Grenada ; election entitled him to the empire ; 
even the bounds of the globe seemed to be enlarged a little before 
liis time, that he might possess the whole treasure, as yet entire 
and unrifled, of the Ncav World. Francis, disgusted with his ill 
success, now applied himself, by way of counterpoise to the power 
of Charles, to cultivate the friendship of Henry, Avho possessed 
the felicity of being able, both by the native force of his kingdom 
and its situation, to hold the balance between those two powers. 
He solicited an interview near Calais, in expectation of being able, 
by familiar conversation, to gain upon his friendship and confi- 
dence ; and as Henry himself loved show and magnificence, and 
had entertained a curiosity of being personally acquainted with 
the French king, he cheerfully adjusted all the preliminaries. 
Meanwhile, the emperor, politic though young, being informed of 
the intended interview between Francis and Henry, was appre- 
hensive of the consequences, and took the opportunity, in his pas- 
sage from Spain to the Low Countries, to make the English king 
a still higher compliment by paying him a visit in his own do- 
minions. Henry and the queen hastened to^meet him at Hythe. 
Besides the marks of regard and attachment which Charles gave 
to Henry, he gained the cardinal to his interests by holding out 
to him the hope of attaining the papacy. The views of Plenry 
himself, indeed, after being disappointed of the imperial crown, 
were directed toward France as his ancient inheritance ; and no 
power was more fitted than the emperor to assist him in such a 
design. 

The da:y of Charles's departure (May 30, 1520), Henry went over 
to Calais with the queen and his whole court ; and thence pro- 
ceeded to Guisnes, a small town near the frontiers. Francis, at- 
tended in like manner, came to Ardres, a few miles distant ; and 
the two monarchs met for the first time in the fields at a place 
situated between these two towns, but still within the English 
pale ; for Francis agreed to pay this compliment to Henry, in con- 
sideration of that prince's passing the sea that he might be present 
at the interview. Wolsey, to whom both kings had intrusted the 
regulation of the ceremonial, contrived this circumstance in order 
to do honor to his master. The nobility both of France and En- 
gland here displayed their magnificence with such emulation and 
profuse expense as procured to the place of interview the name of 



i 



A.D. 1519-1521. EXECUTION OF BUCKINGHAM. 263 

the field oftlie cloth of gold. The two monarchs, who were the^ 
most comely personages of the age, as well as the most expert in 
every military exercise, passed their time till their departure in 
tournaments and other entertainments, more than in any serious 
business. Henry paid then a visit to the emperor and Margaret 
of Savoy, at Gravelines, and engaged them to go along with him 
to Calais, and pass some days in that fortress. The artful and 
politic Charles here completed the impression which he had begun 
to make on Henry and his favorite, and secured the cardinal still 
farther in his interests by very important services and still higher 
promises. He renewed assurances of assisting him in obtaining 
the papacy, and he put him in present possession of the revenues 
belonging to the sees of Badajoz and Valentia in Castile. 

§ 7. The violent personal emulation and political jealousy which 
had taken place between the emperor and the French king soon 
broke out in hostilities (1521) ; but while these ambitious and war- 
like princes w^ere acting against each other in almost every part 
of Europe, they still made professions of the strongest desire of 
peace, and both of them incessantly carried their complaints to 
Henry, as to the umpire between them. The king, who pretend- 
ed to be neutral, engaged them to send their embassadors to Calais, 
there to negotiate a peace, under the mediation of Wolsey and 
the Pope's nuncio. The emperor was well aj)prised of the par- 
tiality of these mediators, and his demands in the conference were 
so unreasonable as plainly proved him conscious of the advantage. 
Francis rejected the terms ; the congress of Calais broke up ; and 
Wolsey soon after took a journey to Bruges, where he met with 
the emperor, and concluded, in his master's name, an offensive al- 
liance with him and the Pope against France. He stipulated 
that England should next summer invade that kingdom with 
40,000 men ; and he betrothed to Charles the Princess Mary, the 
king's only child, who had now some prospect of inheriting the 
crown. The Duke of Buckingham was soon after tried and exe- 
cuted for high treason, having unguardedly let fall some expres- 
sions as if he thought himself entitled to succeed, in case the king 
should die without issue. His death has been attributed to the 
resentment of Wolsey, and at all events the gTOunds alleged for 
his condemnation seem frivolous and inadequate (1521).* 

§ 8. Europe was now in a ferment with the progress of Luther 

* This Duke of Buckingham -u-as the son of the Duke of Buckingham 
executed by Eichard III., and Avas descended by a female from the Duke 
of Gloucester, youngest son of Edward III. (See genealogical table, p. 
233.) The office of constable, which this nobleman inherited from the Bo- 
huns, Earls of Hereford, was forfeited, and was never after revived in En- 
gland, 



264 HENRY VIII. Chap. XIV. 

and the Reformation. Heniy, who had been educated in a strict 
attachment to the Church of Kome, wrote a book in Latin against 
the principles of Luther, and sent a copy of it to Leo, who re- 
ceived so magnificent a present with great testimony of regard, 
and conferred on him the title of Defender of the Faith (1521). 
This was one of the last acts of Leo X., who died before the close 
of the year, in the flower of his age. He was succeeded in the 
papal chair by Adrian VI., a Fleming, who had been tutor to the 
Emperor Charles. The emperor, who knew that Wolsey had re- 
ceived a disappointment in his ambitious hopes by the election of 
Adrian, and who dreaded the resentment of that haughty minis- 
ter, was solicitous to repair the breach made in their friendship 
by this incident. He paid another visit to England (1522) ; and, 
besides flattering the vanity of the king and the cardinal, he re- 
newed to Wolsey all the promises which he had made him of 
seconding his pretensions to the papal throne. The more to in- 
gratiate himself with Henry and the English nation, he gave to 
Surrey, Admiral of England, commission for being admiral of his 
dominions ; and he himself was installed knight of the garter at 
London. The king declared war against Fi-ance while the em- 
peror was in England. The English army, which landed at Calais, 
under the command of Surrey, did not accomplish any thing of 
importance ; but in Scotland the regent Albany, though at the 
head of 45,000 men, was frightened into a disgraceful truce with 
Lord Dacre ; and in the following year he retreated still more dis- 
gracefully before the English army under Surrey. Soon after he 
went over to France, and never again returned to Scotland. The 
Scottish nation, agitated by their domestic factions, were not dur- 
ing several years in a condition to give any more disturbance to 
England ; and Henry had full leisure to prosecute his designs on 
the Continent. 

§ 9. The reason why the war against France proceeded so 
slowly on the part of England was the want of money. In 1522 
Henry had illegally raised a large sura of money under the name 
of a loan or " benevolence ;" and in the Parliament held in the 
following year he issued privy seals to wealthy persons, demand- 
ing loans of particular sums, and published an edict for a general 
tax upon his subjects, under the name of a loan. Wolsey, at- 
tended by several of the nobility and prelates, came to the House 
of Commons, and demanded a grant of £800,000. So large a 
grant was unusual from the Commons ; and, though the cardinal's 
demand was seconded by Sir Thomas More, the speaker, and sev- 
eral other members attached to the court, the House could not be 
prevailed with to vote more than the moiety of the sum demand- 
ed. The cardinal, much mortified with the disappointment, came 



A.D. 1521-1525. BATTLE OF PA VIA, 265 

again to the House, and desired to reason with such as refused to 
comply with the king's request. He was told that it was a rule 
of the House never to reason but among themselves ; and his de- 
sire was rejected, though they enlarged a little their former grant. 
The king was so dissatisfied with this saving disposition of the 
Commons, that, as he had not called a Parliament during seven 
years before, he allowed seven more to elapse before he summoned 
another ; and, on pretense of necessity, he levied in one year, from 
all who were worth £40, what the Parliament had granted him 
payable in four years : a new invasion of national privileges. 

Wolsey received this year (1523) a new disappointment in his 
aspiring views. The Pope, Adrian VL, died ; and Clement VH., 
of the family of Medicis, was elected in his place, by the concur- 
rence of the imperial party. Wolsey could now perceive the in- 
sincerity of the emperor, and he concluded that that prince would 
never second his pretensions to the papal chair. As he highly 
resented this injury, he began thenceforth to estrange himself' 
from the imperial court, and to pave the way for a union between 
his master and the French king. Yet the confederacy against 
France seemed more formidable than ever on the opening of the 
campaign ; and the country Avas exposed to still gTeater peril by 
a domestic conspiracy which had been formed by Charles, Duke 
of Bourbon, Constable of France, who, entering into the emperor's 
service, employed all the force of his enterprising spirit, and his 
great talents for war, to the prejudice of his native country. A 
league was formed among Henry, Charles, and Bourbon, for the 
conquest and partition of France. Provence, Dauphine, Au- 
vergne, and the Bourbonnais, were to be erected into a kingdom 
for Bourbon ; Burgundy, Languedoc, Champagne, and Picardy, 
were to be given to the emperor ; and the King of England was 
to have the rest of France (1525). The Duke of Suffolk led an 
English army into France, and, though he advanced within sight 
of Paris, he returned to Calais without effecting any thing of more 
importance than the Earl of Surrey in the preceding year. 

§ 10. The year 1525 was marked by a memorable event in the 
war. Francis had been expelled from Italy in the preceding year ; 
and the imperialists had invaded the south of France and laid 
siege to Marseilles. But upon the approach of the French king 
with a numerous army they found themselves under a necessity 
of raising the siege ; and they led their forces, weakened, bafiied, 
and disheartened, into Italy. Francis, notwithstanding the ad- 
vanced season, pursued them into that country, and penetrated to 
Pavia, to which he laid siege ; but after it had been invested sev- 
eral months the imperial generals came to its relief. Francis's 
forces were put to the rout, and he himself, surrounded by his en- 

M 



266 HENRY VIII. Chap. XIV. 

emies, after fighting with heroic valor, was at last obliged to sur- 
render himself prisoner (Feb. 24, 1525). Almost the whole army, 
full of nobility and brave officers, either perished by the sword, or 
were drowned in the river. 

Henry was at first inclined to take advantage of the French 
monarch's misfortune. He pressed the emperor to invade France 
next summer from the south, while he himself entered it on the 
north ; he anticipated that they might meet at Paris, when, 
after being crowned King of France, he would assist Charles to 
recover Burgundy, and accompany him to Eome for his corona- 
tion. And if the emperor fulfilled his contract to marry the 
Princess Mary, he held out the prospect that he or his posterity 
might eventually succeed to the crown of France, and even of 
England itself. But Charles was in no humor to let Henry reap 
the chief benefit from his success, or to seek, by an invasion of 
France, advantages which the captivity of Francis afforded an op- 
portunity to extort. He therefore refused to invade France, or to 
put Francis in Henry's hands in return for Mary ; and Henry con- 
sequently determined to abandon his alliance for that of France. 
He therefore concluded a treaty with the mother of Francis, the 
Regent of France, and engaged to procure her son his liberty on 
reasonable conditions ; the regent acknowledged the kingdom 
Henry's debtor for 1,800,000 crowns, to be discharged in half- 
yearly payments of 50,000 crowns ; after which Henry was to re- 
ceive, during life, a yearly pension of 100,000. A large present 
of 100,000 crowns was also made to Wolsey for his good offices, 
but covered under the pretense of arrears due on the pension 
granted him for relinquishing the administration of Tournay. 

§ 1 1. Meanwhile, Henry, foreseeing that this treaty with France 
might involve him in a w^ar with the emperor, was determined to 
fill his treasury by impositions upon his own subjects, and resolved 
to make use of his prerogative alone for that purpose. The peo- 
ple, displeased with the amount of the exaction, and farther dis- 
gusted with the illegal method of imposing it, broke out in mur- 
murs and complaints ; and their refractory disposition threatened 
a general insurrection. But as they were not headed by any con- 
siderable person, it was easy for the Duke of Suffolk, and the Earl 
of Surrey, now Duke of Norfolk, by employing persuasion and au- 
thority, to induce the ringleaders to lay down their arms and sur- 
render themselves prisoners. The king, finding it dangerous to 
punish criminals engaged in so popular a cause, was determined, 
notwithstanding his violent, imperious temper, to grant them a 
general pardon ; and he prudently imputed their guilt, not to their 
want of loyalty or affection, but to their poverty. 

Early in 1526 the French king recovered his liberty in accord- 



A.D. 1525-1527. THE KING'S MATRIMONIAL SCRUPLES. 267 

ance T\ith a treaty concluded at Madrid ; the principal condition 
of which was the restoring of Francis's liberty, and the delivery 
of his two eldest sons as hostages to the emperor for the cession 
of Burgundy. If any difficulty should afterward occur in the ex- 
ecution of this last article, from the opposition of the states, either 
of France or of that province, Francis stipulated that in six weeks' 
time he should return to his prison, and remain there till the full 
performance of the treaty. But at the very moment of signing 
the treaty Francis entered a secret protest against it, and declared 
that he would not observe it : and when he returned to France 
he openly showed his resolution to evade its performance, in which 
he was encouraged by the English court. War was therefore re- 
newed between Francis and Charles. In the following year 
(1527), Bourbon, who commanded the Imperialists in Italy, find- 
ing it difficult to support his army, determined to lead it to Rome, 
which was taken by storm ; but the duke himself was slain in 
the assault. Pope Clement was taken captive, and the city was 
exposed to all the violence and brutality of a licentious soldiery. 

The sack of Rome and the captivity of the Pope caused general 
indignation among all the Catholics of Europe. A new treaty was 
concluded between Henry and Francis, with a view of expelling 
the Imperialists from Italy, and restoring the Pope to liberty- 
Henry agreed finally to renounce all claims to the crown of 
France ; claims which might now indeed be deemed chimerical, 
but which often served as a pretense for exciting the unwary 
English to wage war upon the French nation. As a return for 
this concession, Francis bound himself and his successors to pay 
forever 50,000 crowns a year to Henry and his successors ; and 
that greater solemnity might be given to this treaty, it was agreed 
that the Parliaments and great nobility of both kingdoms should 
give their assent to it. 

§ 12. About this time Henry began to entertain some doubts 
respecting the lawfulness of his marriage with Catherine of Ar- 
agon, his brother's widow, though he had been united to her 17 
years. There were several causes which tended to render his 
conscience more scrupulous. The queen was older than the king 
by no less than six years ; and the decay of her beauty, together 
with particular infirmities and diseases, had contributed, notwith- 
standing her blameless character and deportment, to render her 
person unacceptable to him. Though she had borne him several 
children, they all died in early infancy except one daughter ; and 
he was the more struck with this misfortune, because the curse 
of being childless is the very threatening contained in the Mosa- 
ical law against those who espouse their brother's widow. The 
succession, too, of the crown was a consideration that occurred 



268 HENRY VIII. Chap. XIV. 

to every one whenever the lawfulness of Henry's marriage was 
called in question ; and it was apprehended that, if doubts of 
Mary's legitimacy concurred with the weakness of her sex, the 
King of Scots, the next heir, would advance his pretensions, and 
might throw the kingdom into confusion. The king was thus 
impelled, both by his private passions and by motives of public 
interest, to seek the dissolution of his inauspicious, and, as it was 
esteemed, unlawful marriage with Catherine. Wolsey also forti- 
fied the king's scruples, with a view to marry him to a French 
princess. But Henry was carried forward, though perhaps not 
at first excited, by a motive more forcible than even the sugges- 
tions of that powerful favorite. Anne Boleyn, who lately appear- 
ed at court, had been appointed maid of honor to the queen ; and 
having had frequent opportunities of being seen by Henry, and 
of conversing with him, she had acquired an entire ascendant over 
his affections. This young lady, whose grandeur and misfortunes 
have rendered her so celebrated, was daughter of Sir Thomas Bo- 
leyn, and, through her mother, granddaughter of the Duke of Nor- 
folk. Anne herself, though then in very early youth, had been 
carried over to Paris by the king's sister, when the princess es- 
poused Louis XII. of France ; and she remained several years at 
the French court. Henry, finding the accomplishments of her 
mind nowise inferior to her exterior graces, even entertained the 
design of raising her to the throne. As every motive, therefore, 
of inclination and policy seemed thus to concur in making the 
king desirous of a divorce from Catherine, he resolved to make 
applications to Clement, and he sent Knight, his secretary, to Rome 
for that purpose. The Pope, who was then a prisoner in the hands 
of the emperor, and had no hopes of recovering his liberty on any 
reasonable terms, except by the efforts of the league which Henry 
had formed with Francis and the Italian powers, in order to op- 
pose the ambition of Charles, had the strongest motives to embrace 
every opportunity of gratifying the English monarch. When the 
English secretary, therefore, solicited him in private, he received 
a very favorable answer, and a dispensation was forthwith prom- 
ised to be granted to his master. Soon after, the march of a 
French army into Italy obliged the Imperialists to restore Clement 
to his liberty, and he retired to Orvieto. 

Clement, having now recovered his liberty, and unwilling to 
offend either the emperor or the English king, adopted a tempor- 
izing policy. At length, after much negotiation, he granted a 
commission in 1528 to Cardinals Wolsey and Campeggio to try 
the validity of the marriage. Charles, meanwhile, promised Cath- 
erine, his aunt, his utmost protection; and in all his negotiations 
with the Pope he made the recall of the commission which 



A.D. 1527-1529 FALL OF WOLSEY. 269 

Campeggio and Wolsey exercised in England a fundamental ar- 
ticle. 

The two legates opened their court at London, May 31, 1529, 
and cited the king and queen to appear before it. They both pre- 
sented themselves, and the king answered to his name when call- 
ed ; but the queen, instead of answering to hers, rose from her seat 
and, throwing herself at the king's feet, made a very pathetic ha- 
rangue, which her virtue, her dignity, and her misfortunes ren- 
dered the more affecting. And she concluded by declaring that 
she would not submit her cause to be tried by a court whose de- 
pendence on her enemies was too visible ever to allow her any 
hopes of obtaining from them an equitable or impartial decision. 
Having spoken these words, she rose, and making the king a low 
reverence, she departed from the court, and never would again ap- 
pear in it. The trial was spun out till the 23d of July, and Cam- 
peggio chiefly took on him the part of conducting it. The king 
was every day in expectation of a sentence in his favor ; when, to 
his great surprise, Campeggio, on a sudden, ^^•ithout any warning, 
and upon very frivolous pretenses, prorogued the court till the 1st 
of October. A few days afterward the king and queen received 
a citation from the Pope to appear either in person or by proxy 
at Rome. This measure, which the emperor had extorted from 
the timidity of Clement, put an end to all the hopes of success 
which the king had so long and so anxiously cherished. 

§ 13. Wolsey had long foreseen this measure as the sure fore- 
runner of his ruin. He had employed himself with the utmost 
assiduity and earnestness to bring the affair to a happy issue ; he 
was not, therefore, to be blamed for the unprosperous event which 
Clement's partiality had produced. Anne Boleyn, also, who was 
prepossessed against him, had imputed to him the failure of her 
hopes. The high opinion itself which Henry entertained of the 
cardinal's capacity tended to hasten his downfall ; while he imputed 
the bad success of that minister's undertakings, not to ill fortune or 
to mistake, but to the malignity or infidelity of his intentions. On 
the 1 8th of October the great seal was taken from him, and deliv- 
ered by the king to Sir Thomas More, a man who, besides the 
ornaments of an elegant literature, possessed the highest virtue, in- 
tegrity, and capacity. "Wolsey was ordered to depart from York 
Place, a palace which he had built in London, and which, though 
it really belonged to the vSee of York, was seized by Henry, and 
became afterward the residence of the kings of England, by the 
title of Whitehall. All his furniture and plate were also seized : 
their riches and splendor befitted rather a .royal than a private 
fortune. The cardinal was ordered to retire to Esher, a country 
seat which he possessed near Hampton Court. The world, that 



270 HENRY VIII. Chap. XIV. 

had. paid him such abject court during his prosperity, now entire- 
ly deserted him on this fatal reverse of all his fortunes. 

Upon the meeting of Parliament, which had not been summon- 
ed for seven years, the House of Lords voted a long charge against 
Wolsey, consisting of 44 articles, and accompanied it with an ap- 
plication to the king for his punishment and his removal from all 
authority. The articles were sent down to the House of Com- 
mons, where Thomas Cromwell, formerly a servant of the cardi- 
nal's, and who had been raised by him from a very low station, 
defended his unfortunate patron with such spirit, generosity, and 
courage as acquired him great honor, and laid the foundation of 
that favor which he afterward enjoyed with the king. Wolsey's 
enemies, finding that either his innocence or his caution prevented 
them from having any just ground of accusing him, had recourse 
to a very extraordinary expedient. An indictment was laid against 
him, that, contrary to a statute of Richard II., commonly called 
the statute of provisors, or praemunire,* he had procured bulls from 
Rome, particularly one investing him with the legatine power. 
Sentence was pronounced against him, "That he was out of the 
king's protection ; his lands and goods forfeited ; and that his per- 
son might be committed to custody." But this prosecution of Wol- 
sey was carried no farther. Henry even granted him a pardon 
for all offenses, left him in possession of the sees of York and Win- 
chester, restored him part of his plate and furniture, and still con- 
tinued from time to time to drop expressions of favor and com- 
passion toward him. 

§ 14. The general peace established this summer in Europe by 
the treaty of Cambray (Aug. 5, 1529) left Henry full leisure to 
prosecute his divorce. Amid the anxieties with which he was 
agitated, he was often tempted to break off all connections with 
the court of Rome. He found his prerogative firmly established 
at home ; and he observed that his people were in general much 
disgusted with clerical usurpations, and disposed to reduce the pow- 
ers and privileges of the ecclesiastical order. But, notwithstand- 
ing these inducements, Henry had strong motives still to desire a 
good agreement with the sovereign pontiff. He apprehended the 
danger of such great innovations ; he dreaded the reproach of her- 
esy; he abhorred all connections with the Lutherans, the chief 
opponents of the papal power ; and having once exerted himself 
with such applause, as he imagined, in defense of the Romish com- 
munion, he was ashamed to retract his former opinions, and be- 
tray from passion such a palpable inconsistency. While he was 
agitated by these contrary motives, an expedient was proposed, 
which, as it promised a solution of all difficulties, was embraced 
by him with the greatest joy and satisfaction. 

* See p. 199. 



A.D. 1529, 1530. DEATH OF WOLSEY. 271 

Dr. Thomas Craumer, fellow of Jesus College in Cambridge, 
fell one evening by accident into company with Gardiner, now sec- 
retary of state, and Fox, the king's almoner ; and as the business 
of the divorce became the subject of conversation, he observed that 
the readiest way, either to quiet Henry's conscience, or extort the 
Pope's consent, would be to consult all the universities of Europe 
with regard to this controverted point ; if they agreed to approve 
of the king's marriage with Catherine, his remorse would natu- 
rally cease ; if they condemned it, the Pope would find it difficult 
to resist the solicitations of so great a monarch, seconded by the 
opinion of all the learned men in Christendom. When the king 
was informed of the proposal, he was delighted with it, and swore, 
with more alacrity than delicacy that Cranmer had got the right 
sow by the ear ; he sent for that divine, engaged him to write in 
defense of the divorce, and . immediately, in prosecution of the 
scheme proposed, employed his agents to collect the judgments of 
all the universities in Europe. Several of these gave verdict in 
the king's favor ; not only those of France, Paris, Orleans, Bourges, 
Toulouse, Angers, which might be supposed to lie under the in- 
fluence of their prince, ally to Henry ; but also those of Italy, Ven- 
ice, Ferrara, Padua, even Bologna itself, though under the imme- 
diate jurisdiction of Clement. Oxford alone, and Cambridge, 
alarmed at the progress of Lutheranism, made some difficulty. 
Their opinion, however, conformable to that of the other univer- 
sities of Europe, was at last obtained, though not without the use 
of threats. 

Meanwhile the enemies of Wolsey, and Anne Boleyn in partic- 
ular, had persuaded Henry to renew the prosecution against his 
ancient favorite. The cardinal had, by the king's command, re- 
moved to his see of York, and had taken up his residence at Ca- 
wood, in Yorkshire, where he rendered himself extremely popu- 
lar in the neighborhood by his affability and hospitality. Here 
he was arrested on a charge of high treason by the Earl of Nor- 
thumberland, who had received orders to conduct him to London 
in order to his trial. The cardinal, partly from the fatigues of 
his journey, partly from the agitation of his anxious mind, was 
seized with a disorder which turned into a dysentery; and he 
was able, with some difficulty, to reach Leicester Abbey. AVhen 
the abbot and the monks advanced to receive him with much re- 
spect and reverence, he told them that he was come to lay his 
bones among them ; and he immediately took to his bed, whence 
he never rose more. A little before he expired he said, among 
other things, to Sir William Kingston, Constable of the Tower, 
who had him in custody, " Had I but served God as diligently as 
I have served the king, he would not have given me over in my 



272 ~ HENRY VIII. Chap. XIV. 

gray hairs. Let me advise you," he added, "if you be one of the 
privy-council, as by your v^^isdom you are fit, take care w^hat you 
put into the king's head ; for you can never put it out again." 
Thus died this famous cardinal (Nov. 29, 1530), whose character 
seems to have contained as singular a variety as the fortune to 
which he was exposed. "Haughty beyond comparison," says 
Mr. Hallam {Constitutional History^ i., 22), "negligent of the du- 
ties and decorums of his station, profuse as well as rapacious, 
obnoxious alike to his own order and to the laity, his fall had long 
been secretly desired by the nation and contrived by his adversa- 
ries. His generosity and magnificence seem rather to have daz- 
zled succeeding ages than his own. But, in fact, his best apology 
is the disposition of his master. The latter years of Henry's reign 
were far more tyrannical than those during which he listened to 
the counsel of Wolsey ; and though this was principally owing 
to the peculiar circumstances of the latter period, it is but equi- 
table to allow some praise to a minister for the mischief which he 
may be presumed to have averted." 




Gold Medal of Henry YIIL 
Obverse : henricvs . octa . ajsiglt^ . feanci . et . hib . eex . fidei . defensor . et . 

IN . TEEE . ECCLE . ANGLI . ET . HIBE . SVB . CHRIST . CAPVT , SVPEEMVM. Foi' Reverse, 

see next page. 

CHAPTEK XV. 

HEKRT VIII. CONTINUED. FROM THE DEATH OF WOLSET TO THE DEATH 
OF THE KING. A.D. 1530-1547. 

§ 1. Proceedings against the Clergy and the Court of Rome. Henry's 
Marriage with Anne Boleyn. Catherine divorced. § 2. The Reforma- 
tion. Establishment of the Succession and Committal of Fisher and 
More. The King declared supreme Head of the Church. § 3. State of 
Parties. Tyndale's Bible, Persecutions. The Holy Maid of Kent. 
§ 4. Execution of Fisher and More. Henry excommunicated. Death 
of Queen Catherine. § 5. Suppression of the lesser Monasteries. Trial 
and Execution of Queen Ahne. Henry marries Jane Seymour. Settle- 
ment of the Succession. § 6. Discontents and Insurrections. Pilgrimage 
of Grace. Birth of Prince EdAvard and Death of Queen Jane. Sup- 
pression of the greater Monasteries. § 7. The Pope publishes his Bull 
of Excommunication. Cardinal Pole. § 8. Law of the Six Articles. 
Servility of the Parliament and Tyi-anny of the King. § 9. Henry mar- 
ries Anne of Cleves. § 10. Fall and Execution of Cromwell. Henry's 
Divorce from Anne of Cleves and Marriage with Catherine Howard. 
Religious Persecutions. Execution of the Countess of Salisbury. § 11. 
Marriage, Trial, and Execution of Queen Catherine Howard. § 12. War 
with Scotland and Death of James V. Henry's Marriage with Catherine 
Parr. War with France. Peace concluded. § 13. Scotch Affairs. 
Theological Dogmatism of Henry. His Queen in Danger. § 14. Attain- 
der of the Duke of Norfolk and Execution of the Earl of Surrey. Death 
and Character of the King. 

§ 1. In 1531 a new session of Parliament was held, together 
with a convocation ; and the king here gave strong proofs of his 

M 2 



274 



HENRY VIII. 



Chap. XV. 




Reverse of gold medal of Henry VIII. Inscription in Helorew and Greek of the 
same purport as on the obverse. 

extensive authority, as well as of his intention to turn it to the 
depression of the clergy. The same law under which Wolsey had 
been prosecuted was now turned against the ecclesiastics. It was 
pretended that every one who had submitted to the legatine court, 
that is, the whole Church, had violated the statute of provisors, and 
been guilty of the offense of praemunire, and the attorney general 
accordingly brought an indictment against them. The convocation 
knew that it would be in vain to oppose reason or equity to the 
king's arbitrary will. They therefore threw themselves on the 
mercy of their sovereign, and they agreed to pay £118,840 for a 
pardon. A confession was likewise extorted from them that the 
king was the protector and the supreme head of the Church and cler- 
gy of England, though some of them had the dexterity to get a 
clause inserted which invalidated the whole submission, and which 
ran in these terms : in so far as is permitted by the law of Christ. 
By this strict execution of the statute of provisors, a great part 
of the profit, and still more of the power, of the court of Rome 
was cut off, and the connections between the Pope and the English 
clergy were in some measure dissolved. The next session found 
both king and Parliament in the same dispositions. An act was 
passed against levying the annates or first-fruits.* The better to 
keep the Pope in awe, the king was intrusted with a power of reg- 
ulating these payments, and of confirming or infringing this act at 
his pleasure ; and it was voted that any censures which should be 

* These were a year's annual income of their sees, given by all bishops 
and archbishops to the Pope, upon presentation to their preferments. They 
were one of the main sources of the papal revenue. 



A.D. 1534. HENRY'S MARRIAGE WITH ANNE BOLEYN. 275 

passed by the court of Rome on account of that law should be en- 
tirely disregarded, and that mass should be said, and the sacra- 
ments administered, as if no such censures had been issued. Aft- 
er the prorogation, Sir Thomas More, the chancellor, foreseeing 
that all the measures of the king and Parliament led to a breach 
with the Church of Rome, and to an alteration of religion, with 
which his principles would not permit him to concur, desired leave 
to resign the great seal ; and he descended from his high station 
with more joy and alacrity than he had mounted up to it. The 
king, who had entertained a high opinion of his virtue, recieved his 
resignation with some difficulty ; and he delivered the great seal 
soon after to Sir Thomas Audley (1532). 

During these transactions in England the court of Rome was not 
without solicitude; and she entertained just apprehensions of los- 
ing entirely her authority in England. Yet the queen's appeal was 
received at Rome ; the king was cited to appear ; and several 
consistories were held to examine the validity of their marriage. 
Henry declined to plead his cause before this court, and, in order to 
add greater security to his intended defection from Rome, he pro- 
cured an interview with Francis at Boulogne and Calais, where he 
renewed his personal friendship as well as public alliance with that 
monarch, and concerted all measures for their mutual defense. 
And being now fully determined in his own mind, as well as reso- 
lute to stand all consequences, he privately celebrated his marriage 
with Anne BolejTi (Jan. 25, 1533), whom he had previously created 
Marchioness of Pembroke. In the next Parliament an act was 
made against all appeals to Rome in causes of matrimony, divorces, 
wills, and other suits cognizant in ecclesiastical courts. Cranmer, 
now created Archbishop of Canterbury on the death of Warham, 
opened his court at Dunstable for examining the validity of Cath- 
erine's marriage. Catherine, who resided at Ampthill, six miles 
distant, refused to appear either in person or by proxy. Cranmer 
pronounced sentence, by which he annulled the king's marriage 
with Catherine as unlawful and invalid from the beginning (May 
23). By a subsequent sentence he ratified the marriage with Anne 
Boleyn, who soon afterward was publicly crowned queen, with all 
the pomp and dignity suited to that ceremony. To complete the 
king's satisfaction on the conclusion of this intricate and vexatious 
affair, she was safely delivered of a daughter (Sept. 7, 1533), who 
received the name of Elizabeth, and who afterward swayed the 
sceptre with such renown and felicity. The Pope, on the other 
hand, formally pronounced the judgment of Cranmer to be illegal, 
and declared Henry to be excommunicated if he adhered to it. 
"^^ 2. The quarrel between Henry and the Pope was now irrecon^ 
cilable, and the year 1534 may be considered as the era of the 



276 HENRY VIII. Chap.XV. 

separation of the English Church from liome. By several acts of 
Parliament passed in this year the papal authority in England 
was annulled ; and persons paying any regard to it incurred the 
penalties oi prcemu7iire. Monasteries were subjected to the visita- 
tion and government of the king alone ; bishops were to be ap- 
pointed by a conge d^elire from the crown, or, in case of the dean 
and chapter's refusal, by letters patent ; and no recourse was to 
be had to Kome for palls, bulls, or provisions ; the law which had 
been formerly made against paying annates or first-fruits, but 
which had been left in the king's power to suspend or enforce, 
was finally established; and a submission was exacted from the 
clergy, by which they acknowledged that convocations ought to be 
assembled by the king's authority only. The ecclesiastical courts, 
however, were allowed to subsist. Another act regulated the suc- 
cession to the crown ; the marriage of the king with Catherine was 
declared invalid ; the primate's sentence annulling it was ratified ; 
the marriage with Queen Anne was established and confirmed ; 
and the crown was appointed to descend to the issue of this mar- 
riage. All persons were liable, at the king's pleasure, to be call- 
ed upon to swear to this act ; and whosoever refused to do so was 
held to be guilty of misprision of treason.* 

The oath regarding the succession was generally taken through- 
out the kingdom. Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and Sir Thomas 
More, were the only persons of note that entertained scruples with 
regard to its legality, and both were committed prisoners to the 
Tower. The Parliament, being again assembled at the close of the 
year, declared the king "the only supreme head in earth of the 
Church of England," which title had been conferred on him by con- 
vocation three years previously. In this memorable act the Par- 
liament granted him power, or rather acknowledged his inherent 
power, " to visit, repress, redress, reform, order, correct, restrain, 
and amend all errors, heresies, contempts, and enormities which 
fell under any spiritual authority or jurisdiction." This act was 
followed by another declaring all persons to be guilty of treason 
who refused to give this title to the king. 

§ 3. Though Henry had disowned the authority of the Pope, he 
still valued himself on maintaining the Catholic doctrines, and on 
guarding, by fire and sword, the imagined purity of his tenets. His 
ministers and courtiers were of as motley a character as his con- 

* " Misprisions (a term derived from the old French mespris, a neglect or 
contempt) are, in the acceptation of our law, generally understood to be all 
sucli high offenses as are under the degree of capital, but nearly bordering 
thereon. • • . The punishment of misprision of treason is loss of the profits 
of land during life, forfeiture of goods, and imprisonment during life." — 
Kerr's Plackstone, iv., 121, 122. 



A.D. 1534. STATE OF PARTIES. 277 

duct, and seemed to waver, during his whole reign, between the an- 
cient and the new religion. The queen, engaged bj interest as 
well as inclination, favored the cause of the reformers ; Cromwell, 
who was created secretary of state, had embraced the same views ; 
and Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, had secretly adopted the 
Protestant tenets. On the other hand, the Duke of Norfolk ad- 
hered to the ancient faith ; and by his high rank, as well as by his 
talents both for peace and war, he had great authority in the 
king's council ; Gardiner, lately created Bishop of AVinchester, 
had enlisted himself in the same party. All these ministers, while 
they stood in the most irreconcilable opposition of principles to one 
another, were obliged to disguise their particular opinions, and to 
pretend an entire agreement with the sentiments of their master. 
Cromwell and Cranmer still carried the appearance of a conform- 
ity to the ancient speculative tenets, but they artfully made use 
of Henry's resentment to Aviden the breach with the see of Rome. 
The Duke of Norfolk and Gardiner feigned an assent to the 
king's supremacy and to his renunciation of the sovereign pontiff, 
but they encouraged his passion for the Catholic faith, and insti- 
gated him to punish those daring heretics who had presumed to 
reject his theological principles. The ambiguity of the king's con- 
duct, though it kept the courtiers in awe, served, in the main, to 
encourage the Protestant doctrine among his subjects. The books 
composed by Tyndale and other reformers, who had fled to Ant- 
werp, having been secretly brought over to England, began to make 
converts every where ; but it was a translation of the New Testa- 
ment published by Tyndale at Antwerp in 1526 that was esteem- 
ed the most dangerous to the established faith. The bishops gave 
private orders for buying up all the copies that could be found at 
Antwerp, and burned them publicly in Cheapside. By this silly 
measure they supplied Tyndale with money, and enabled him to 
print a new and correct edition of his work. 

Though Henry neglected not to punish the Protestant doctrine, 
which he deemed heresy, his most formidable enemies, he knew, 
were the zealous adherents to the ancient religion, chiefly the 
monks, who, having their immediate dependence on the Roman 
pontiff, apprehended their own ruin to be the certain consequence 
of abolishing his authority in England. Several were detected 
in a dangerous conspiracy. Elizabeth Barton, of Aldington, in 
Kent, commonly called the holy 3Iaid of Kent, had been subject 
to hysterical fits, which threw her body into unusual convulsions ; 
and having produced an equal disorder in her mind, made her ut- 
ter strange sayings, which silly people in the neighborhood imag- 
ined to be supernatural. Richard Masters, vicar of the parish, 
having associated with him Dr. Bocking, a canon of Canterbury, 



278 HENRY VIII. . Chap. XV. 

resolved to take advantage of this delusion. They taught their 
penitent to declaim against the new doctrines, which she denom- 
inated heresy ; against innovations in ecclesiastical government ; 
and against the king's intended divorce from Catherine. Many 
monks throughout England entered into the scheme ; and even 
Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, though a man of sense and learning, 
was carried away by an opinion so favorable to the party which 
he had espoused. The Maid of Kent had been allowed for some 
years to continue her course ; but, after the king's marriage with 
Anne Boleyn, she predicted his death, and pronounced him to be 
in the condition of Saul after his rejection. Henry at last began 
to think the matter worthy of his attention ; and Elizabeth her- 
self, Masters, Bocking, and others, suffered for their crime (1534). 

§ 4. Fisher had lain in prison above a twelvemonth, when 
Paul III., who had now succeeded to the papal throne, willing to 
recompense the sufferings of so faithful an adherent, created him 
a cardinal. This promotion of a man merely for his opposition to 
royal authority roused the indignation of the king. Fisher was in- 
dicted for high treason because he refused to acknowledge the 
king's supremacy ; was tried, condemned, and beheaded (June 22, 
1535). More was condemned for the same offense, and was ex- 
ecuted on July 6. He had long expected this fate, and needed no 
preparation to fortify him against the terrors of death. Not only 
his constancy, but even his cheerfulness, nay, his usual facetious- 
ness, never forsook him ; and he made a sacrifice of his life to his 
integrity, with the same indifference that he maintained in any or- 
dinary occurrence. When he was mounting the scaffold, he said 
to one, " Friend, help me up ; when I come down again, I can shift 
for myself." The executioner asked him forgiveness ; he granted 
the request, but told him, "You will never get credit by beheading 
me, my neck is so short." Then laying his head on the block, he 
bade the executioner stay till he put aside his beard; "for," said 
he, " it never committed treason." Nothing was wanting to the 
glory of this end except a better cause. 

The execution of Fisher, a cardinal, was regarded by the Pope 
as so capital an injury, that he immediately drew up his celebrated 
bull of interdict and deposition. The bull was suspended for a 
time through the interference of the French king, and was not is- 
sued till three years afterward. Meantime an incident happened 
in England which promised a more amicable conclusion of those 
disputes, and seemed even to open the way for a reconciliation be- 
tween Henry and Charles. Queen Catherine was seized with a 
lingering illness, which at last brought her to her grave. She died 
at ivimbolton, in the county of Huntingdon, in the 50th year of 
her age (Jan. 7, 1536). A little before she expired, she wrote a 



A.D. 1534-1536. DEATH OF QUEEN CATHERINE. 279 

very tender letter to the king. She told him that, as the hour of 
her death was now approaching, she laid hold of this last opportu- 
nity to inculcate on him the importance of his religious duty, and 
the comparative emptiness of all human grandeur and enjoyment; 
that she forgave him all past injuries, and hoped that his pardon 
Avould be ratified in heaven ; and that she had no other request to 
make, than to recommend to him his daughter, the sole pledge of 
their loves ; and to crave his protection for her maids and serv- 
ants. She concluded with these words : "I make this vow, that 
mine eyes desire you above all things." The king w^as touched, 
even to the shedding of tears, by this last tender proof of Cather- 
ine's affection ; but Queen Anne is said to have expressed her joy 
for the death of a rival beyond what decency or humanity could 
permit. After this event the emperor did indeed send proposals 
to Henry for a return to their ancient amity. Charles was now 
engaged in a desperate war with France ; but an invasion which 
he made in person into Provence, and another on the side of the 
Netherlands, were repulsed ; and Henry, finding that his own tran- 
quillity was fully insured by these violent wars and animosities on 
the Continent, was the more indifferent to the advances of the 
emperor. 

§ 5. Immediately after the execution of More the king proceeded 
to execute a design he had formed to suppress the monasteries, and 
to put himself in possession of their ample revenues, a practice of 
which Wolsey had first set the example, by suppressing some re- 
ligious houses, in order to found w^th the money so obtained Car- 
dinal College, Oxford, now Christ Church. Cromwell, secretary 
of state, had been appointed vicar general, or vicegerent ; a new of- 
fice, by which the king's supremacy, or the absolute uncontrollable 
power assumed over the Church, was delegated to him ; and he 
employed commissioners, who carried on, every w^here, a rigorous 
inquiry with regard to the conduct and deportment of the friars 
and nuns. They made a report, charging the religious houses with 
all kinds of immorality, and this report, commonly called the Blade 
Booh, was laid upon the table of the House of Commons in 1536. 
The larger monasteries, which had not been guilty of such gross 
immorality, were allowed to remain ; but the Parliament passed 
an act suppressing the lesser monasteries, which possessed revenues 
below £200 a year. By this act 376 monasteries were suppressed, 
and their revenues, amounting to £32,000 a year, were granted to 
the king, besides then- goods, chattels, and plate, computed at 
£100,000 more. 

This Parliament completed the union of Wales with England ; 
the separate jurisdiction of several great lords, or marchers, as they 
were called, which obstructed the course of justice in Wales, and 



280^ HENRY Vlir. Chap. XV. 

encouraged robbery and pillaging, was abolished ; and the author- 
ity of the king's courts was extended every where (1536). This 
Parliament, which had sat from 1529 — the first Parliament of the 
Reformation — was now dissolved. 

The same year was marked by the tragic fate of the new queen. 
She had been delivered of a dead son ; and Henry's extreme fond- 
ness for male issue being thus, for the present, disappointed, his 
temper, equally violent and superstitious, was disposed to make the 
innocent mother answerable for the misfortune. But the chief 
means which Anne's enemies employed to inflame the king against 
her was his jealousy ; and the Viscountess of Rochfort, in particu- 
lar, who was married to the queen's brother, but who lived on bad 
terms with her sister-in-law, insinuated the most cruel suspicions 
in the king's mind. Henry's love, too, was transferred to another 
object. Jane, daughter of Sir John Seymour, and maid of honor 
to the queen, a young lady of singular beauty and merit, had ob- 
tained an entire ascendant over him, and he was determined to 
sacrifice every thing to the gratification of this new appetite. The 
queen was sent to the Tower on May 2, and four of her alleged 
paramours, Norris, Brereton, Weston, and Smeton, gentlemen 
about the court, were tried and executed, though no legal evidence 
was produced against them. Smeton was prevailed on, by the 
vain hopes of life, to confess a criminal correspondence with the 
queen ; but even her enemies expected little advantage from this 
confession, for they never dared to confront him with her. Her 
own brother, the Viscount Rochfort, was accused of a criminal con- 
nection with her. The queen and her brother were tried by a jury 
of peers, over which their uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, presided as 
high steward. Upon what proof or pretense the crime of incest 
was imputed to them is unknown, but judgment was given against 
both. Henry, not satisfied with this cruel vengeance, was resolved 
entirely to annul his marriage with Anne Boleyn, and to declare 
her issue illegitimate. And on the ground that before the mar- 
riage of the king she had been contracted to Lord Percy, then the 
Earl of Northumberland, Cranmer pronounced the marriage null 
and invalid. The queen now prepared for suffering the death to 
which she was sentenced. She sent her last message to the king, 
and acknowledged the obligations which she owed him in his uni- 
formly continuing his endeavors for her advancement ; from a pri- 
vate gentlewoman, she said, he had first made her a marchioness, 
then a queen, and now, since he could raise her no higher in this 
world, he was sending her to be a saint in heaven. She then re- 
newed the protestations of her innocence, and recommended her 
daughter to his care. Before the Lieutenant of the Tower, and . 
all who approached her, she made the like declarations ; and con- 



A.D. 1536. EXECUTION OF ANNE BOLEYN. 281 

tinned to behave herself with her usual serenity, and even with 
cheerfulness. " The executioner," she said to the lieutenant, " is, 
I hear, very expert, and my neck is veiy slender ;" upon which she 
grasped it in her hand, and smiled. She was executed May 17. 
The innocence of this unfortunate queen can not reasonably be 
called in question.* But the king made the most effectual apol- 
ogy for her by marrying Jane Seymour on the third day after her 
execution. The trial and conviction of Queen Anne, and the sub- 
sequent events, rendered it necessary for the king to summon a 
new Parliament, by which his divorce from Anne Boleyn was rati- 
fied ; the issue oflDoth his former marriages were declared illegiti- 
mate ; the crown was settled on the king's issue by Jane Seymour, 
or any subsequent wife ; and, in case he should die without chil- 
dren, he was empowered, by his will or letters patent, to dispose 
of the crown : an enormous authority, especially when intrusted 
to a prince so violent and capricious in his humor. 

In the same year (1536) the first complete copy of the English 
Bible was printed, dedicated to Henry VIII., by whom it was 
ordered to be placed in every parish church in England. It was 
based upon Tyndale's translation, and was executed by Miles 
Coverdale. 

§ 6. The late innovations, particularly the dissolution of the 
smaller monasteries, and the imminent clanger to which the rest 
were exposed, had bred discontent among the people, and had dis- 
posed them to revolt. The first rising was in Lincolnshire, and 
was put down without much difficulty. A subsequent insurrec- 
tion in the northern counties was more formidable, and was joined 
by about 40,000 men. One Aske, a gentleman of Doncaster, had 
taken the command of them, and he possessed the art of govern- 
ing the populace. Their enterprise they called the Pilgrimag'e of 
Grace ; some priests marched before in the habits of their order, 
carrying crosses in their hands ; in their banners was woven a cru- 
cifix, with the representation of a chalice, and of the five wounds 
of Christ. They all took an oath that they had entered into the 
pilgrimage of grace from no other motive than their love to God, 
their desire of driving base-born persons from about the king, of 
restoring the Church, and of suppressing heresy. The rebels pre- 
vailed in taking both Hull and York, as well as Pomfret Castle, 
into which the Archbishop of York and Lord Darcy had thrown 

* Lingard, Sharon Turner, and, more recently, Mr. Eroude, have main- 
tained the guilt of Anne Boleyn ; but Mr. Hallam's au.thority {Constit. Hist., 
i., 31) may be quoted on the other side. Mr. Froude seems to think that 
the verdicts of the juries and the decision of the peers settle the question; 
but we have too much evidence of their subserviency to the court during the 
reigns of the Tudors to attach much weight to their authority. 



282 HENRY VIII. Chap. XV. 

themselves ; and the prelate and the nobleman, who secretly wish- 
ed success to the insurrection, seemed to yield to the force imposed 
on them, and joined the rebels. They were, however, at length dis- 
persed, partly by the negotiations of the Duke of Norfolk, who had 
been sent against them, and partly by the swelling of a small river, 
which prevented them from attacking the king's forces. Norfolk, 
by command from his master, spread the royal banner, and, wher- 
ever he thought proper, executed martial law in the punishment 
of offenders. Besides Aske, several noblemen and gentlemen were 
thrown into prison, and most of them condemned and executed. 
Lord Darcy, though he pleaded compulsion, and appealed for his 
justification to a long life spent in the service of the crown, was 
beheaded on Tower Hill (1537). Soon after this prosperous suc- 
cess, an event happened which crowned Henry's joy — the birth of 
a son, who was baptized by the name of Edward (Oct. 12). Yet 
. was not his happiness without alloy : the queen died a few days 
after (Oct. 24). 

Henry's success in putting down the great rebellion in the north 
strengthened him in his determination of suppressing the larger 
monasteries. The abbots and monks knew the danger to which 
they were exposed, and having learned, by the example of the 
lesser monasteries, that nothing could withstand the king's will, 
they were most of them induced, in expectation of better treatment, 
to make a voluntary resignation of their houses. Where promises 
failed of effect, menaces, and even extreme violence, were employ- 
ed ; and, on the whole, the design was conducted with such suc- 
cess that in less than two years the king had got possession of all 
the monastic revenues. The better to reconcile the people to this 
great innovation, stories were propagated of the detestable lives of 
the friars in many of the convents. The relics also, and other su- 
perstitions, which had so long been the object of the people's ven- 
eration, were exposed to their ridicule ; and the religious spirit, 
now less bent on exterior observances and sensible objects, was en- 
couraged in this new direction. Of all the instruments of ancient 
superstition, no one was so zealously destroyed as the shrine of 
Thomas a Becket, commonly called St. Thomas of Canterbury. 
Henry not only pillaged the rich shrine dedicated to St. Thomas ; 
he ordered his name to be struck out of the calendar ; the office 
for his festival to be expunged from all breviaries ; his bones to be 
burned, and the ashes to be thrown into the air. On the whole, 
the king at different times suppressed 645 monasteries, of which 
28 had abbots that enjoyed a seat in Parliament; 90 colleges 
were demolished in several counties, 2374 chantries and free chap- 
els, 110 hospitals. The whole revenue of these establishments 
amounted to £161,100. Henry settled pensions on the abbots 



A.D. 1536-1539. HENRY EXCOMMUNICATED. 283 

and priors proportioned to their former revenues or to their mer- 
its ; he erected six new bishoprics — Westminster, Oxford, Peter- 
borough, Bristol, Chester, and Gloucester — of which five subsist 
at this day ; and he made a gift of the revenues of some of the 
convents to his courtiers and favorites, or sold them at low prices. 
Besides the lands possessed by the monasteries, the regular clergy 
enjoyed a considerable part of the benefices of England, and of the 
tithes annexed to them ; and these were also at this time transfer- 
red to the crown, and by that means passed into the hands of lay- 
men. 

§ 7. It is easy to imagine the indignation with which the intelli- 
gence of all these acts of violence was received at Rome. The 
Pope was at last incited to publish the bull which had been passed 
against the king ; and in a public manner he delivered over his soul 
to the devil, and his dominions to the first invader (1538). Henry's 
kinsman. Cardinal Reginald Pole,* published a treatise of the Uni- 
ty of the Church, in which he inveighed against the king's suprem- 
acy, his divorce, his second marriage ; and he even exhorted the 
emperor to revenge on him the injury done to the imperial family 
and to the Catholic cause. Henry seized all the members of Pole's 
family in England, together with other persons of high rank. 
They were accused of treason ; and several were executed, among 
whom was Lord Montague, the cardinal's brother, and the Mar- 
quis of Exeter, the grandson of Edward IV. f (1539). Others were 
attainted without trial, which was the fate of the Countess of Salis- 
bury, the aged mother of the cardinal. 

§ 8. Although Henry had gradually been changing the tenets of 
that theological system in which he had been educated, he was no 
less positive and dogmatical in the few articles which remained to 
him than if the whole fabric had continued entire and unshaken. 
He attached particular importance to the doctrine of the real pres- 
ence ; and he informed the Parliament, summoned in 1539, that 
he was anxious to extirpate from his kingdom all diversity of 
opinion on matters of religion. The Parliament, subservient as 
usual to the wishes of the king, passed an act for this purpose, 
usually called The Statute of the Six Articles, or the bloody bill, as 
the Protestants justly termed it. In this law the doctrine of the 

* Reginald Pole was the second son of the Countess of Salisbiuy, daugh- 
ter of the Duke of Clarence executed by Edward IV. Her only brother, 
the Earl of Warwick, was put to death by Henry VII. (See p. 250.) She 
was made Countess of Salisbury in her own right, a title which descended 
to her from her grandfather, the Earl of Warwick and Salisbury, the cele- 
brated king-maker. After her brother's death she married Sir Richard 
Pole, a relation of Henry VII. 

f He was the son of the Earl of Devon, and of Catherine, a daughter of 
Edward IV. 



284 HENRY VIII. Ch-ap. XV. 

real presence was established, the communion in one kind, the per- 
petual obligation of vows of chastity, the utility of private masses, 
the celibacy of the clergy, and the necessity of auricular confession. 
Whoever denied these articles of faith was subject to be burned, or 
to other severe and cruel punishments. This law was a great 
blow to Cranmer and the Protestant partyo Cranmer had had the 
courage to oppose the bill in the House ; and though the king de- 
sired him to absent himself, he could not be prevailed on to give 
this proof of compliance. He was, however, now obliged, in obe- 
dience to the statute, to dismiss his wife ; and Henry, satisfied 
with this proof of submission, showed him his former countenance 
and favor. The Parliament, having thus resigned all their relig- 
ious liberties, proceeded to an entire surrender of their civil ; and, 
without scruple or deliberation, they made by one act a total sub- 
version of the English Constitution. They gave to the king's 
proclamation the same force as to a statute enacted by Parliament ; 
and to render the matter worse, if possible, they framed this law 
as if it were only declaratory, and were intended to explain the 
natural extent of royal authority. 

As soon as the act of the Six Articles had passed, the Catholics 
were extremely vigilant in informing against offenders, and no less 
than 500 persons were in a little time thrown into prison. Lat- 
imer and Shaxton, the Protestant bishops, were also imprisoned, 
and compelled to resign their bishoprics ; but Cromwell, who had 
not had interest to prevent that act, was able for the present to 
elude its execution. Seconded by the Duke of Suffolk and Chan- 
cellor Audley, as well as by Cranmer, he remonstrated against the 
cruelty of punishing so many delinquents, and he obtained per- 
mission to set them at liberty. The uncertainty of the king's hu- 
mor gave each party an opportunity of triumphing in its turn. 
No sooner had Henry passed this law, which seemed to inflict so 
deep a wound on the Reformers, than he granted a general per- 
mission for every one to have the new translation of the Bible in 
his family — a concession regarded by that party as an important 
victory, 

§ 9. Immediately after the death of Jane Seymour, the most 
beloved of all his wives, Henry began to think of a new marriage. 
Cromwell, who was anxious to connect Henry with the Protestant 
princes on the Continent, proposed to him Anne of Cleves, whose 
father, the duke of that name, had great interest among the Lu- 
therans, and whose sister Sibylla was married to the Elector of 
Saxony, the head of the Protestant league. A flattering picture 
of the princess by Hans Holbein determined Henry to apply to 
her father; and, after some negotiation, the marriage was con- 
cluded, and Anne was sent over to England. The king, impatient 



A.D. 1539, 1540. FALL OF CROMWELL. 285 

to be satisfied with regard to the person of his bride, came pri- 
vately to Rochester and got a sight at her. He found her utter- 
ly destitute both of beauty and grace, very unlike the pictures 
and representations which he had received, and he swore he nev- 
er could possibly bear her any affection. The matter was worse 
Avhen he found that she could speak no language but Dutch, of 
which he was entirely ignorant, and that the charms of her con- 
versation were not likely to compensate for the homeliness of her 
person. It was the subject of debate among the king's counsel- 
ors whether the marriage could not yet be dissolved, and the prin- 
cess be sent back to her own country ; but, as a cordial union had 
taken place between the emperor and the King of France, and as 
their religious zeal might prompt them to fall with combined arms 
upon England, an alliance with the German princes seemed now 
more than ever requisite for Henry's interest and safety; and he 
knew that, if he sent back the Princess of Cleves, such an affront 
would be highly resented by her friends and family. He was 
therefore resolved, notwithstanding his aversion to her, to complete 
the marriage, and he told Cromwell that, since matters had gone 
so far, he must put his neck into the yoke (Jan. 6, 1540). He 
continued, however, to be civil to Anne ; he even seemed to re- 
pose his usual confidence in Cromwell, who received soon after 
the title of Earl of Essex, and was installed Knight of the Gar- 
ter, but, though he exerted this command over himself, a discon- 
tent lay lurking in his breast, and was ready to burst out at the 

first opportunity. = 

§ 10. The fall of Cromwell was hastened by other causes. All 
the nobihty hated a man who, being of such low extraction, had 
not only mounted above them by his station of vicar general, but 
had engrossed many of the other considerable offices of the crown. 
The people were averse to him as the supposed author of the vio- 
lence on the monasteries, establishments which were still revered 
and beloved by the commonalty. The Catholics regarded him as 
the concealed enemy of their religion ; the Protestants, observing 
his exterior concurrence with all the persecutions exercised against 
them, were inclined to bear him as little favor, and reproached 
him with the timidity, if not treachery, of his conduct. The 
Duke of Norfolk, who had long been at enmity with Cromwell, 
obtained a commission from the king to arrest him at the council- 
table, on an accusation of high treason, and to commit him to the 
Tower. Immediately after a bill of attainder was framed against 
him, and passed by both houses. Cromwell was accused of her- 
esy and treason ; but the proofs of his treasonable practices are 
utterly improbable, and even absolutely ridiculous. He endeavor- 
ed to soften the king by the most humble supplications, but all to 



286 HENRY VIII. Chap. XV. 

no purpose ; and he was executed on July 28, 1540. He was a 
man of prudence, industry, and abilities worthy of a better master 
and of a better fate. 

The measures for divorcing Henry from Anne of Cleves were 
carried on at the same time with the bill of attainder against 
Cromwell. The convocation soon afterward solemnly annulled 
the marriage between the king and queen, chiefly on the futile 
ground of a pre-contract between Anne and the Marquis of Lor- 
raine, when both were children ; the Parliament ratified the de- 
cision of the clergy ; and the sentence was soon after notified to 
the princess. Anne was blessed with a happy insensibility of tem- 
per, and willingly hearkened to terms of accommodation. When 
the king offered to adopt her as his sister, to give her place next 
the queen and his own daughter, and to make a settlement of 
£3000 a year upon her, she accepted of the conditions, and gave 
her consent to the divorce.* 

§ 11. Henry's marriage with Catherine Howard, the niece of 
the Duke of Norfolk, followed soon afterward (July 28, 1540), 
and was regarded by the Catholics as a favorable incident to their 
party. The king's councils being now directed by Norfolk and 
Gardiner, a furious persecution commenced against the Protest- 
ants, and the law of the Six Articles was executed with rigor. 
While Henry was exerting his violence against the Protestants, 
he spared not the Catholics who denied his supremacy ; and a for- 
eigner at that time in England had reason to say that those who 
were against the Pope were burned, and those who were for him 
were hanged. The king even displayed in an ostentatious man- 
ner this tyrannical impartiality, which reduced both parties to 
subjection ; and Catholics and Protestants were carried on the 
same hurdles to execution. In the following year an inconsider- 
able rebellion broke out in Yorkshire, but was soon suppressed. 
The rebels were supposed to have been instigated by the intrigues 
of Cardinal Pole ; and the king instantly determined to make the 
Countess of Salisbury, who had been attainted two years previous- 
ly, suffer for her son's offenses. This venerable matron, the de- 
scendant of a long race of monarchs, was executed on the green 
within the Tower on May 27, 1541. 

The king thought himself very happy in his new marriage : the 
agreeable person and disposition of Catherine had entirely capti- 
vated his affections, and he made no secret of his devoted attach- 
ment to her ; but he discovered shortly afterward that she had 
led a dissolute life before her marriage, and he strongly suspected 
that she had been guilty of incontinence since. Two of her par-' 

* Anne of Cleves continued to live in England, and died at Chelsea in 
1557. 



A.D. 1540-1543. WAR WITH SCOTLAND. 287 

amours were tried and executed ; and a bill of attainder for trea- 
son was forthwith passed against the queen and the Viscountess 
of Rochfort, who had conducted her secret amours. They were 
both beheaded on Tower Hill, Feb. 12, 1542. As Lady Roch- 
fbrt was known to be the chief instrument in bringing Anne Bo- 
leyn to her end, she died unpitied. The guilt of Queen Catherine 
both before and after her marriage can not admit of doubt. 

§ 12. Toward the close of this year (1542) a war broke out 
between England and Scotland. James V., King of Scots, was 
under the influence of the Catholic party, and encouraged his sub- 
jects to make depredations upon the English border. Hemy pro- 
claimed war against James, and appointed the Duke of Norfolk, 
whom he called the scourge of the Scots, to the command. It 
was too late in the season to make more than a foray; and the 
Duke of Norfolk, after laying waste to the Scottish border, return- 
ed to Berwick. James sent an army of 10,000 men into Cumber- 
land to revenge this insult ; but they were without organization, 
and being suddenly attacked by a small body of English, not ex- 
ceeding 500 men, near the Solway (Nov. 25, 1542), a panic seized 
them, and they immediately took to flight. Few were killed in 
this rout, for it was no action, but a great many were taken pris- 
oners, and some of the principal nobility. The King of Scots, 
hearing of this disaster, was astonished ; and being naturally of a 
melancholic disposition, he abandoned himself wholly to despair. 
His body was wasted by sympathy with his anxious mind ; he had 
no male issue living ; and hearing that his queen was safely de- 
livered, he asked whether she had brought him a male or a female 
child. Being told the latter, he turned himself in his bed; "The 
crown came with a woman," said he, " and it will go with one." 
A few days after he expired (Dec. 14, 1542), in the flower of his 
age. 

Henry was no sooner informed of the death of his nephew than 
he projected the scheme of uniting Scotland to his own dominions 
by marrying his son Edward to James's infant daughter, the heir- 
ess of that kingdom, afterward celebrated as Mary, Queen of Scots. 
A treaty was nearly concluded with the regent, the Earl of Ar- 
ran, to this effect ; but shortly afterward the Cardinal Beaton, the 
head of the Catholic party in Scotland, caused Henry's offer to be 
rejected, and entered into a close alliance with France. This con- 
firmed Henry in the resolution which he had already taken of 
breaking with France, and of uniting his arms with those of the 
emperor. A league was formed by which the two monarchs 
agreed to enter Francis's dominions mth an army each of 25,000 
men (Feb. 11, 1543). This league seemed favorable to the Ro- 
man Catholic party; but, on the other hand, Henry soon after- 



288 HENRY VUl. Chap. XV. 

ward (July 12) married Catherine Parr, widow of Lord Latimer, 
a woman of virtue, and somewhat inclined to the new doctrine ; 
and thus matters remained still nearly balanced between the fac- 
tions. But this confederacy between Henry and Charles led to 
no important results. The share taken by the English in the cam- 
paign of 1543 was quite inconsiderable. In the following year 
the two princes agreed to invade France with large armaments, 
and to join their forces at Paris. Accordingly, Henry landed at 
Calais with 30,000 men, who were joined by 14,000 Flemings, 
while the emperor invaded the northeastern frontiers of France 
with an army of 60,000 men ; but nothing important was effect- 
ed. Henry, instead of marching to Paris, wasted his time in be- 
sieging Boulogne and Montreuil, while Charles, who had employ- 
ed himself in capturing some towns on the Meuse and the Marne, 
subsequently advanced toward Paris. The season was thus 
wasted ; both princes reproached each other with a breach of en- 
gagement ; the emperor concluded a separate peace with Francis 
at Crepy, in which the name of his ally was not even mentioned ; 
and Henry was obliged to retire into England, with the small suc- 
cess of having captured Boulogne. The war was prolonged two 
years between England and France. Li 1545 the French made 
great preparations for the invasion of England. A French fleet 
appeared off St. Helen's, in the Isle of Wight, but returned to 
their own coasts without effecting any thing of importance. In 
1546 Henry sent over a body of troops to Calais, and some skir- 
mishes of small moment ensued. But both parties were now 
weary of a war from which neither could entertain much hope of 
advantage, and on the 7th of June a peace was concluded. The 
chief conditions were that Henry should retain Boulogne during 
eight years, or till the debt due by Francis should be paid : thus 
all that he obtained was a bad and chargeable security for a debt 
that did not amount to a third part of the expenses of the war. 

§ 13. Francis took care to comprehend Scotland in the treaty. 
In that country the indolent and unambitious Arran had gone over 
to Beaton's party, and even reconciled himself to the Romish com- 
munion. The cardinal had thus acquired a complete ascendant ; 
the opposition was now led by the Earl of Lenox, who was regard- 
ed by the Protestants as the head of their party, and who, after 
an ineffectual attempt to employ force, was obliged to lay down 
his arms and await the arrival of English succors. In 1543 Hen- 
ry dispatched a fleet and army to Scotland. Edinburgh was 
taken and burned, and the eastern parts of the country devastated. 
The Earl of Arran collected some forces ; but, finding that the 
English were already departed, he turned them against Lenox, 
who, after making some resistance, was obliged to fly into En- 



A.D. 1543, 1544 HENRY'S THEOLOGICAL DOGMATISM. 289 

gland. In 1544 and 1545 the war with Scotland was conducted 
feeblv and with various success, and was siomalized on both sides 
rather by the ills inflicted on the enemy than by any considerable 
advantage gained by either party. Thus Henry was by no means 
indisposed to conclude a peace with that country also. 

The king, now freed from all foreign wars, had leisure to give 
his attention to domestic affairs, particularly tg the establishment 
of uniformity in opinion, on which he was so intent. Though he 
allowed an English translation of the Bible, he had hitherto been 
very careful to keep the mass in Latin; but in 1544 he ordered 
that the Litany, a considerable part of the service, should be cele- 
brated in the vulgar tongue ; and in the following year he added 
a collection of English prayers for morning and evening service, 
to be used in the place of the Breviary. By these innovations 
he excited anew the hopes of the Reformers ; but the pride and 
peevishness of the king, irritated by his declining state of health, 
impelled him to punish with fresh severity all who presumed to 
entertain a different opinion from himself, particularly in the cap- 
ital point of the real presence. Anne Ascue, a young woman of 
merit as well as beauty, accused of dogmatizing on that delicate 
article, was condemned to be burned alive ; and others were sen- 
tenced for the same crime to the same punishment. The queen 
herself, being secretly inclined to the principles of the Reformers, 
and having unwarily betrayed too much of her mind in her con- 
versations with Henry, fell into great danger. At the instigation 
of Bishop Gardiner, seconded by the religious bigotry of 'the Chan- 
cellor AVriothesley, articles of impeachment were actually drawn 
up against her ; but Catherine, having by some means learned 
this proceeding, averted the peril by her address. Henry having 
renewed his theological arguments, the queen gently declined the 
conversation, and remarked that such profound speculations were 
ill suited to the imbecility of her sex ; that the wife's duty was 
in all cases to adopt implicitly the sentiments of her husband ; 
and as to herself, it was doubly her duty, being blessed with a hus- 
band who was qualified, by his judgment and learning, not only 
to choose principles for his own family, but for the most wise and 
knowing of every nation. "Not so! by St. Mary," replied the 
king ; " you are now become a doctor, Kate, and better fitted to 
give than receive instruction." She meekly replied that she was 
sensible how little she was entitled to these praises, and declared 
that she had ventured sometimes to feign a contrariety of senti- 
ments merely in order to give him the pleasure of refuting her. 
"And is it so, sweetheart?" replied the king ; "then are we per- 
fect friends again." He embraced her with great affection, and 
sent her away with assurances of his protection and kindness, 

N 



290 HENRY VIII. Chap. XV. 

When the chancellor came the next day to convey her to the 
Tower, the king dismissed him with the appellations oi knave, fool, 
and beast.* 

§ 14. Henry's tyrannical disposition, soured by ill health, vented 
itself soon afterward on the Duke of Norfolk, and his son, the Earl 
of Surrey, chiefly through the prejudices which he entertained 
against the latter, on the pretext that they were meditating to 
seize the crown. Surrey was a young man of the most promising 
hopes, and had distinguished himself by every accomplishment 
which became a scholar, a courtier, and a soldier. His spirit and 
ambition were equal to his talents and his quality, and he did not 
always regulate his conduct by the caution and reserve which his 
situation required. The king, somewhat displeased with his con- 
duct as Governor of Boulogne, had sent the Earl of Hertford! to 
command in his place, and Surrey was so imprudent as to drop 
some menacing expressions against the ministers on account of 
this affront which was put upon him. And as he had refused to 
marry Hertford's daughter, and even waived every other proposal 
of marriage, Henry imagined that he had entertained views of es- 
pousing the Lady Mary ; and he was instantly determined to re- 
press, by the most severe expedients, so dangerous an ambition. 
Private orders were given to arrest Norfolk and Surrey, and 
they were on the same day confined in the Tower. Surrey be- 
ing a commoner, his trial was the more expeditious ; he was con- 
demned for high treason, and the sentence was soon after ex- 
ecuted upon him (Jan. 19, 1547). The innocence of the Duke of 
Norfolk was still, if possible, more apparent than that of his son, 
and his services to the crown had been greater ; yet the House 
of Peers, without examining the prisoner, without trial or evidence, 
passed a bill of attainder against him, and sent it down to the 
Commons. The king was now approaching fast toward his end ; 
and fearing lest Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message to 
the Commons, by which he desired them to hasten the bill ; and 
having affixed the royal assent by commission, issued orders for the 
execution of Norfolk on the morning of January 28, 1547. But 
news being carried to the Tower that the king himself had expired 
that night, the lieutenant deferred obeying the warrant, and it was 
not thought advisable by the council to begin a new reign by the 
death of the greatest nobleman in the kingdom, who had been con- 
demned by a sentence so unjust and tyrannical. 

Shortly before his death the king desired that Cranmer might 

* It should be observed, however^hat this well-known tale^rests on the 
authority of Fox, and is not mentioned by any contemporary authority. 

f Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, Avas the brother of Jane Seymour, 
Henrv's third wife. 



A.D. 1546-1547. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF THE KING. 291 

be sent for ; but before the prelate arrived he was speechless, 
though he still seemed to retain his senses. Cranmer desired him 
to give some sign of his dying in the faith of Christ : he squeezed 
the prelate's hand, and immediately expired, after a reign of 37 
years and 9 months, and in the 56th year of his age. In January, 
1544, the king had caused the Parliament to pass a law declaring 
the Prince of Wales, or any of his male issue, first and immediate 
heirs of the crown, and restoring the two princesses, Mary and 
Elizabeth, to their right of succession ; and he left a will coniirm- 
ing this destination. The act of Parliament had made no arrange- 
ment in case of the failure of issue by Henry's children ; but the 
king, by his will, provided that the next heirs to the crown were 
the descendants of his sister Mary, the late Duchess of Suffolk, 
passing over entirely the Scottish line. 

It is difficult to give a just summary of this prince's qualities : 
he was so different from himself in different parts of his reign, 
that, as is well remarked by Lord' Herbert, his history is his best 
character and description. He possessed great vigor of mind, 
which qualified him for exercising dominion over men ; courage, 
intrepidity, vigilance, inflexibility ; and, though these qualities lay 
not always under the guidance of a regular and solid judgment, 
they were accompanied with good parts and an extensive capac- 
ity ; and every one dreaded a contest with a man who was known 
never to yield or to forgive, and who, in every controversy, was 
determined either to ruin himself or his antagonist. A catalogue 
of his vices would comprehend many of the Avorst qualities inci- 
dent to human nature : violence, cruelty, profusion, rapacity, in- 
justice, obstinacy, arrogance, bigotry, presumption, caprice ; but 
neither was he subject to all these vices in the most extreme de- 
gree, nor was he at intervals altogether destitute of virtue : he was 
sincere, open, gallant, liberal, and capable at least of a temporary 
friendship and attachment. It may seem a little extraordinary 
that, notwithstanding his cruelty, his extortion, his violence, his 
arbitrary administration, this prince not only acquired the regard 
of his subjects, but never was the object of their hatred ; he seems 
even, in some degree, to have possessed to the last their love and 
affection. His exterior qualities were advantageous, and fit to 
captivate the multitude, while his magnificence and personal brav- 
ery rendered him illustrious in viilgar eyes. 

Henry, as he possessed himself some talent for letters, was an 
encourager of them in others. He founded Trinity College in 
Cambridge, and gave it ample endowments. Wolsey founded 
Christ Church in Oxford, and intended to call it Cardinal Col- 
lege ; but upon his fall, which happened before he had entirely 
finished his scheme, the king seized all the revenues, which, how- 



292 



HENRY Vlir. 



Chap. XV. 



ever, he afterward restored, and only changed the name of the col- 
lege. The cardinal founded in Oxford the first chair for teach- 
ing Greek. The countenance given to letters by this king and 
his ministers contributed to render learning fashionable in En- 
gland. Erasmus speaks with great satisfaction of the general re- 
gard paid by the nobility and gentry to men of knowledge. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1513. 
1515. 
1520. 

1521. 

1529. 

1530. 
1533, 



1534. 
1535. 



Battle of Flodden Field. 

Wolsey cardinal and chancellor. 

Interview between Henry and Francis 
I. at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. 

The king receives the title of '^De- 
fender of the Faith." 

Trial of Heniy's suit for a divorce 
from Catherine of Aragon. 

Death of Cardinal Wolsey. 

Henry marries Anne Boleyn. Cran- 
mer pronounces the king's divorce 
from Catherine of Aragon. Birth of 
Queen Elizabeth. 

The papal power abrogated in England. 

Execution of Bishop Fisher and Sir 
Thomas More. 



A.D. 

1536. 



1.53T. 
1539. 
1510. 



1542. 
1543. 
1544. 
1547. 



Wales incorporated with England and 
subjected to the English laws. Anne 
Boleyn executed. Henry marries 
Jane Seymour. 

Birth of Edward VI. 

Law of the Six Articles passed. 

Henry marries Anne of Cleves. At- 
tainder and execution of Cromwell. 
Divorce of Anne of Cleves. Heniy 
marries Catherine Howard. 

Catherine Howard executed. 

The king mai'ries Catherine Parr. 

Capture of Boulogne. 

Execution of Surrey. Death of the 
king. 




Shilling of Edward VI. 

ObV. : EDVVAED . VI. D. G . AGL . FRA . Z . HIB . EEX . Bust tO right. 

Eev. : TIMOR : domini : fo>'s : vite [sic] m : d . slis. Arms of England. In field e b. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
EDWARD VI. A.D, 1547-1553. 

§ 1. State of the Regency. Hertford Protector. §2. Reformation estab- 
lished. Gardiner's Opposition. § 3. War with Scotland. Battle of 
Pinkie. § 4. Proceedings in Parliament. Progress of the Reformation. 
Affairs of Scotland. § 5. Cabals of Lord Seymour. His Execution. 
§ 6. Ecclesiastical Affairs. Protestant Persecutions. Joan Bocher. 
§ 7. Discontents of the People. Insurrections in Devonshire and Nor- 
folk. War with Scotland and France. § 8. Factions in the Council. 
Somerset resigns the Protectorship. § 9, Peace with France and Scot- 
land, Ecclesiastical Affairs. § 10. Ambition of Northumberland. Trial 
and Execution of Somerset. § 11. Northumberland changes the Suc- 
cession. Death of the King. 

§ 1. The late king had fixed the majority of the prince at the 
completion of his 18th year; and as Edward was then only in 
his 10th year, he appointed 16 executors, to whom, during the mi- 
nority, he intrusted the government of the king and kingdom. 
Among them were Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord 
Wriothesley, chancellor, and the Earl of Hertford, chamberlain. 
With these executors, to whom was intrusted the whole regal 
authority, were appointed 12 counselors, who possessed no imme- 
diate power, and could only assist with their advice when any affair 
was laid before them. But the first act of the executors and coun- 
selors was to depart from the destination of the late king by ap- 
pointing a Protector. The choice fell of course on the Earl of 
Hertford, who, as he was the king's maternal uncle, was strongly 
interested in his safety ; and, possessing no claims to inherit the 
crown, could never have any separate interest which might lead 
him to endanger Edward's person or his authority. All those 
who were possessed of any ofRce resigned their former commis- 
sions, and accepted new ones in the name of the young king. 
The bishops themselves were constrained to make a like submis- 
sion. Care was taken to insert in their new commissions that 



294 EDWARD VI. Chap. XVI. 

they held their offices during pleasure ; and it is there expressly 
affirmed that all manner of authority and jurisdiction, as well ec- 
clesiastical as civil, is originally derived from the crownT 

The late king had intended, before his death, to make a new 
creation of nobility, in order to supply the place of those peerages 
which had fallen by former attainders or the failure of issue ; and 
accordingly, among other promotions, Hertford was now created 
Duke of Somerset, marshal, and lord treasurer ; and AVriothesley 
Earl of Southampton. The latter was the head of the Catholic 
party, and had always been opposed to Somerset. One of the 
first acts of the Protector was to procure the removal of South- 
ampton, on the ground that he had, on his own private author- 
ity, put the great seal in commission ; a fine was also imposed 
upon him, and he was confined to his own house during pleasure. 
Somerset was not content with this advantage. On pretense that 
the vote of the executors, choosing him Protector, was not a suf- 
ficient foundation for his authority, he procured a patent from the 
young king, by which he entirely overturned the will of Henry 
VHL, named himself Protector with full regal power, and ap- 
pointed a council consisting of all the former counselors, and all 
the executors except Southampton. He reserved a power of nam- 
ing any other counselors at pleasure, and he was bound to consult 
with such only as he thought proper. This was a plain usurpa- 
tion, which it is impossible by any arguments to justify ; but no 
objections were made to his power and title. 

§ 2. The Protector had long been regarded as a secret partisan 
of the Reformers ; and being now freed from restraint, he scru- 
pled not to discover his intention of correcting all abuses in the 
ancient religion, and of adopting still more of the Protestant in- 
novations. He took care that all persons intrusted with the king's 
education should be attached to the same principles. After South- 
ampton's fail few members of the council seemed to retain any 
attachment to the Romish communion, and most of the counselors 
appeared even sanguine in forwarding the progress of the Refor- 
mation. The riches which most of them had acquired from the 
spoils of the clergy induced them to widen the breach between 
England and Rome ; and by establishing a contrariety of specula- 
tive tenets, as well as of discipline and worship, to render a coali- 
tion with the mother church altogether impracticable. The Pro- 
tector, in his schemes for advancing the Reformation, had always 
recourse to the counsels of Cranmer, who, being a man of mod- 
eration and prudence, was averse to all violent changes, and de- 
termined to bring over the people, by insensible innovations, to 
that system of doctrine and discipline which he deemed the most 
pure and perfect. 



A.D. lolT. WAR WITH SCOTLAND. 295 

The Protector, having suspended, during the interval, the juris- 
diction of the bishops, appointed a general visitation to be made in 
all the dioceses of England. The visitors consisted of a mixture 
of clergy and laity, and had six circuits assigned them. The chief 
purport of their instructions was, besides correcting immoralities 
and irregularities in the clergy, to abolish the ancient superstitions, 
and to bring the discipline and worship somewhat nearer the prac- 
tice of the Reformed churches. In order to check the abuse of 
preaching, orders were given to the clergy, and especially to the 
monks, to restrain the topics of their sermons : twelve homilies 
were published, which they were enjoined to read to the people ; 
and all of them were prohibited, without express permission, from 
preaching any where but in their parish churches. The person 
who opposed, with greatest authority, any farther advances toward 
reformation, was Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, who, though he 
had not obtained a place in the Council of Regency on account of 
late disgusts which he had given to Henry, was entitled, by his 
age, experience, and capacity, to the highest trust and confidence 
of his party. But this opposition drew on him the indignation of 
the council, and he was sent to the Fleet, where he was used with 
some severity. 

§ 3. The Protector of England, as soon as the state was brought 
to some composure, made preparations for war with Scotland : 
and he was determined to execute, if possible, that project, of unit- 
ing the two kingdoms by marriage, on which the late king had been 
so intent, and which he had recommended Avith his dying breath to 
his executors. The Reformation had now made considerable prog- 
ress in Scotland. Cardinal Beaton had been assassinated (May 
28, 1546) in revenge for the burning of Wishart, a zealous Prot- 
estant preacher ; and Henry had promised to take the perpetrators 
under his protection. Somerset levied an army of 18,000 men, 
and equipped a fleet of 60 sail, with which lie invaded Scotland. 
A well-contested battle was fought at Pinkie, near Musselburgh 
(Sept. 10, 1547), in which the Scots were defeated with immense 
slaughter. Had Somerset prosecuted his advantages, he might 
have imposed what terms he pleased on the Scottish nation ; but 
he was impatient to return to England, where he heard that some 
counselors, and even his own brother, Lord Seymour, the admi- 
ral, were carrying on cabals against his authority. Shortly after 
his return the infant queen of Scotland was sent to France and be- 
trothed to the dauphin. 

§ 4. The Protector deserves great praise on account of the laws 
passed this session, by which the rigor of former statutes was much 
mitigated, and some security given to the freedom of the Consti- 
tution. All laws were repealed which extended the crime of trea- 



296 EDWARD VI. Chap. XVI. 

son beyond the statute of the 25th of Edward III. ; all laws enact- 
ed during the late reign extending the crime of felony ; all the for- 
mer laws against LoUardy or heresy, together with the statute of 
the Six Articles. A repeal also passed of that law, the destruc- 
tion of all laws, by which the king's proclamation was made of 
equal force with a statute. Acts were also passed to secure the 
king's supremacy. In the following year (1548) farther reforma- 
tions were made in religion. Orders were issued by council that 
candles should no longer be carried about on Candlemas-day, ashes 
on Ash-Wednesday, palms on Palm-Sunday ; and that all images 
should be removed from the churches. As private masses were 
abolished by law, it became necessary to compose a new commun- 
ion service ; and the council went so far, in the preface which 
they prefixed to this work, as to leave the practice of auricular 
confession wholly indifferent. 

§ 5. The Protector's attention was now wholly engrossed by the 
cabals of his brother, Lord Seymour, the Admiral of England. 
By his flattery and address he had so insinuated himself into the 
good graces of the queen-dowager, that, forgetting her usual pru- 
dence and decency, she married him immediately upon the demise 
of the late king. Upon her death in childbirth he made his ad- 
dresses to the Lady Elizabeth, then in the 1 6th year of her age. 
He openly decried his brother's administration, and by promises 
and persuasion he brought over to his party many of the principal 
nobility. The Earl of Warwick* was an ill instrument between 
the brothers, and had formed the design, by inflaming the quarrel, 
to raise his own fortune on the ruins of both. The Duke of Som- 
erset, finding his own power in serious peril, committed his broth- 
er to the Tower ; the Parliament passed a bill of attainder against 
him, and he was executed on Tower Hill (March 20, 1549). 

§ 6. All the considerable business transacted this session, besides 
the attainder of Lord Seymour, regarded . ecclesiastical affairs. 
The mass, which had always been celebrated in Latin, was trans- 
lated into English; and this innovation, with the retrenching of 
prayers to saints, and of some superstitious ceremonies, was the 
chief difference between the old mass and the new Liturgy. The 
doctrine of the real presence was tacitly condemned by the new 
communion service, but still retained some hold in the minds of 
men. The Parliament established this form of worship in all the 
churches, and ordained a uniformity to be observed in all the rites 

* The Earl of Warwick was the son of Dudley, the minister of Henry 
VII., who had been attainted and beheaded in the reign of Henry VIII. 
He was restored to his honors, and created Lord Lisle by Henry VIII., 
and had been made Earl of Warwick at the beginning of the reign of Ed- 
ward VI. 



A.D. 1547-1549. INSURRECTIONS. 297 

and ceremonies. They also enacted a law permitting the marriage 
of priests. Thus the principal tenets and practices of the Cath- 
olic religion were now abolished, and the Reformation, such as it 
is enjoyed at present, was almost entirely completed in England. 

But, though the Protestant divines had ventured to renounce 
opinions deemed certain during many ages, they regarded, in their 
turn, the new system as so certain, that they were ready to burn, 
in the same flames from which they themselves had so narrowly 
escaped, every one that had the assurance to differ from them. A 
commission, by act of council, was granted to the primate and 
some others, to examine and search after all Anabaptists, heretics, 
or contemners of the Book of Common Prayer. Some tradesmen 
in London were brought before the commissioners, were prevailed 
on to abjure their opinions, and were dismissed. But there was a 
woman accused of heretical pravity, called Joan Bocher, or Joan of 
Kent, who was so pertinacious that the commissioners could make 
no impression upon her, and it was resolved to commit her to the 
flames.* Some time after, a Dutchman, called Van Paris, accused 
of the heresy which has received the name of Arianisrft, was con- 
demned to the same punishment. 

§ 7. These reforms excited considerable discontent, which was 
aggravated by other causes. The new proprietors of the confis- 
cated abbey-lands demanded exorbitant rents, and often spent the 
money in London. The cottagers were reduced to misery by the 
inclosure of the commons on which they formerly fed their cattle. 
The general increase of gold and silver in Europe after the discov- 
ery of the West Lidies had raised the price of commodities : and 
the debasement of the coin by Henry VIIL, and afterward by the 
Protector, had occasioned a universal distrust and stagnation of 
commerce. A rising began at once in several parts of England as 
if a universal conspiracy had been formed by the commonalty. In 
most parts the rioters were put down, but the disorders in Devon- 
shire and Norfolk threatened more dangerous consequences (1549). 
Li Devonshire the rioters were brought into the form of a regular 
army, which amounted to the number of 10,000- Their demands 
were, that the mass should be restored, half of the abbey-lands re- 
sumed, the law of the Six Articles executed, holy water and holy 
bread respected, and all other particular grievances redressed. 
Lord Russell,! who had been dispatched against them, drove them 

* The common story that the young king long refused to sign the war- 
rant for the execution of Joan Bocher, and was only prevailed upon to do 
so by Cranmer's importunity, is shown by Mr. Bruce, in the Preface to - 
Roger Hutchinson's works (Parker Society, 1842), to be apocryphal. Mi\ 
Hallam (^Const. Hist., i., 96) is also of opinion that the tale ought to vanish 
from history. 

t Lord Russell had been created a peer in 1539, and received large grants 

N2 



298 EDWARD VI. Chap. XVI. 

from all their posts, and took many prisoners. The leaders were 
sent to London, tried, and executed, and many of the inferior sort 
were put to death by martial law. 

The insurrection in Norfolk rose to a still greater height, and 
was attended with greater acts of violence. One Ket, a tanner, 
had assumed the government of the insurgents, and he exercised 
his authority with the utmost arrogance and outrage. The Earl 
of Warwick, at the head of 6000 men, levied for the wars against 
Scotland, at last made a general attack upon the rebels, and put 
them to flight. Two thousand fell in the action and pursuit ; Ket 
was hanged at Norwich Castle, and the insurrection was entirely 
suppressed. To guard against such disturbances in future, lords 
lieutenant were appointed in all the counties. These insurrections 
were attended with bad consequences to the foreign interests of 
the nation. The forces of the Earl of Warwick, which might have 
made a great impression on Scotland, were diverted from that en- 
terprise, and the French general had leisure to reduce that country 
to some settlement and composure. The King of France also took 
advantage of the distractions among the English, and made an at- 
tempt to recover Boulogne ; but nothing decisive took place. As 
soon as the French war broke out the Protector endeavored to 
fortify himself with the alliance of the emperor, who, however, 
eluded the applications of the embassadors. Somerset, despairing 
of his assistance, was inclined to conclude a peace with France 
and Scotland ; but he met with strong opposition from his enemies 
in the council, who, seeing him unable to support the war, were 
determined, for that very reason, to oppose all proposals for a pa- 
cification. 

§ 8. The factions ran high in the court of England, and matters 
were drawing to an issue fatal to the authority of the Protector. 
After obtaining the patent investing him with regal authority, he 
no longer paid any attention to the opinion of the other executors 
and counselors ; and, while he showed a resolution to govern every 
thing, his capacity appeared not in any respect proportioned to his 
ambition. He had disgusted the nobility by courting the people, 
yet the interest which he had formed with the latter was in no de- 
gree answerable to his expectations. The Catholic party, who re- 
tained influence with the lower ranks, were his declared enemies ; 
the attainder and execution of his brother bore an odious aspect ; 
and the palace which he was building in the Strand served, by its 
magnificence, to expose him to the censure of the public, especially 
as he had desecrated several churches in order to complete it. All 

of Church lands. He was made Earl of Bedford in 1550, and was the an- 
cestor of the present Duke of Bedford. The title of duke was first created 
in 1694, in the reign of William III. 



A.D. 1549. loJO. FACTIONS IN THE COUNCIL. 299 

these imprudences were remarked by Somerset's enemies, who re- 
solved to take advantage of them. Lord St. John, president of 
the council, the Earls of Warwick, Southampton, and Arundel, 
with five members more, assuming to themselves the whole power 
of the council, began to act independently of the Protector, whom 
they represented as the author of every public gi'ievance and mis- 
fortune. Somerset, finding that no man of rank, except Cranmer 
and Paget, adhered to him, that the people did not rise at his 
summons, that the city and Tower had declared against him, that 
even his best friends had deserted him, lost all hopes of success, 
and began to apply to his enemies for pardon and forgiveness. 
He was, however, sent to the Tower, with some of his friends and 
partisans, among whom was Cecil, afterward so much distinguish- 
ed. Somerset was prevailed on to confess, on his knees before 
the council, all the articles of charge against him ; and the Par- 
liament passed a vote by which they deprived him of all his of- 
fices, and fined him £2000 a year in land. Lord St. John was 
created treasurer in his place, and Warwick earl marshal. The 
prosecution against him was carried no farther. His fine was 
remitted by the king ; he recovered his liberty ; and Warwick, 
thinking that he was now sutficiently humbled, readmitted him 
into the council, and even agreed to an alliance between their 
families by the marriage of his own son. Lord Lisle, with the 
Lady Jane Seymour, daughter of Somerset. The Roman Cath- 
olics were extremely elated with this revolution : and as they had 
ascribed all the late innovations to Somerset'^ authority, they 
hoped that his fall would prepare the way for the return of the 
ancient religion. But Warwick, who now bore chief sway in the 
council, took care very early to express his intentions of support- 
ing the Reformation ; and in the following year (1550), Bishop 
Gardiner, who had already lain two years in prison, was deprived 
of his bishopric on the most arbitrary charges. 

§ 9. When Warwick and the Council of Regency began to ex- 
ercise their power, they found themselves involved in the same 
diffi-culties that had embarrassed the Protector. The wars with 
France and Scotland could not be supported by an exhausted ex- 
chequer ; seemed dangerous to a divided nation ; and were now 
acknowledged not to have any object which even the greatest and 
most uninterrupted success could attain. Although the project 
of peace entertained by Somerset had served them as a pretense 
for clamor against his administration, yet they found themselves 
obliged to negotiate a treaty with the King of France. Henry 
offered a sum for the immediate restitution of Boulogne, and 
400,000 crowns were at last agreed on, one half to be paid im- 
mediately, the other in August following. Six hostages were 



300 EDWARD VL Chap. XYI. 

given for the performance of this article, and Scotland was com- 
prehended in the treaty. 

The theological zeal of the council, though seemingly fervent, 
went not so far as to make them neglect their own temporal con- 
cerns, which seem to have ever been uppermost in their thoughts. 
Several Catholic bishops were deprived, and some were obliged to 
seek protection by sacrificing the most considerable revenues of 
their see to the rapacious courtiers. Though every one besides 
yielded to the authority of the council, the Lady Mary could nev- 
er be brought to compliance ; and she still continued to adhere to 
the mass, and to reject the new Liturgy. It was with difficulty 
that the young king, who had deeply imbibed the principles of the 
Keformation, could be prevailed on to connive at his sister's obsti- 
nacy. The Book of Common Prayer suffered in England a new 
revisal, and some rites and ceremonies, which had given offense, 
were omitted. The doctrines of religion were also reduced to 42 
articles. These were intended to obviate farther divisions and 
variations. 

§ 10. Warwick, not contented with the station which he had 
attained, carried farther his pretensions, and had gained partisans 
who were disposed to second him in every enterprise. The last 
Earl of Northumberland died without issue ; and as Sir Thomas 
Percy, his brother, had been attainted, the title was at present ex- 
tinct, and the estate was vested in the crown. Warwick now pro- 
cored to himself a grant of those ample possessions, and he was 
dignified with the title of Duke of Northumberland (1551). But 
these new possessions and titles he regarded as steps only to far- 
ther acquisitions. Finding that Somerset still enjoyed a consid- 
erable share of popularity, he determined to ruin the man whom 
he regarded as the chief obstacle to his ambition. Somerset was 
therefore accused of high treason and felony : he was acquitted 
on the former charge, but condemned on the latter. He was 
brought to the scaffold on Tower Hill (Jan. 22, 1552) amid great 
crowds of spectators, who bore him such sincere kindness that 
they entertained, till the last moment, the fond hopes of his par- 
don. His virtues were better calculated for private than for pub- 
lic life ; and by his want of penetration and firmness he was ill 
fitted to extricate himself from those cabals and violences to which 
that age was so much addicted.* Several of Somerset's friends 
were also brought to trial, condemned, and executed ; great injus- 
tice seems to have been used in their prosecution. 

§ 11. The declining state of the young king's health opened out 

* He was the ancestor of the present duke. The title, forfeited by his 
attainder, was restored to his great-grandson on the accession of Charles XL 
(1660). 



A.D. 1550-1553. DEATH OF THE KING. 301 

to Northumberland a vaster prospect of ambition. He endeavor- 
ed to persuade Edward to deprive his two sisters of the succes- 
sion on the ground of illegitimacy. He represented that the cer- 
tain consequences of his sister Mary's succession, or that of the 
Queen of Scots, w^as the re-establishment of the usurpation and 
idolatry of the Church of Rome ; that, though the Lady Elizabeth 
was liable to no such objection, her exclusion must follow that of 
her elder sister ; that, when these princesses w^ere excluded by 
such solid reasons, the succession devolved on the Marchioness of 
Dorset, elder daughter of the French queen and the Duke of Suf- 
folk ; that the next heir of the marchioness was the Lady Jane 
Gray ; a lady every way w^orthy of a crown ; and that, even if her 
title by blood were doubtful, which there was no just reason to 
pretend, the king was possessed of the same power that his father 
enjoyed, and might leave her the crown by letters patent. Nor- 
thumberland, finding that his arguments were likely to operate on 
the king, began to prepare the other parts of his scheme. The 
dukedom of Suffolk being extinct, the Marquis of Dorset was 
raised to this title ; and the new Duke of Suffolk and the duchess 
were persuaded by Northumberland to give their daughter, the 
Lady Jane, in marriage to his fourth son, the Lord Guilford Dud- 
ley. The languishing state of Edward's health, who was now in 
a confirmed consumption, made Northumberland the more intent 
on the execution of his project. He removed all except his own 
emissaries from about the king, and prevailed on the young prince 
to give his final consent to the settlement projected. The judges 
hesitated to draw up the necessary deed, but were at length 
brought to do so by the menaces of Northumberland, and the prom- 
ise that a pardon should immediately after be granted them for 
any offense which they might have incurred by their compliance. 
After this settlement was made Edward visibly declined every 
day. To make matters worse, his physicians were dismissed by 
Northumberland's advice and by an order of council, and he was 
put into the hands of an ignorant woman, who undertook in a lit- 
tle time to restore him to his former state of health. After the 
use of her medicines, all the bad symptoms increased to the most 
violent degree ; and he expired at Greenwich (July 6, 1553), in 
the 16th year of his age, and the 7th of his reign. All the En- 
glish historians dwell wdth pleasure on the excellent qualities of 
this young prince, whom the flattering promises of hope, joined to 
many real virtues, had made an object of tender affection to the 
public. 



302 



EDWARD VI. 



Chap. XVI. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE 'EVENTS. 



A.D. 

154T. Hertford (afterward Duke of Somerset) 
Protector. Battle of Pinkie. 

1548. Proclamation for the removal of im- 

ages, etc. 

1549. The Liturgy reformed. Lord Seymour, 



the Protector's brother, beheaded 
The Protector deposed. 
1550. Earl of Warwick (afterward Duke of 
Northumberland) Protector. 

1552. Somerset beheaded. 

1553, Death of Edward VL 




Medal of Philip and Mary. 

Obv. : PHILIP . 1) . G . HiSP . REX . z. Bust of Philip to right. Rev. 
A>'GL . FRANC . ET . niB . z. Bust of Mary to left. 



MARIA I REG ., 



: CHAPTER XVII. 

MART. A.D. 1553-1558. 

§ 1. Lady Jane Gray proclaimed. Mary acknowledged Queen. §2. North- 
umberland executed. Roman Catholic Religion restored. § 3. The 
Spanish Match. Wyatt's Insurrection. § 4. Imprisonment of the Prin- 
cess Elizabeth. Execution of Lady Jane Gray. § 5. Mary's Marriage 
Avith Philip of Spain. England reconciled with the See of Rome. § 6. 
Persecutions. Execution of Cranmer. § 7. War with France. Loss of 
Calais. § 8. Death and Character of the Queen. 

§ L Northumberland, sensible of the opposition which he 
roust expect, had carefully concealed the destination made by the 
king; and in order to bring the Princess Mary into his power, 
desired her to attend on her dying brother. Mary had already- 
reached Hoddesden, within half a day's journey of the court, when 
the Earl of Arundel sent her private intelligence both of her broth- 
er's death and of the conspiracy formed against her. She imme- 
diately retired to Suffolk, and dispatched a message to the coun- 
cil, requiring them immediately to give orders for proclaiming her 
in London. Northumberland found that farther dissimulation 
was fruitless : he went to Sion House, accompanied by the Duke 
of Suffolk, the Earl of Pembroke, and others of the nobility ; and 
he approached the Lady Jane, who resided there, with all the re- 
spect usually paid to the sovereign. Jane was, in a great measure, 
ignorant of these transactions ; and it was with equal grief and 
surprise that she received intelligence of them. She was a lady 
of an amiable person, an engaging disposition, and accomplished 
parts. She had attained a familiar knowledge of the Roman and 
Greek languages, besides modern tongues ; had passed most of 
her time in an application to learning ; and expressed a great in- 
difference for other occupations and amusements usual with her 



304 MARY. Chap. XVII. 

sex and station. Roger Ascham, tutor to the Lady Elizabeth, 
having one day paid her a visit, found her employed in reading 
Plato, while the rest of the family were engaged in a party of hunt- 
ing in the park. The intelligence of her elevation to the throne 
was nowise agreeable to her. She even refused to accept of the 
present ; pleaded the preferable title of the two princesses ; but, 
overcome at last by the entreaties rather than the reasons of her 
father and father-in-law, and above all of her husband, she submit- 
ted to their will, and was prevailed on to relinquish her own judg- 
ment. Orders were given by the council to proclaim Jane 
throughout the kingdom ; but these orders were executed only in 
London and the neighborhood. No applause ensued ; the people 
heard the' proclamation with silence and concern, and some even 
expressed their scorn and contempt. The people of Suffolk, mean- 
while, paid their attendance on Mary, and the nobility and gentry 
daily flocked to her and brought her re-enforcement. Northum- 
berland, hitherto blinded by ambition, saw at last the danger gath- 
er round him, and knew not to what hand to turn himself. At 
length he determined to march into Suffolk ; but he found his 
army too weak to encounter the queen's. He wrote to the coun- 
cil, desirino; them to send him a re-enforcement ; but the counsel- 
ors agreed upon a speedy return to the duty which they owed to 
their lawful sovereign. The mayor and aldermen of London were 
immediately sent for, who discovered great alacrity in obeying the 
orders they received to proclaim Mary. The people expressed 
their approbation by shouts of applause. Suffolk, who command- 
ed in the Tower, finding resistance fruitless, opened the gates and 
declared for the queen ; and even Northumberland, being deserted 
by all his followers, ^A-as obliged to proclaim Mary. The people 
every where, on the queen's approach to London, gave sensible ex- 
pressions of their loyalty and attachment. And the Lady Eliza- 
beth met her at the head of a thousand horse, which that princess 
had levied in order to support their joint title against the usurper. 
§ 2. The Duke of Northumberland was taken into custody ; at 
the same time were committed the Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane 
Gray, Lord Guilford Dudley, and several of the nobility. As the 
counselors pleaded constraint as an excuse for their treason, Mary 
extended her pardon to most of them. But the guilt of Northum- 
berland was too great, as well as his ambition and courage too 
dangerous, to permit him to entertain any reasonable hopes of life. 
When brought to his trial he attempted no defense, but pleaded 
guilty. At his execution he made a profession of the Catholic 
religion, and told the people that they never would enjoy tranquil- 
lity till they returned to the faith of their ancestors ; whether such 
were his real sentiments,^ which he had formerly disguised from 



AD. 1553. NORTHUMBERLAND EXECUTED. 3Q5 

interest and ambition, or that he hoped by this declaration to ren- 
der the queen more favorable to his family. Sir Thomas Palmer 
and Sir John Gates suffered with him (Aug. 23, 1553) ; and this 
was all the blood spilled on account of so dangerous and criminal 
an enterprise against the rights of the sovereign. Sentence was 
pronounced against the Lady Jane and Lord Guilford, but with- 
out any present intention of putting it in execution. 

All Mary's acts showed that she was determined to restore the 
Roman Catholic religion. Gardiner, Bonner, Tonstal, and others, 
who had been deprived in the preceding reign, were reinstated in 
their sees. On pretense of discouraging controversy, she silenced, 
by an act of prerogative, all the preachers throughout England, 
except such as should obtain a particular lic-ense. Holgate, Arch- 
bishop of York, Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, Ridley of London, 
and Hooper of Gloucester, were thrown into prison, whither old 
Latimer also was sent soon after. The zealous bishops and priests 
were encouraged in their forwardness to revive the mass, though 
contrary to the present laws. The primate had reason to expect 
little favor during the present reign, but it was by his own indis- 
creet zeal that he brought on himself the first violence and perse- 
cution. A report being spread that, in order to pay court to the 
queen, he had promised to officiate in the Latin service, Cranmer, 
to wipe off this aspersion, published a manifesto in his own defense, 
in which he attributed some of the popish rites to the invention of 
the devil, and characterized the mass as replete with horrid blas- 
phemies. On the publication of this inflammatory paper Cranmer 
was thrown into prison, and was tried for the part which he had 
acted in concurring with the Lady Jane, and opposing the queen's 
accession. Sentence of high treason was pronounced against him, 
but the execution of it did not follow ; and the primate was re- 
served for a more cruel punishment. In opening the Parliament 
the court showed a contempt of the laws by celebrating, before 
the two houses, a mass of the Holy Ghost, in the Latin tongue, 
attended with all the ancient rites and ceremonies. The first bill 
passed by the Parliament was of a popular nature, and abolished 
every species of treason not contained in the statute of Edward 
III., and every species of felony that did not subsist before the first 
of Henry VIII. The Parliament next declared the queen to be 
legitimate, ratified the marriage of Henry with Catherine of Ara- 
gon, and annulled the divorce pronounced by Cranmer. All the 
statutes of King Edward with regard to religion were repealed by 
one vote. The attainder of the Duke of Norfolk, who had been 
previously liberated from the Tower, and admitted to Mary's con- 
fidence and favor, was reversed. The queen also sent assurances 
to the Pope, then Julius III., of her earnest desire to reconcile 
herself and her kingdoms to the Holy See. 



306 MAKY. CuAP. XVII. 

§ 3. No sooner did the Emperor Charles hear of the death of 
Edward and the accession of his kinswoman Mary to the crown 
of England, than he sent over an agent to propose his son Philip 
to her as a husband. Philip was a widower ; and, though he 
was only 27 years of age, 11 years younger than the queen, this 
objection, it was thought, would be overlooked, and there was no 
reason to despair of her still having issue. Norfolk, Arundel, and 
Paget gave their advice for the match ; but Gardiner, who was 
become prime minister, and who had been promoted to the office 
of chancellor, opposed it. The Commons, alarmed to hear that 
she was resolved to contract a foreign alliance, sent a committee 
to remonstrate in strong terms against that dangerous measure ; 
and to prevent farther applications of the same kind, the queen 
thought proper to dissolve the Parliament. A Convocation had 
been summoned at the same time with the Parliament ; and the 
majority here also appeared to be of the court religion. After 
the Parliament and Convocation were dismissed, the new laws 
with regard to religion were still more openly put in execution ; 
the mass was every where re-established ; marriage was declared 
to be incompatible with any spiritual office ; and a large propor- 
tion of the clergy were deprived of their livings. This violent 
and sudden change of religion inspired the Protestants with great 
discontent, while the Spanish match diifused universal apprehen- 
sions for the liberty and independence of the nation. To obviate 
all clamor, the articles of marriage were drawn as favorable as 
possible for the interest and security, and even grandeur of En- 
gland ; and, in particular, it was agreed that, though Philip should 
have the title of king, the administration should be entirely in the 
queen ; and that no foreigner should be capable of enjoying any 
office in the kingdom. But these articles gave no satisfaction to 
the nation, and some persons determined to resist the marriage 
by arms. Sir Thomas Wyatt purposed to raise Kent ; Sir Peter 
Carew, Devonshire ; and they engaged the Duke of Suffi3lk, by 
the hopes of recovering the crown for the Lady Jane, to attempt 
raising the midland counties. The attempts of the last two were 
speedily disconcerted, but Wyatt was at first more successful. 
Having published a declaration at Maidstone, in Kent, against the 
queen's evil counselors, and against the Spanish match, without 
any mention of religion, the people began to flock to his standard. 
He forced his way into London ; but his followers, finding that 
no person of note joined him, insensibly fell off, and he was at last 
seized near Temple-bar by Sir Maurice Berkeley. Sixty or seven- 
ty persons suffered for this rebellion ; four hundred more were 
conducted before the queen with ropes about their necks, and, 
falling on their knees, received a pardon and were dismissed. 
Wyatt was condemned and executed. 



A. D. 1554. LADY JANE GRAY BEHEADED. 307 

§ 4. The Lady Elizabeth had been, during some time, treated 
with great harshness by her sister, though she had found it pru- 
dent to' conform, outwardly at least, to the Roman Catholic wor- 
ship. Mary, seizing the opportunity of this rebellion, and hoping 
to involve her sister in some appearance of guilt, sent for her un- 
der a strong guard, committed her to the Tower, and ordered her 
to be strictly examined by the council. But the princess made so 
good a defense that the queen found herself under a necessity of 
releasing her. In order to send her out of the kingdom, a mar- 
riage was offered her with the Duke of Savoy ; and when she de- 
clined the proposal, she was committed to custody under a strong 
guard at Woodstock. But this rebellion proved fatal to the Lady 
Jane Gray, as well as to her husband ; the Duke of Suffolk's guilt 
was imputed to her, and both she and her husband were beheaded 
(Feb. 12, 1554). On the scaffold she made a speech to the by- 
standers, in which the mildness of her disposition led her to take 
the blame wholly on herself, without uttering one complaint against 
the severity with which she had been treated. She then caused 
herself to be disrobed by her Vv^omen, and with a steady, serene 
countenance submitted herself to the executioner. The Duke of 
Suffolk was tried, condemned, and executed soon after. The queen 
filled the Tower and all the prisons with nobility and gentry, 
Avhom their interest with the nation, rather than any appearance 
of guilt, had made the objects of her suspicion. 

§ 5. Philip of Spain arrived at Southampton on July 20, 1554, 
and a few days after he was married to Mary at Winchester (July 
25). Having made a pompous entry into London, where Philip 
displayed his wealth with great ostentation, they proceeded to 
Windsor, the palace in which they afterward resided. The prince's 
behavior was ill calculated to remove the prejudices which the 
English nation had entertained against him. He was distant and 
reserved in his address ; took no notice of the salutes even of the 
most considerable noblemen ; and so intrenched himself in form 
and ceremony that he was in a manner inaccessible. The zeal 
of the Catholics, the influence of Spanish gold, the powers of pre- 
rogative, the discouragement of the gentry, particularly of the 
Protestants — all these causes, seconding the intrigues of Gardiner, 
had at length procured a House of Commons which was in a 
great measure to the queen's satisfaction. Cardinal Pole, whose 
attainder had been reversed, came over to England as legate 
(Nov. 1 4) ; and, after being introduced to the king and queen, he 
invited the Parliament to reconcile themselves and the kingdom 
to the apostolic see, from which they had been so long and so un- 
happily divided. This message was taken in good part ; and both 
houses voted an address to Philip and Mary, acknowledging that 



308 MARY. Chap. XVII. 

they had been guilty of a most horrible defection from the true 
Church, and declaring their resolution to repeal all laws enacted 
in prejudice of the Church of Rome. The legate, in the name of 
his holiness, then gave the Parliament and kingdom absolution, 
freed them from all censures, and received them again into the 
bosom of the Church. But, though the jurisdiction of the eccle- 
siastics was for the present restored, their property, on which their 
power much depended, was irretrievably lost, and no hopes re- 
mained of recovering it. 

The Parliament revived the old sanguinary laws against here- 
tics ; they also enacted several statutes against seditious words 
and rumors ; and they made it treason to imagine or attempt the 
death of Philip during his marriage with the queen. But their 
hatred against the Spaniards, as well as their suspicion of Philip's 
pretensions, still prevailed ; and, though the queen attempted to 
get her husband declared presumptive heir to the crown, and to 
have the administration put into his hands, she failed in all her 
endeavors, and could not so much as procure the Parliament's 
consent to his coronation. Philip, sensible of the preposses.?ions 
entertained against him, endeavored to acquire popularity by pro- 
curing the release of several prisoners of distinction ; but nothing 
was more agreeable to the nation than his protecting the Lady 
Elizabeth from the spite and malice of the queen, and restoring 
her to liberty. This measure was not the effect of any generosity 
in Philip, a sentiment of which he was wholly destitute, but of a 
refined policy, which made him foresee that, if that princess were 
put to death, the next lawful heir was the Queen of Scots, whose 
succession would forever annex England to the crown of France. 

§ 6. The benevolent disposition of Pole led him to advise a tol- 
eration of the heretical tenets which he highly blamed, while the 
severe manners of Gardiner inclined him to support by persecu- 
tion that religion which, at the bottom, he regarded with great in- 
difference. The advice of Gardiner was in accordance with the 
cruel bigotry of Philip and Mary, and it was determined to Ir.t 
loose the laws in their full vigor against the Reformed religion. 
England was soon filled with scenes of horror, which have ever 
since rendered the Roman Catholic religion the object of general 
detestation, and which prove that no human depravity can equal 
revenge and cruelty covered with the mantle of religion. Rogers, 
prebendary of St. Paul's ; Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester ; Taylor, 
parson of Hadleigh ; and others, were condemned to the flames 
(1555). The crime for which almost all the Protestants were 
condemned was their refusal to acknowledge the real presence. 
Gardiner, who had vainly expected that a few examples would 
strike a terror into the Reformers, and whose religious principles 



A.D. 1554-1555. RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIONS. 399 

were too easy to render liim a yiolent bigot, finding the work dailj 
multiply upon him, devolved the invidious office on others, chiefly 
on Bonner, Bishop of London, a man of a brutal character, who 
seemed to rejoice in the torments of the unhappy sufferers. It is 
needless to be particular in enumerating the cruelties practiced in 
England during the course of three years that these persecutions 
lasted ; the savage barbarity on the one hand, and the patient con- 
stancy on the other, are so similar in all those martyrdoms, that 
the narrative, little agreeable in itself, would never be relieved by 
any variety. It is computed that in that time 277 persons were 
brought to the stake, besides those who were punished by impris- 
onments, fines, and confiscations. Among those who suffered by 
fire were 5 bishops, 21 clergymen, 8 lay gentlemen, 84 tradesmen, 
100 husbandmen, servants, and laborers, 55 women, and 4 chil- 
dren. Ridley, Bishop of London, and Latimer, formerly Bishop 
of Worcester, two prelates celebrated for learning and virtue, 
perished together in the same flames at Oxford, and supported 
each other's constancy by their mutual exhortations. Latimer, 
when tied to the stake, called to his companion, "Be of good 
cheer, brother ; we shall this day kindle such a torch in England 
as, I trust in God, shall never be extinguished." The persons 
condemned to these punishments were not convicted of teaching 
or dogmatizing contrary to the established religion ; they were 
seized merely on suspicion, and, articles being offered them to sub- 
scribe, they were immediately, upon their refusal, condemned to 
the flames. These instances of barbarity, so unusual in the na- 
tion, excited horror ; the constancy of the martyrs was the object 
of admiration ; and as men have a principle of equity engraven in 
their minds, which even false rehgion is not able totally to oblit- 
erate, they were shocked to see persons of probity, of honor, of 
pious dispositions, exposed to punishments more severe than were 
inflicted on the greatest ruffians for crimes subversive of civil so- 
ciety. Each martyrdom, therefore, was equivalent to a hundred 
sermons against popery ; and men either avoided such horrid spec- 
tacles, or returned from them full of a violent, though secret indig- 
nation against the persecutors. 

The court, finding that Bonner, however shameless and savage, 
would not bear alone the whole infamy, soon threw off the mask ; 
and the unrelenting temper of the queen, as well as of the king, 
appeared without control. A bold step was even taken toward 
introducing the Inquisition into England. As the bishops' courts, 
though extremely arbitrary, and not confined by any ordinary 
forms of law, appeared not to be invested with sufficient power, a 
commission of 21 persons was appointed, by authority of the 
queen's prerogative, more effectually to extirpate heresy. The 



310 MARY. Chap. XVII. 

commissioners were armed with extraordinary powers, and were 
enjoined to torture such obstinate persons as would not confess. 
Secret spies also and informers were employed, according to the 
practice of the Inquisition. These persecutions were now become 
extremely odious to the nation, and the execution of Cranmer ren- 
dered the government still more unpopular. The primate had 
long been detained in prison. The queen bore a personal hatred 
to him on account of the part he had taken in dissolving her 
mother's marriage ; and in order the more fully to satiate her 
vengeance, she now resolved to punish him for heresy rather than 
for treason, and also to seek the ruin of his l^onor and the infamy 
of his name. Persons were employed to tamper with him in his 
prison at Oxford by representing the dignities to which his char- 
acter still entitled him, if he would merit them by a recantation. 
Overcome by the fond love of life, terrified by the prospect of those 
tortures which awaited him, he allowed, in an unguarded hour, 
the sentiments of nature to prevail over his resolution, and he 
agreed to subscribe the doctrines of the papal supremacy and of 
the real presence. The court, equally perfidious and cruel, were 
determined that this recantation should avail him nothing ; and 
they sent orders that he should be required to acknowledge his 
errors in church before the whole people, and that he should 
thence be immediately carried to execution. Cranmer, whether 
that he had received a secret intimation of their design, or had re- 
pented of his weakness, surprised the audience by a contrary dec- 
laration. He said that there was one miscarriage in his life, of 
which, above all others, he severely repented — the insincere dec- 
laration of faith to which he had the weakness to consent, and 
which the fear of death alone had extorted from him ; and that, 
as his hand had erred by betraying his heart, it should first be 
punished by a severejbut just doom, and should first pay the for- 
feit of its offenses. He was thence led to the stake, amid the in- 
sults of the Roman Catholics ; and, having now summoned up all 
the force of his mind, he bore their scorn, as well as the torture 
of his punishment, with singular fortitude. He stretched out his 
hand, and without betraying, either by his countenance or motions, 
the least sign of weakness, or even of feeling, he held it in the 
flames till it was entirely consumed. His thoughts seemed wholly 
occupied with reflections on his former fault, and he called aloud 
several times, "This hand has offended." Satisfied with that 
atonement, he then discovered a serenity in his countenance ; and 
when the fire attacked his body, he seemed to be quite insensible 
of his outward sufferings, and by the force of hope and resolution 
to have collected his mind altogether within itself, and to repel 
the fury of the flames. His martyrdom took place at Oxford, 



A. D. 1555-1558. LOSS OF CALAIS. ^n 

March 18, 1556. After Cranmer's death, Cardinal Pole, ■vvho had 
now taken priest's order.?, was installed in the see of Canterbury, 
and was thus, by this office, as well as by his commission of le- 
gate, placed at the head of the Church of England. 

§ 7. The temper of Mary was soured by ill health, by disap- 
pointment in not having offspring, and by the absence of her hus- 
band, who, tired of her importunate love and jealousy, and finding 
his authority extremely limited in England, had laid hold of the 
first opportunity to leave her, and had gone over to the emperor 
in Flanders. But her affection for Philip was not cooled by his 
indifference, and she showed the greatest anxiety to consult his 
wishes and promote his views. Philip, who had become master 
of the wealth of the New "World, and of the richest and most ex- 
tensive dominions in Europe, by the abdication of the Emperor 
Charles Y., was anxious to engage England in the war which was 
kindled between Spain and France. His views were warmly sec- 
onded by Marv' ; but Cardinal Pole, with many other counselors, 
openly and zealously opposed this measure. Mary's importunities 
and artifices at length succeeded ; forced loans and subsidies were 
extorted ; and by these expedients, assisted by the power of press- 
ing, she levied an army of 10,000 men, which she sent over to the 
Low Countries, under the command of the Earl of Pembroke 
(1557). The King of Spain had assembled an army which, after 
the junction of the English, amounted to above 60,000 men, con- 
ducted by Philibert, Duke of Savoy, one of the greatest captains 
of the age. Little interest would attend the narration of a cam- 
paign in which the English played only a subordinate part, and 
which resulted in their loss and disgrace. By Philibert's victory 
at St. Quentin the whole kingdom of France was thrown into con- 
sternation ; and had the Spaniards marched to the capital, it could 
not have failed to fall into their hands. But Philip's caution was 
unequal to so bold a step, and the opportunity was neglected. In 
the following winter the Duke of Guise succeeded in surprising 
and taking Calais, deemed in that age an impregnable fortress 
(Jan. 7, 1558). Calais was surrounded with marshes, which, dur- 
ing the winter, were impassable, except over a dike guarded by 
two castles, St. Agatha and Newnam Bridge ; and the English were 
of late accustomed, on account of the loTvmess of their finances, to 
dismiss a great part of the garrison at the end of autumn, and to 
recall them in the spring, at which time alone they judged their 
attendance necessary. It was this circumstance that insured the 
success of the French ; and thus the Duke of Guise in eight days, 
during the depth of winter, made himself master of this strong 
fortress, that had cost Edward HI. a siege of eleven months, at 
the head of a numerous army, which had that very year been vie- 



312 , MARY. Chap. XVII. 

torious in the battle of Crecy. The English had held it above 
200 years ; and as it gave them an easy entrance into France, it 
was regarded as the most important possession belonging to the 
crown. They murmured loudly against the improvidence of the 
queen and her council, who, after engaging in a fruitless war for 
the sake of foreign interests, had thus exposed the nation to so 
severe a disgrace. 

§ 8. The queen had long been in a declining state of health ; 
and having mistaken her dropsy for a pregnancy, she had made 
use of an improper regimen, and her malady daily augmented. 
Every reflection now tormented her. The consciousness of being 
hated by her subjects, the prospect of Elizabeth's succession, ap- 
prehensions of the danger to which the Catholic religion stood ex- 
posed, dejection for the loss of Calais, concern for the ill state of 
her affairs, and, above all, anxiety for the absence of her husband, 
preyed upon her mind, and threw her into a lingering fever, of 
which she died, after a short and unfortunate reign of 5 years 
(Nov. 17, 1558). The nation were thus delivered from their fears 
respecting the succession, for there can be little doubt that a plot 
had been formed to transfer the kingdom to Philip. It is not nec- 
essary to employ many words in drawing the character of this 
princess. She possessed few qualities either estimable or amiable, 
and her person was as little engaging as her behavior and address. 
Obstinacy, bigotry, violence, cruelty, malignity, revenge, tyranny 
— every circumstance of her character took a tincture from her 
bad temper and narrow understanding. Amid that complication of 
vices which entered into her composition, M^e shall scarcely find any 
virtue but sincerity, to which we may add that in many circum- 
stances of her life she gave indications of resolution and vigor of 
mind, a quality which seems to have been inherent in her family. 
Cardinal Pole died the same day with the queen. The benign 
character of this prelate, the modesty and humanity of his deport- 
ment, made him universally beloved. 

A passage to Archangel had been discovered by the English 
during the last reign, and a beneficial trade with Muscovy had 
been established. A solemn embassy was sent by the Czar to 
Mary, which seems to have been the first intercourse which that 
empire had with any of the western potentates of Europe. 



CHEONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.B. 

1553. Lady Jane Gray pi'oclaimed queen. 
Queen Mary's title acknowledged. 
Northumberland executed. The 
Roman Catholic religion re-estab- 
lished. 



A.D. 

1554. Wyatt's rebellion. Execution of Lady 

Jane Gray. 

1555. The Marian persecution. Burning of 

Hooper, Ridley, and Latimer. 

1556. Cranmer burned. 

1558. Calais lost. Death of Queen Mary. 




Queen Elizabeth. 

Ornament formed of bust of Queen Elizabeth, cut from a medal and inclosed in a border 
of goldsmith's work- representing Lancaster, York, and Tudor roses. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

ELIZABETH. FROM HER ACCESSION TO THE DEATH OF MARY QUEEN OF 

SCOTS. A.D. 1558-1587. 

§ 1. Accession of the Queen. Re-establishment of Protestantism. § 2. 
Peace with France. The Reformation in Scotland. Supported by Eliz- 
abeth. § 3. French Affairs. Arrival of Mary in Scotland. Her Ad- 
ministration. § 4. Wise Government of Elizabeth. Proposals of Mar- 
riage. . § 5. Civil Wars of France. Elizabeth assists the Huguenots. 
§ 6. The Thirty-nine Articles. Scotch Affairs. The Queen of Scots 
marries Darnley. Hostility and Duplicity of Elizabeth. § 7. Murder of 
Rizzio. Murder of Darnley. Bothwell marries the Q\ieen of Scots. 
Battle of Carberry Hill. § 8. Mary confined in Lochleven Castle. Mur- 
ray Regent. James VI. proclaimed. Mary's Escape and Flight to En- 
gland. § 9. Proceedings of the English Court. § 10. Duke of Norfolk's 
Conspiracy. Elizabeth excommunicated by the Pope. § 11- Rise of the 
Puritans. Their Proceedings in Parliament. § 12. Foreign Affairs. 
France and the Netherlands. § 13. New Conspiracy and Execution of 
the Duke of Norfolk. § 14. Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Civil war in 
France. Affairs of the Netherlands. § 15. Elizabeth's prudent Govern- 
ment. Naval Enterprises of Drake. § 16. Negotiations of Marriage 
with the Duke of Anjou. § 17. Conspiracies in England. The High 
Commission Court. Parry's Conspiracy. § 18. Affairs of the Low 
Countries. Hostilities with Spain. Battle of Zutphen and Death of Sid- 
ney. § 19. Babington's Conspiracy. § 20. Trial and Condemnation of 

o 



314 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIII. 

the Queen of Scots. § 21, Her Execution. § 22. Elizabeth's affected 
Sorrow. She apologizes to James. 

,, b § 1. Elizabeth was at Hatfield when she heard of her sister's 
death ; and after a few days she went thence to London, through 
crowds of people, who strove with each other in giving her the 
strongest testimony of their aifection. With a prudence and 
magnanimity truly laudible, she buried all offenses in oblivion, 
and received with affability even those who had acted with the 
greatest malevolence against her. When the bishops came in a 
body to make their obeisance to her, she expressed to all of them 
sentiments of regard, except to Bonner, from whom she turned 
aside as from a man polluted with blood, who was a just object 
of horror to every heart susceptible of humanity. 

Philip, who still hoped, by means of Elizabeth, to obtain do- 
minion over England, immediately made proposals of marriage to 
the queen, and he offered to procure from Rome a dispensation for 
that purpose ; but Elizabeth saw that the nation had entertained 
an extreme aversion to the Spanish alliance during her sister's 
reign. She was sensible that her affinity with Philip was exactly 
similar to that of her father with Catherine of Aragon, and that 
her marrying that monarch was in effect declaring herself illegit- 
imate, and incapable of succeeding to the throne. She therefore 
gave him an obliging though evasive answer ; and he still retain- 
ed such hopes of success that he sent a messenger to Kome with 
orders to solicit the dispensation. 

The queen, not to alarm the partisans of the Catholic religion, 
had retained eleven "of her sisters counselors; but, in order to 
balance their authority, she added others who were known to be 
inclined to the Protestant communion, among whom were Sir 
Nicholas Bacon, whom she created lord keeper, and Sir William 
Cecil, secretary of state. With these counselors, particularly Ce- 
cil, she frequently deliberated concerning the expediency of re- 
storing the Protestant religion, and the means of executing that 
great enterprise. She resolved to proceed by gradual and secure 
steps, but at the same time to discover such symptoms of her in- 
tentions as might give encouragement to the Protestants, so much 
depressed by the late violent persecutions. She immediately re- 
called all the exiles, and gave liberty to the prisoners who were 
confined on account of religion. She published a proclamation, 
by which she inhibited all preaching without a special license ; 
and she also suspended the laws, so far as to order a great part 
of the service — the Litany, the Lord's prayer, the Creed, and the 
Gospels — to be read in English ; and, having first published in- 
junctions that all the churches should conform themselves to the 
practice of her own chapel, she forbade the host to be any more 
elevated in her presence. 



A.D. 1559. PROTESTANTISM RE-ESTABLISHED. 315 

The bishops, foreseeing with certainty a revolution in rehgion, 
refused to officiate at her coronation, and it was with' some diffi- 
culty that the Bishop o£ Carlisle was at last prevailed on to per- 
form the ceremony (Jan. 13, 1559). The Parliament, which met 
soon after, began the session by a unanimous declaration of the 
validity of the queen's title to the throne. They then passed a 
bill for sujDpressing the monasteries lately erected, and for restor- 
ing the tenths and first-fruits to the queen; and another for re- 
storing to the crown the supremacy in ecclesiastical affairs. In 
order to exercise this authority, the queen, by a clause of the act, 
was empowered to name commissioners, either laymen or clergy- 
men, as she should think proper ; and on this clause was founded 
the Court of High Commission, which assumed large discretion- 
ary, not to say arbitrary powers, totally incompatible with any 
exact boundaries in the Constitution. Whoever refused to take 
an oath acknowledging the queen's supremacy was incapacitated 
from holding any office ; whoever denied the supremacy, or at- 
tempted to deprive the queen of that prerogative, forfeited, for 
the first offense, all his goods and chattels ; for the second, was 
subjected to the penalty of a praemunire ; but the third offense 
was declared treason. Lastly, an act was passed re-enacting all 
the laws of King Edward concerning religion, and prohibiting any 
minister, whether beneficed or not, to use any but the established 
Liturgy, under pain for the first offense of forfeiting goods and 
chattels, for the second of a year's imprisonment, and for the third 
of imprisonment during life. And thus in one session, without 
any violence, tumult, or clamor, Avas the whole system of religion 
altered. The laws enacted with regard to religion met with little 
opposition from any quarter. The Liturgy was again introduced 
in the vulgar tongue, and the oath of supremacy was tendered to 
the clergy. The bishops had taken such an active part in the 
restoration of popery under Mary, that, with the exception of the 
Bishop of Llandaff, they all felt themselves bound to refuse the 
oath, and were accordingly degraded from their sees by the Court 
of High Commission ; but of the inferior clergy through all En- 
gland, amounting to nearly 10,000, only about 100 dignitaries 
and 80 parochial priests sacrificed their livings to their religious 
principles. The Archbishopric of Canterbury, which was vacant 
by the death of Cardinal Pole, was conferred upon Parker. 

The two statutes above mentioned, usually called the Acts of 
Supremacy and Uniformity, were the great instruments of op- 
pressing the Catholics during this and many subsequent reigns. 
The House of Commons, at the conclusion of the session, made 
the queen an important but respectful address that she should fix 
her choice of a husband. She told the speaker that she could 



316 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIII. 

not take offense at the address, or regard it otherwise than as a 
new instance of their affectionate attachment to her ; but that 
farther interposition on their part would ill become either them 
to make as subjects, or her to bear as an independent princess ; 
that she was resolved to live and die a virgin ; and that, for her 
part, she desired that no higher character or fairer remembrance 
of her should be transmitted to posterity than to have this in- 
scription engraved on her tomb-stone : " Here lies Elizabeth, who 
lived and died a maiden queen." 

§ 2. The negotiations for a peace with France, which were in 
progress at the time of Mary's death, were concluded in the first 
year of Elizabeth. Calais remained in the hands of the French 
monarch, who promised to restore it at the end of eight years — a 
stipulation, however, which was never intended nor expected to 
be executed, A peace with Scotland was a necessary consequence 
of that with France. But, notwithstanding this peace, there soon 
appeared aground of quarrel of the most serious nature, and which 
was afterward attended with the most important consequences. 
The next heir to the English throne was Mary, Queen of Scots, 
now married to the dauphin ; and the King of France, at the per- 
suasion of the Duke of Guise and his brothers, ordered his son 
and daughter-in-law to assume openly the arms as well as title of 
King and Queen of England, and to quarter these arms on all 
their equipages, furniture, and liveries. When the English em- 
bassador complained of this injury, he could obtain nothing but 
an evasive answer ; and Elizabeth plainly saw that the King of 
France intended on the first opportunity, to dispute her legiti- 
macy and her title to the crown. Alarmed at the danger, she 
thenceforth conceived a violent jealousy against the Queen of 
Scots, and was determined, as far as possible, to incapacitate Hen- 
ry from the execution of his project. The sudden death of that 
monarch, who was killed in a tournament at Paris while celebrat- 
ing the espousals of his sister with the Duke of Savoy, altered not 
her views. Being informed that his successor, Francis II., the 
husband of Mary, still continued to assume, without reserve, the 
title of King of England, she began to consider him and his queen 
as her mortal enemies ; and the present situation of affairs in Scot- 
land afforded her a favorable opportunity both of revenging the 
injury and providing for her own safety. 

Since the murder of Cardinal Beaton the Eeformation had been 
proceeding with rapid steps in Scotland. Some of the leading re- 
formers, observing the danger to which they were exposed, and 
desirous to propagate their principles, entered privately, in 1557, 
into a bond or association, and called themselves the Congregation 
of the Lord, in contradistinction to the Established Church, which 



A.D. 1560. THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. ' 317 

they denominated the Congregation of Satan. The zeal and fury 
of this league was farther stimulated by the arrival of John Knox 
from Geneva, w^here he had passed some years in banishment, and 
where he had imbibed, from his commerce with Calvin, the stern- 
ness of his sect. Many acts of violence were committed upon the 
clergy, as well as upon the monasteries and churches, which pro- 
duced an open civil war. At length the leaders of the Congre- 
gation, encouraged by the intelligence received of the sudden death 
of Henry II., passed an act, from their own authority, depriving the 
queen dowager of the regency, and ordering all the French troops 
to evacuate the kingdom. They collected forces to put their edict 
in execution against them, and solicited succors from Elizabeth.' 
The wise council of Elizabeth did not deliberate lono; in agrreeing 
to this request ; and though the Scotch Presbyterians, and espe- 
cially their leader, Knox, were hateful to the queen, Cecil at length 
persuaded her to support, by arms and money, the affairs of the 
Congregation in Scotland. She concluded a treaty of mutual de- 
fense with them, and she promised never to desist till the French 
had entirely evacuated Scotland. The appearance of Elizabeth's 
fleet in the Frith of Forth (Jan. 15, 1560) disconcerted the French 
army, who shut themselves up in Leith ; while the English army, 
re-enforced by 5000 Scots, sat down before the place. The French 
were obliged to capitulate ; and plenipotentiaries from France 
signed a treaty at Edinburgh with Cecil and Dr. Wotton, whom 
Elizabeth had sent thither for that purpose. It was there stipu- 
lated that the French should instantly evacuate Scotland, and that 
the King and Queen of France and Scotland should thenceforth 
abstain from bearing the arms of England, or assuming the title 
of that kingdom (July 6, 1560). The subsequent measures of the 
Scottish Reformers tended still more to cement their union with 
England. Being now entirely masters of the kingdom, they made 
no farther ceremony or scruple in fully effecting their purpose. 
Laws were passed abolishing the mass and the papal jurisdiction 
in Scotland ; and the Presbyterian form of discipline was settled, 
leaving only at first some shadow of authority to certain ecclesi- 
astics whom they called superintendents. 

§ 3. Elizabeth soon found that the house of Guise, notwitli- 
standing their former disappointments, had not laid aside the de- 
sign of contesting her title and subverting her authority. But the 
progress of the Reformation in France, as well as the sudden death 
of the king, Francis II., interrupted the prosperity of the Duke 
of Guise. Catherine de Medicis, the queen mother, was appoint- 
ed regent to her son, Charles IX., now in his minority; and the 
King of Navarre, who was favorable to the Protestants, was named 
lieutenant general of the kingdom. Catherine de Medicis, who 



318 ' ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIII. 

imputed to Mary all the mortifications which she had met with 
dming Francis's lifetime, took care to retaliate on her by like in- 
juries ; and the Queen of Scots, finding her abode in France dis- 
agreeable, resolved to return to Scotland, and landed at Leith, 
Aug. 19, 1561. This change of abode and situation was very- 
little agreeable to that princess. It is said that after she had em- 
barked at Calais she kept her eyes fixed on the coast of France, 
and never turned them from that beloved object till darkness fell 
and intercepted it from her view. She then ordered a couch to 
be spread for her in the open air ; and charged the pilot that, if 
in the morning the land were still in sight, he should awake her, 
and afibrd her one parting view of that country in which all her 
affections were centred. The weather proved calm, so that the 
ship made little way in the nighttime, and Mary had once more 
an opportunity of seeing the French coast. She sat up on her 
couch, and, still looking toward the land, often repeated these 
words : " Farewell, France, farewell ! I shall never see thee more !" 
The first aspect, however, of things in Scotland was more favor- 
able, if not to her pleasure" and happiness, at least to her repose 
and security, than she had reason to apprehend. No sooner did 
the French galleys appear off Leith than people of all ranks, who 
had long expected their arrival, flocked toward the shore with 
an earnest impatience to behold and receive their young sover- 
eign. She had now reached her 19th year ; and the bloom of 
her youth and the amiable beauty of her person were farther rec- 
ommended by the affability of her address, the politeness of her 
manners, and the elegance of her genius. The first measures 
which Mary embraced confirmed all the prepossessions entertain- 
ed in her favor ; she bestowed her confidence entirely on the lead- 
ers of the Reformed party, who had great influence over the peo- 
ple, and who, she found, were alone able to support her govern- 
ment. But there was one circumstance which blasted all these 
promising appearances. She was still a papist ; and though she 
published, soon after her arrival, a proclamation enjoining every 
one to submit to the established religion, the preachers and their 
adherents could neither be reconciled to a person polluted with so 
great an abomination, nor lay aside jealousies of her future con- 
duct. It was with great difficulty she could obtain permission for 
saying mass in her own chapel ; she was soon exposed to every 
kind of contumely. The clergy, and the preachers in particular, 
took a pride in villifying her even to her face. The ringleader in 
these insults on the queen was John Knox, who possessed an un- 
controlled authority in the Church, and even in the civil affairs of 
the nation, and who triumphed in the contumelious usage of his 
sovereign. His usual appellation for the queen was Jezebel ; and 



A.D. 1561. ELIZABETH'S ADMINISTRATION. 319 

though she endeavored, by the most gracious condescension, to 
win his favor, all her insinuations could make no impression on 
his obdurate heart. Mary, whose age, condition, and education 
invited her to liberty and cheerfulness, was curbed in all amuse- 
ments by the absurd severity of those Reformers ; and she found 
every moment reason to regret her leaving that country from 
whose manners she had in her early youth received her first im- 
pressions. 

§ 4. Meanwhile, Elizabeth employed herself in regulating the 
affairs of her own kingdom. She made some progress in paying 
those great debts which lay upon the crown ; she regulated the 
coin, which had been much debased by her predecessors ; she in- 
troduced into the kingdom the art of making gunpowder and brass 
cannon ; fortified her frontiers on the side of Scotland ; made fre- 
quent reviews of the militia ; promoted trade and navigation ; and 
so much increased the shipping of her kingdom, both by building 
vessels of force herself, and suggesting like undertakings to the 
merchants, that she was justly styled the Restorer of Naval Glory 
and the Queen of the Northern Seas. It is easy to imagine that 
so great a princess, who enjoyed such singular felicity and renown, 
would receive proposals of marriage from several foreign princes 
— as the Archduke Charles, second son of the emperor ; Casimer, 
son of the elector palatine ; Eric, King of Sweden ; Adolph, Duke 
of Holstein ; and the Earl of Arran, heir to the crown of Scot- 
fand. Even some of her own subjects, though they did not openly 
declare their pretensions, entertained hopes of success. Among 
the latter, the person most likely to succeed was a younger son of 
the late Duke of Northumberland, Lord Robert Dudley, who, by 
means of his exterior qualities, joined to address and flattery, had 
become in a manner her declared favorite, and had great influence 
in all her councils. But the queen gave all these suitors a gentle 
refusal, which still encouraged their pursuit ; and she thought that 
she should the better attach them to her interests if they were still 
allowed to entertain hopes of succeeding in their pretensions. 

§ 5. The progress of the Reformation in France threatened not 
only to involve that country in a civil war, but also to embroil 
other nations in the quarrel. The change produced in the polit- 
ical parties of that country by the death of. Francis 11. has been 
already mentioned. The queen regent had formed the project of 
governing both parties by playing one against the other ; for, 
though religion was the pretense, ambition and the love of power 
were the real motives of the leaders. But faction, farther stimu- 
lated by religious zeal and hatred, soon grew too violent to be con- 
trolled. The Constable Montmorency joined himself to the Duke 
of Guise ; the King of Navarre embraced the same party ; and 




320 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVHI. 

Catherine, finding herself depressed by this combination, had re- 
course to Conde and the Huguenots,* as the French Protestants 
were called, who gladly embraced the opportunity of fortifying 
themselves by her countenance and protection. Conde, Coligny, 
and the other Protestant leaders, assembled their friends and flew 
to arms ; Guise and Montmorency got possession of the king's 
person, and constrained the queen regent to embrace their party ; 
fourteen armies were levied and put in motion in different parts 
of France ; and each province, each city, each family, was agitated 
with intestine rage and animosity. The Prince of Conde applied 
to Elizabeth for assistance, and offered to put Havre into the hands 
of the English. This offer was accepted by Elizabeth. An En- 
glish army took possession of the town, and rendered important 
service to the Huguenots. But the captivity of Conde and Mont- 
morency, who were soon afterward taken prisoners in battle, and 
the assassination of the Duke of Guise, made both parties anxious 
for peace ; and the Huguenots accordingly concluded a treaty with 
the queen mother without consulting Elizabeth. The English 
queen, however, refused to surrender Havre, and she sent orders 
to the Earl of Warwick, the commander of the town, to prepare 
himself against an attack from the now united power of the French 
monarchy. The plague, however, crept in among the English 
soldiers ; and being increased by their fatigue and bad diet, it 
made such ravages that Warwick found himself obliged to capit- 
ulate, and to content himself with the liberty of withdrawing his 
garrison. To increase the misfortune, the infected army brought 
the plague with them into England, where it swept off great mul- 
titudes, particularly in the city of London. About 20,000 per- 
sons there died of it in one year. Elizabeth was now glad to com- 
pound matters ; and as the queen regent desired to obtain leisure, 
in order to prepare measures for the extermination of the Hu- 
guenots, a treaty of peace was concluded between the two coun- 
tries. 

§ 6. In the convocation which assembled in 1563, the last hand 
was put to the Reformation in England by the establishment of 
the 39 Articles in the form in which they now exist. The peace 
still continued with Scotland ; and even a cordial friendship seem- 
ed to have been cemented between Elizabeth and Mary. These 
princesses made profession of the most entire affection, wrote 
amicable letters every week to each other, and had adopted, in all 
appearance, the sentiments as well as style of sisters. But Mary's 
close connection with the house of Guise was the ground of just 
and insurmountable jealousy to Elizabeth. She always told the 

* This word is a corruption of the German Eidgenossen, i. e., "bound to- 
gether by oath." 



A.D. 1561-1565. SCOTCH AFFAIRS, 321 

Queen of Scots that nothing would satisfy her but her espousing 
some English nobleman ; and she at last named Lord Robert Dud- 
ley, now created Earl of Leicester, as the person on whom she de- 
sired that Mary's choice should fall. The Earl of Leicester, the 
great and powerful favorite of Elizabeth, possessed all those ex- 
terior qualities which are naturally alluring to the fair sex: a 
handsome person, a polite address, and insinuating behavior ; and 
by means of these accomplishments he had been able to bhnd even 
the penetration of Elizabeth, and conceal from her the great de- 
fects, or rather odious vices, which attended his character. He 
was proud, insolent, interested, ambitious ; without honor, with- 
out generosity, without humanity ; and atoned not for these bad 
qualities by such abilities or courage as could fit him for that high 
trust and confidence with which she always honored him. Her 
constant and declared attachment to him had naturally embolden- 
ed him to aspire to her hand ; and, in order to make way for these 
nuptials, he was universally believed to have murdered, in a bar- 
barous manner, his wife, the heiress of one Robsart. The pro- 
posal of espousing Mary was by no means agreeable to him ; and 
he always ascribed it to the contrivance of Cecil, his enemy. The 
queen herself had not any serious intention of effecting this mar- 
riage ; the Earl of Leicester was too great a favorite to be parted 
with ; and when Mary seemed at last to hearken to Elizabeth's 
proposal, this princess receded from her offers. After two years 
had been spent in evasions and artifices, Mary's subjects and coun- 
selors, and probably herself, began to think it full time that some 
marriage was concluded ; and Lord Darnley, son of the Earl of 
Lenox, was the person selected for her consort. He was Mary's 
cousin-german by the Lady Margaret Douglas, niece to Henry 
VIIL, and was, after Mary, next heir to the crown of England.* 
He had been born and educated in England, where the Earl of 
Lenox had constantly resided since he had been banished by the 
prevailing power of the house of Hamilton. Elizabeth used all 
her efforts to prevent this marriage. She ordered Darnley im- 
mediately, upon his allegiance, to return to England ; threw the 
Countess of Lenox and her second son into' the Tower, where they 
suffered a rigorous confinement ; seized all Lenox's English es- 
tate; and, though it was impossible for her to assign one single 
reason for her displeasure, she menaced, and protested, and com- 
plained, as if she had suffered the most grievous injury in the 
world. The marriage was celebrated on July 29, 1565. It also 
gave great offense to the Scottish Reformers, because the family 
of Lenox was believed to adhere to the Catholic faith ; and though 
Darnley, who now bore the name of King Henry, went often to 
* See the genealogical table, p. 241, 
2 



322 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIII. 

the Established Church, he could not, by his exterior compliance, 
gain the confidence and regard of the ecclesiastics. The Earl of 
Murray, the half-brother of Mary, being an illegitimate son of 
James V., and other Scottish lords, being secretly encouraged by 
Elizabeth, had recourse to arms. But the nation was in no dis- 
position for rebellion. The king and queen advancing to Edin- 
burgh at the head of their army, the rebels found themselves un- 
der a necessity of abandoning their country, and of taking shelter 
in England. Elizabeth, wdien she found the event so much to dis- 
appoint her expectations, thought proper to disavow all connec- 
tions with the Scottish malcontents ; and it was only by a sudden 
and violent incident, which, in the issue, brought on the ruin of 
Mary herself, that they were saved from the rigor of the law. 

§ 7. The marriage of the Queen of Scots with Lord Darnley 
was so natural and so inviting in all its circumstances that it had 
been precipitately agreed to by that princess and her council ; and 
while she was allured by his youth, and beauty, and exterior ac- 
complishments, she had at first overlooked the qualities of his 
mind, which nowise corresponded to the excellence of his out- 
ward figure. * She had loaded him with benefits and honors ; but, 
having leisure afterward to remark his weakness and vices, she 
began to see the danger of her profuse liberality, and was resolved 
thenceforth to proceed with more reserve in the trust which she 
should confer upon him. His resentment against this prudent 
conduct served but the more to increase her disgust ; and the 
young prince, enraged at her imagined neglects, pointed his venge- 
ance against every one whom he deemed the cause of this change 
in her measures and behavior. There was in the court one David 
Kizzio, who had of late obtained a very extraordinary degree of 
confidence and favor with the Queen of Scots. He was a Pied- 
montese of mean birth, son of a teacher of music. Mary's secre- 
tary for French dispatches having incurred her displeasure, she 
promoted Rizzio to that office, which gave him frequent oppor- 
tunities of approaching her person and insinuating himself into 
her favor. The favorite was of a disagreeable figure, but was not 
past his youth ; and though the opinion of his criminal corre- 
spondence with Mary might seem of itself unreasonable, if not ab- 
surd, a suspicious husband could find no other means of account- 
ing for that lavish and imprudent kindness with which she hon- 
ored him. 

Eizzio, who had connected his interests with the Roman Cath- 
olics, was the declared enemy of the banished lords ; and by pro- 
moting the violent prosecutions iigainst them, he had exposed 
himself to the animosity of their numerous friends and retainers. 
Morton, the chancellor, insinuating himself into Darnley's confi- 



AD. 1565, 1566. MURDER OF RIZZIO. 323 

dence, employed all his art to inflame the discontent and jealousy 
of that prince ; and he persuaded him that the only means of 
freeing himself from the indignities under which he labored was 
to brinsT the base strano;er to the fate which he had so well mer- 
ited. George Douglas, natural brother to the Countess of Lenox, 
the Lords Ruthven and Lindesey, and even the Earl of Lenox, 
the king's father, concurred in the same advice. A messenger 
was dispatched to the banished lords, who w^ere hovering near 
the borders, and they were invited by the king to return to their 
native country. The design, so atrocious in itself, was rendered 
stni more so by the circumstances which attended its execution. 
Mary, who was in the sixth month of her pregnancy, was supping 
in private (March 9, 1566) with Rizzio and others of her servants. 
The king entered the room by a private passage, and stood at the 
back of Mary's chair ; Lord Ruthven, George Douglas, and other 
conspirators, being all armed, rushed in after him ; and the Queen 
of Scots, terrified with the appearance, demanded of them the 
reason of this rude intrusion. They told her that they intended 
no violence against her person, but meant only to bripg that vil- 
lain, pointing to Rizzio, to his deserved punishment. Rizzio, 
aware of the danger, ran behind his mistress, and, seizing her by 
the waist, called aloud to her for protection, while she interposed 
in his behalf with cries, and menaces, and entreaties. The im- 
patient assassins, regardless of her efforts, rushed upon their prey. 
Douglas, seizing Henry's dagger, stuck it in the body of Rizzio, 
who, screaming with fear and agony, was torn from Mary by the 
other conspirators, and pushed into the antechamber, where he 
was dispatched with, fifty-six wounds. The unhappy princess, 
informed of his fate, immediately dried her tears, and said she 
would weep no more, she would now think of revenge. The in- 
sult, indeed, upon her person ; the stain attempted to be fixed on 
her honor ; the danger to which her life was exposed on account 
of her pregnancy, were injuries so atrocious and so complicated 
that they scarcely left room for pardon, even from the greatest 
lenity and mercy. 

Mary shortly afterward brought forth a son in the castle of 
Edinburgh (June 19). This event caused the English Parliament 
again to press Elizabeth for some settlement of the succession, at 
which she expressed her high displeasure, and eluded the applica- 
tion. It also gave additional zeal to the English party which 
favored Mary's claims. The friends of the Queen of Scots mul- 
tiplied every day ; and most of the considerable men in England, 
eitcept Cecil, seemed convinced -of the necessity of declaring her 
tfefe successor. But all these flattering prospects were blasted by 
the subsequent incidents ; where Mary's egregious indiscretions, 



324 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIII. 

or rather atrocious crimes, threw her from the height of her pros- 
perity, and involved her in infamy and ruin. 

The Earl of Bothwell, of a considerable family and power in 
Scotland, but a man of profligate manners, had of late acquu'ed 
the favor and entire confidence of Mary, and all her measures were 
directed by his advice and authority. Reports were spread of 
more particular intimacies between them, and these reports gained 
ground from the continuance or rather increase of her hatred to- 
ward her husband. That young prince was reduced to such a 
state of desperation by the neglects which he underwent from his 
queen and the courtiers, that he had once resolved to fly secretly 
into France or Spain, and had even provided a vessel for that 
purpose. Suddenly, however, Mary pretended to be reconciled to 
him after his recovery from a dangerous illness. She lived in the 
palace of Holyrood House, but for some reason an apartment was 
assigned him in a solitary house at some distance, called the Kirk 
of Field. Mary here gave him marks of kindness and attach- 
ment ; she conversed cordially with him, and she lay some nights 
in a room below his ; but on the 9th of February (1567) she told 
him that she would pass that night in the palace, because the mar- 
riage of one of her servants was there to be celebrated in her pres- 
ence. About two o'clock in the morning the whole town was 
much alarmed at hearing a great noise, and was still more aston- 
ished when it was discovered that the noise came from the king's 
house, which was blown up by gunpowder ; that his dead body 
was found at some distance in a neighboring field; and that no 
marks, either of fire, contusion, or violence, appeared upon it. 

No doubt could be entertained but Henry was murdered ; and 
general conjecture soon pointed toward the Earl of Bothwell as 
the author of the crime. But, as his favor with Mary was visi- 
ble, and his power great, no one ventured to declare openly his 
sentiments. Mary's subseqnent conduct justified these suspicions. 
The Earl of Lenox demanded speedy justice on his son's assassins. 
Mary took his demand very literally, assigned only 15 days for 
the examination of the matter, and cited Lenox to appear and 
prove his charge. But that nobleman was afraid to trust him- 
self in Edinburgh ; and as neither accuser nor witness appeared 
at the trial, Bothwell was acquitted. In the Parliament which 
met two days after, he was the person chosen to carry the royal 
sceptre ; and no notice was taken of the king's murder. On its 
dissolution, several of the nobility signed a paper promising to 
support Bothwell, and recommending him to the queen as her 
husband. Shortly afterward, Mary having gone to Stirling :|q 
pay a visit to her son, Bothwell assembled a body of 800 horse <iii 
pretense of pursuing some robbers on the borders, and, having 



A.D. 1566, 1567. MARY CONFINED IN LOCHLEVEN CASTLE. 325 

waylaid her on her return, he seized her person near Edinburgh 
and carried her to Dunbar, with an avowed design of forcing her 
to yield to his purpose. Sir James Melvill, one of her retinue, 
was carried along with her, and says not that he saw any signs 
of reluctance or constraint ; he was even informed, as he tells us, 
by Bothwell's. officers, that the whole transaction was managed in 
concert with her. Bothwell was married to a sister of the Earl 
of Huntley; but a suit for a divorce between Bothwell and his 
Avife was opened at the same instant in two different or rather 
opposite courts — one being Popish, the other Protestant ; was 
pleaded, examined, and decided in four days ; and a sentence of 
divorce pronounced. The marriage was solemnized by the Bishop 
of Orkney (May 15), a Protestant, who was afterward deposed by 
the Church for his scandalous compliance. 

The Protestant teachers, who had great authority, had long 
borne an animosity to Mary, and the opinion of her guilt was, by 
that means, the more widely diffused, and made the deeper im- 
pression on the people. Some attempts made by Bothwell, and, 
as is pretended, with her consent, to get the young prince into his 
power, excited the most serious attention ; and the principal no- 
bility met at Stirling, and formed an association for protecting the 
prince, and punishing the king's murderers. Having levied an 
army, they met the forces of the queen and Bothwell at Carberry 
Hill, about six miles from Edinburgh. Mary soon became sen- 
sible that her own troops disapproved of her cause, and she saw 
no resource but that of putting herself, upon some general prom- 
ises, into the hands of the confederates. She was conducted to 
Edinburgh amid the insults of the populace, who reproached her 
with her crimes, and even held before her eyes a banner on which 
were pamted the murder of her husband and the distress of her 
infant son. Meanwhile, Bothwell fled unattended to Dunbar, and 
eventually made his escape to Denmark. 

§ 8. The Queen of Scots was sent under a guard to the castle 
of Lochleven, situated in the lake of that name. Elizabeth seem- 
ed touched with compassion toward the unfortunate queen, and 
sent Sir Nicholas Throgmorton embassador to Scotland, in order 
to remonstrate both with Mary and the associated lords. He was 
instructed to express to her Elizabeth's high dissatisfaction at her 
conduct, but at the same time to declare that the late events had 
touched Elizabeth's heart with sympathy, and that she was de- 
termined not to see her oppressed by her rebellious subjects. At 
the same time, he was to demand that the punishment of Darn- 
ley's assassins should be intrusted to Elizabeth, and that Mary's 
infant son should be sent into England to be educated. But the 
associated lords were determined to proceed with severity, and 



326 ELIZABETH, Chap. XVIII. 

they thought proper, after several affected delays, to refuse the 
English embassador all access to Mary. Some were even of opin- 
ion that the captive queen should be publicly tried and impris- 
oned for life, or capitally punished. Having selected the Earl of 
Murray for regent, who possessed the confidence of the more zeal- 
ous Reformers, three instruments were sent to Mary, by one of 
which she was to resign the crown in favor of her son, by another 
to appoint Murray regent, by the third to make a council which 
should administer the government until his arrival in Scotland. 
The Queen of Scots, seeing no prospect of relief, was prevailed on, 
after a plentiful effusion of tears, to sign these three instruments ; 
and, in consequence of this forced resignation, the young prince 
was proclaimed king by the name of James VI. He was soon 
after crowned at Stirling (July 29, 1567), and the Earl of Mor- 
ton took, in his name, the coronation oath, in which a promise to 
extirpate heresy was not forgotten. The Earl of Murray arrived 
soon after from France, and took possession of his high office. He 
paid a visit to the captive queen, in which he treated her with 
great harshness ; and the Parliament which he assembled, after 
voting that she was undoubtedly an accomplice in her husband's 
murder, condemned her to imprisonment, ratified her resignation 
of the crown, and acknowledged her son for king, and Murray for 
regent. But many of the principal nobility from various motives, 
and all who retained any propensity to the Roman Catholic re- 
ligion, formed a party in favor of the queen. Meanwhile, Mary 
had engaged, by her charms and caresses, a young gentleman, 
George Douglas, brother to the Laird of Lochleven, to assist her 
in escaping. He conveyed her in disguise into a small boat, and 
himself rowed her ashore (May 2, 1568). She hastened to Ham- 
ilton, where her adherents had already assembled, and in a few 
days an army of 6000 men was ranged under her standard. The 
regent also made haste to assemble forces ; and, notwithstanding 
that his army was inferior in number to that of the Queen of 
Scots, he took the field against her. A battle was fought at Lang- 
side, near Glasgow (May 13), which was entirely decisive in fa- 
vor of the regent, and was followed by a total dispersion of the 
queen's party. That unhappy princess fled southward from the 
field of battle with great precipitation, and at last embraced the 
resolution of taking shelter in England. She embarked on board 
a fishing-boat in Galloway, and landed the same day at Working- 
ton, in Cumberland, about thirty miles from Carlisle, whence she 
immediately dispatched a messenger to London, notifying her ar- 
rival, desiring leave to visit Elizabeth, and craving her protection, 
in consequence of former professions of friendship made her by 
that princess. 



A.D. 1568. PROCEEDINGS OF ENGLISH COURT, 327 

§ 9. Elizabeth now found herself in a situation when it was 
become necessary to take some decisive resolution with regard to 
her treatment of the Queen of Scots ; and, upon the advice of 
Cecil, it was determined that Mary should be detained in custody, 
and broua;ht to trial for her husband's murder. A messasfe was 
accordingly sent to her at Carlisle, expressing the queen's sympa- 
thy with her in her late misfortunes, but stating that her request 
of being allowed to visit Elizabeth could not be complied with till 
she had cleared herself of her husband's murder, of which she was 
so strongly accused. So unexpected a check threw Mary into 
tears ; and the necessity of her situation extorted from her a dec- 
laration that she would willingly justify herself to her sister from 
all imputations, and would submit her cause to the arbitration of 
so good a friend. This concession, which Mary could scarcely 
avoid without an acknowledgment of guilt, was the point expected 
and desired by Elizabeth ; she immediately dispatched a message 
to the regent of Scotland, requiring him both to desist from far- 
ther prosecution of his queen's party, and to send some persons to 
London to justify his conduct with regard to her. Murray might 
justly be startled at receiving a message so violent and imperious ; 
but, as his domestic enemies were numerous and powerful, and 
England was the sole ally which he could expect among foreign 
nations, he found it prudent to reply that he would willingly sub- 
mit the determination of his cause to Elizabeth. 

As the Queen of Scots had subsequently, as well as before, dis- 
covered great aversion to the trial proposed, and as Carlisle, by 
its situation on the borders, afforded her great opportunities of 
contriving her escape, she was removed to Bolton, a seat of Lord 
Scrope's, in Yorkshire. The commissioners appointed by the 
English court for the examination of this great cause were the 
Duke of Norfolk,*" the Earl of Sussex, and Sir Ralph Sadler. It 
would be impossible within our limits to enter into details of this 
important trial. After it had proceeded some time, it was trans- 
ferred to Hampton Court ; and Sir Nicholas Bacon, lord-keeper, 
the Earls of Arundel and Leicester, Lord Clinton, admiral, and 
Sir W. Cecil, secretary, were added to the English commissioners. 
The regent Murray, alarmed at first by reports of Elizabeth's 
partiality for the Queen of Scots, had kept back the most griev- 
ous part of the accusation against her ; but, being encouraged by 
the assurances of Elizabeth, at length accused her in plain terms 
of being an accomplice with Both well in the assassination of the 
king ; the Earl of Lennox too appeared before the commissioners, 
and, imploring vengeance, repeated Murray's charge. To this 
public and distinct accusation Mary's commissioners refused to 
* Son of the Earl of Surrey executed by Henry VIII. 



328 ' ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIIl. 

reply, and they grounded their silence on very extraordinary rea- 
sons. They had orders, they said, from their mistress, if any 
thing were advanced that might touch her honor, not to make any 
defense, as she was a sovereign princess, and could not be subject 
to any tribunal ; and they required that she should previously be 
admitted to Elizabeth's presence, to whom, and to whom alone, 
she was determined to justify her innocence. As if the confer- 
ences had been begun with any other end than to clear her from 
the accusations of her enemies ! But Elizabeth's ministers, not 
satisfied with this evasion, and desirous to have proofs of Mary's 
guilt, summoned Murray before them, and reproved him in the 
queen's name, for the atrocious imputations which he had the te- 
merity to throw upon his sovereign. Murray, thus urged, made 
no difficulty in producing the proofs of his charge against the 
Queen of Scots ; and among the rest, some love-letters and son- 
nets of hers to Bothwell, written all in her own hand, and two 
other papers, one written in her own hand, another subscribed by 
her and written by the Earl of Huntley, each of which contained 
a promise of marriage with Bothwell made before the pretended 
trial and acquittal of that nobleman. These papers, which had 
been intercepted when the associated lords were besieging the cas- 
tle of Edinburgh, contained incontestable proofs of Mary's crim- 
inal correspondence with Bothwell, of her consent to the king's 
murder, and of her concurrence in the violence which Bothwell 
pretended to commit upon her. The objections made to their au- 
thenticity are, in general, of small force ; but were they ever so 
specious, they can not now be hearkened to, since Mary, at the 
time when the truth could have been fully cleared, did, in effect, 
ratify the evidence against her by recoiling from the inquiry at the 
very critical moment, and refusing to give an answer to the accu- 
sation of her enemies. Her commissioners, as soon as Murray 
opened his charge, endeavored to turn the conference from an in- 
quiry into a negotiation, and never would make any reply. 

Elizabeth, though she had seen enough for her own satisfaction, 
was determined that the most eminent persons of her court should 
also be acquainted with these transactions, and should be con- 
vinced of the equity of her proceedings. She ordered her privy 
council, together with some of the principal nobility, to be assem- 
bled ; all the proceedings were laid before them ; and, on the 
whole, Elizabeth told them that, as she had from the first thought 
it improper that Mary, after such horrid crimes were imputed to 
her, should be admitted to her presence before she had in some 
measure justified herself from the charge, so now, when her guilt 
was confirmed by so many evidences, and all answer refused, she 
must, for her part, persevere more steadily in that resolution. 



A.D.15G8. DUKE OF NORFOLK'S CONSPIRACY. 329 

Elizabeth next told the Queen of Scots' commissioners that she 
must regard Mary's resolution of making no reply at all as the 
strongest confession of guilt ; nor could they ever be deemed her 
friends who advised her to that method of proceeding. The Queen 
of Scots had no other subterfuge than still to demand a personal 
interview with Elizabeth, a concession which, she was sensible, 
would never be granted. Orders were now given for removing 
the Queen of Scots from Bolton, a place surrounded with Catholics, 
to Tutbury, in the county of Stafford, where she was put under 
the custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury. Elizabeth promised to 
bury every thing in oblivion provided Mary would agree either 
voluntarily to resign her crown, or to associate her son with her 
in the government ; the administration to remain, during his mi- 
nority, in the hands of the Earl of Murray. But that high-spirited 
princess refused all treaty upon such terms, and declared that her 
last words should be those of a Queen of Scotland. 

§ 10. Soon after the trial of the Queen of Scots, the ambition 
and imprudence of the Duke of Norfolk engaged him in a scheme 
for marrying her, which is said to have been suggested to him by 
the regent Murray. Mary expressed no aversion to the proposal ; 
but, as the opposition of Elizabeth was anticipated, Norfolk, pre- 
viously to applying for her consent, gained the approbation of the 
most considerable of the nobility to his scheme. Even the Earl 
of Leicester, Elizabeth's declared favorite, pretended to enter zeal- 
ously into Norfolk's interests, and wrote a letter to Mary, which 
was also signed by several of the first rank, recommending Nor- 
folk for her husband, and stipulating conditions for the advantage 
of both kingdoms. Mary returned a favorable answer to this ap- 
plication, and Norfolk employed himself with new ardor in the 
execution of his project. And though Elizabeth's consent was 
always supposed as a previous condition to the finishing of this 
alliance, it was apparently Norfolk's intention, when he proceeded 
such lengths without consulting her, to render his party so strong 
that it should no longer be in her power to refuse it. She was 
acquainted with the conspiracy through Leicester, and frequently 
warned the duke to beware on what pillow he reposed his head ; 
but he never had the prudence or the courage to open to her his 
full intentions. 

Norfolk was a Protestant ; but among the nobility and gentry 
that seemed to enter into his views there were many who were 
zealously attached to the Catholic religion, and who would gladly, 
by a combination with foreign powers, or even at the expense of 
a civil war, have placed Mary on the throne of England. The 
Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, who possessed great 
power in the north, were leaders of this party, and with other no- 



330 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVUl. 

blemeu formed a plan for liberating Mary. Norfolk discouraged, 
and even in appearance suppressed, these conspiracies ; and, in 
order to repress the surmises spread against him, spoke contempt- 
uously to Elizabeth of the Scottish alliance. But the suspicions 
of the government being awakened, he was committed to the 
Tower, under the custody of Sir Henry Nevil ; and several other 
noblemen were taken into custody. The Queen of Scots herself 
was removed to Coventry; all access to her was, during some 
time, more strictly prohibited ; and Viscount Hereford was joined 
to the Earls of Shrewsbury and Huntingdon in the office of 
guarding her. 

The Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland now attempt- 
ed a rising, which was put down without striking a blow; and the 
leaders fled into Scotland. Great severity was exercised against 
such as had taken part in this rash enterprise. But the queen 
v/as so well pleased with Norfolk's behavior, who, though in con- 
finement, had raised levies for her service, that she released him 
from the Tower, allowed him to live, though under some show of 
confinement, in his own house, and only exacted a promise from 
him not to proceed any farther in his negotiations with the Queen 
of Scots. 

Elizabeth now found that she had reason to expect little tran- 
quillity so long as the Scottish queen remained a prisoner in her 
hands, and she entered into a negotiation with Murray respecting 
her liberation. It is probable that she would have been pleased, 
on any honorable or safe terms, to rid herself of a prisoner who 
gave her so much disquietude. But all these projects vanished 
by the sudden death of the regent, who was assassinated, in re- 
venge of a private injury, by a gentleman of the name of Hamilton 
(Jan. 23, 1570). By the death of the regent Scotland relapsed 
into anarchy. Mary's party assembled themselves together, and 
made themselves masters of Edinburgh; but Elizabeth dispatched 
an army into Scotland to check their progress. Her subsequent 
policy was full of duplicity. She played one party against an- 
other, and seemed sometimes to favor Mary, sometimes the party 
which had set up the young king, and allowed them to choose his 
grandfather, Lenox, as regent. The Queen of Scots could not 
but perceive Elizabeth's insincerity; and, finding all her hopes 
eluded, was more strongly incited to make, at all hazards, every 
possible attempt for her liberty and security. An incident also 
happened about this time which tended to widen the breach be- 
tween Mary and Elizabeth, and to increase the vigilance and 
jealousy of the latter princess. Pope Pius V., who had succeed- 
ed Paul, issued a bull of excommunication against Elizabeth, de- 
prived her of all title to the crown, and absolved her subjects 



A.D. 1568-1570. RISE OF THE PURITANS. 33I 

from their oaths of allegiance (April 25, 1570). John Feltou 
affixed this bull to the gates of the Bishop of London's palace; 
and, scorning either to fly or deny the fact, he was seized and 
condemned, and received the crown of martyrdom, for which he 
seems to have entertained so violent an ambition. 

§11. It was at this period that the sect of the Puritans, who 
were afterward to play so great a part in the aifairs of England, 
first began to make themselves considerable. It is computed 
that during the Marian persecutions 800 Protestants sought an 
asylum in Germany and Switzerland. Among them were many 
who, like Hooper, had been desirous of carrying reforms in the 
Church of England, especially in the matter of ceremonies and 
vestments, farther than Cranmer had done, and disputes upon 
these points broke out in 1554 among the Marian exiles settled 
at Frankfort. The exiles carried their quarrels back with them 
into England after the accession of Elizabeth, where they were 
the origin of dissent, or " the separation."* These controversies 
had already excited such ferment among the people, that in some 
places they refused to frequent the churches where the habits and 
ceremonies were used ; would not salute the conforming clergy ; 
and proceeded so. far as to revile them in the streets, to spit in 
their faces, and to use them with all manner of contumely. But 
there was another set of opinions adopted by these innovators, 
which rendered them in a peculiar manner the object of Eliza- 
beth's aversion. The same bold and daring spirit which accom- 
panied them in their addresses to the Divinity appeared in their 
political speculations ; and the principles of civil liberty, which 
during some reigns had been little av^o^ved in the nation, and 
which were totally incompatible with the present exorbitant pre- 
rogative, had been strongly adopted by this new sect. Indeed, so 
absolute was the authority of the crown, that the precious spark 
of liberty was kindled and preserved by the Puritans alone, and it 
is to them that the English owe the whole freedom of their Con- 
stitution. Elizabeth neglected no opportunity of depressing those 
zealous innovators ; and Avhile they were secretly countenanced 
by some of her most favored ministers, Cecil, Leicester, KnoUes, 
Bedford, Walsingham, she was never, to the end of her life, recon- 
ciled to their principles and practices. 

§ 12. The affairs of relioion were in that a^e not only the cause 
of internal seditions and rebellions in various states, but also play- 
ed a great part in the foreign policy of kingdoms. The cause of 
the Queen of Scots was identified with that of the Roman Catho- 
lic party in Europe, and was secretly favored by the courts of 

* For an account of the " Troubles of Frankfort" and origin of dissent in 
the English Church, see Dyer's Life, of Calvin, ch. xii. 



332 ELIZABETH. CiiAP.XVlll. 

France and Spain, and Elizabeth, therefore, could not regard with 
indifference the events that were passing in those countries. In 
France the wars of religion had already broken out, and the re- 
spective heads of the Roman Catholic and Huguenot parties had 
fallen in the open field ; the Constable Montmorency on the plains 
of St. Denis, the Duke of Conde at the battle of Jarnac. But 
their places w^ere supplied by leaders of equal zeal and ability. 
The young Duke of Guise was destined to eclipse the fame of his 
father ; while, on the other side, the indomitable Admiral Coligny 
had placed the young Conde and the Prince of Navarre, then only 
16, at the head of the Huguenots. To the latter party Elizabeth 
had secretly lent assistance; but' in 1570 the court of France 
concluded a hollow peace with them, which was only intended to 
lure them to a surer and more fatal destruction. Among the 
other artifices employed to lull the Protestants into a fatal securi- 
ty, Charles IX. of France aifected to enter into close connection 
with Elizabeth. The better to deceive her, proposals of marriage 
were made her with the Duke of Anjou ; terms of the contract 
were proposed, difficulties started and removed ; and the two 
courts, equally insincere, though not equally culpable, seemed to 
approach every day nearer to each other in their demands and 
concessions. The queen had several motives for dissimulation. 
Besides the advantage of discouraging Mary's partisans by the 
prospect of an alliance between France and England, her situa- 
tion with Philip demanded her utmost vigilance and attention ; 
and the violent authority established in the Low Countries made 
her desirous of fortifying herself even with the bare appearance 
of a new confederacy. 

Philip had left the Duchess of Parma governess of the Low 
Countries ; and the plain good sense and good temper of that prin- 
cess, had she been intrusted with the sole power, would have pre- 
served the submission of those opulent provinces, which were lost 
from that refinement of treacherous and barbarous politics on which 
the King of Spain so highly valued himself The cruelties exer- 
cised in the name of religion, and the establishment of the Inqui- 
sition, had excited a disposition to revolt; and Philip determined 
to lay hold of the popular disorders as a pretense for entirely abol- 
ishing the privileges of the Low Country provinces, and for ruling 
them thenceforth with military and arbitrary authority. In the 
execution of this violent design he employed the Duke of Alva, a 
proper instrument in the hands of such a tyrant. All the privileges 
of the provinces, the gift of so many princes, and the inheritance 
of so many ages, were openly and expressly abolished by edict; ar- 
bitrary and sanguinary tribunals erected ; the Counts Egmont and 
Horn, in spite of their great merits and past services, brought to 



AD. 1570-1572. EXECUTION OF NORFOLK. 333 

the scaffold ; multitudes of all ranks thrown into confinement, and 
thence delivered over to the executioner ; and. notwithstandmg 
the peaceable submission of all men, nothing v^'as heard of but 
confiscation, imprisonment, exile, torture, and death. Elizabeth 
'gave protection to all the Flemish exiles who took shelter in her 
dominions ; and as many of these were the most industrious in- 
habitants of the Netherlands, and had rendered that country cele- 
brated for its arts, she reaped the advantage of introducing into 
England some useful manufactures which were formerly unknown 
in that kingdom. She also seized some Genoese vessels which 
were carrying a large sum of money to Alva, and which had been 
obliged to take refuge in Plymouth and Southampton. These 
measures led to retaliations ; but nothing could repair the loss 
which so well-timed a blow inflicted on the Spanish government 
in the Low Countries. 

§ 13. Alva resolved to revenge the insult by exciting a rebel- 
lion in England, and procuring the marriage of the Duke of Nor- 
folk with the Queen of Scots. Norfolk, finding that he had lost 
the confidence and favor of Elizabeth, was tempted to violate his 
word, and to open anew his correspondence with the Queen of 
Scots. A promise of marriage was renewed between them, and 
the duke was induced to give his consent to enterprises still more 
criminal. It was agreed that the Duke of Alva should land with 
a large body of troops at Harwich, where the Duke of Norfolk 
was to join them with all his friends ; should thence march di- 
rectly to London, and oblige the queen to submit to whatever 
terms the conspirators should please to impose upon her. The 
conspiracy, however, was discovered by means of a servant of 
Norfolk's, who, being intrusted with a bag of gold and a letter for 
transmission to Scotland, became suspicious, and carried the let- 
ter to Cecil (now Lord Burleigh). Three of the duke's agents 
were aiTcsted, and confessed the whole truth when tortured. The 
duke was brought to trial, and was condemned of treason by a 
jury of 26 peers. The queen long hesitated to sign his death-war- 
rant, but at last, at the instance of the Commons, he was execu- 
ted (June 2, 1572). The Eafl of Northumberland, being delivered 
up to the queen by the regent of Scotland, was also, a few months 
after, brought to the scaffold for his rebellion. 

The Queen of Scots was either the occasion or the cause of all 
these disturbances ; but, as she was a sovereign princes.s, Elizabeth 
durst not, as yet, form any resolution of proceeding to extremities 
against her. The Parliament was so enraged against her that the 
Commons made a direct application for immediate trial and exe- 
cution. Elizabeth, however, satisfied with showing Mary the dis- 
position of the nation, sent to the House her express commands 



334 



ELIZABETH. 



Chap. XVIII. 



not to deal any farther at present in the affair of the Scottish 
queen. 

§ 14. Shortly afterward there was perpetrated at Paris (Aug. 
24, 1572) that inhuman slaughter of the Protestants which, from 
the day of its execution, has been called the Massacre of St. Bar- 
tholomew. The Admiral Coligny, together with, about 500 noble- 
men and gentlemen, and nearly 10,000 persons of inferior rank, 
were butchered on this occasion. Charles, in order to cover this 




Medal of Pope Gregory XIII. commemorating the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. 

GREGORIVS - XIII . PONT . MAX . AN . I : bust tO left. EeV. : VGONOTTOKVM , STEAGES , 

an angel slaying the Huguenots. 



Obv. : 
1572: 



barbarous perfidy, pretended that a conspiracy of the Huguenots 
to seize his person had been suddenly detected, and that he had 
been necessitated, for his own defense, to proceed to this severity 
against them. He sent orders to Fe'nelon, his embassador in En- 
gland, to ask an audience, and to give Elizabeth this account of the 
late transaction. The queen heard his apology without discover- 
ing any visible symptoms of indignation. She blamed the conduct 
of Charles, but, being sensible of the dangerous situation in which 
she now stood, she did not think it prudent to reject all commerce 
with him. She therefore allowed even the negotiations to be re- 
newed for her marriage with the Duke of Alengon, Charles's third 
brother; those with the Duke of Anjou had already been broken 
off. The nobility and gentry of England, indeed, were roused to 
•such a pitch of resentment, that they offered to levy an army of 
22,000 foot and 4000 horse, to transport them into France, and 
to maintain them six months at their own charge ; but Elizabeth, 
who was cautious in her measures, and who feared to inflame far- 
ther the quarrel between the two religions by these dangerous cru- 
sades, refused her consent, and moderated the zeal of her subjects. 
But Elizabeth's best security lay in the strength of the Huguenots 
themselves. The sect which Charles had hoped at one blow to 
exterminate had soon an army of 18,000 men on foot, and pos- 
sessed in different parts of France above 100 cities, castles, or 
fortresses. By the death of Charles (May 30, 1574) without issue, 



A.D. 1572-1577. AFFAIRS OF THE NETHERLANDS. 335 

at the age of 25, the crown devolved to his brother, the Duke of 
Anjou, now Henry III. ; but his counsels were directed by the 
Duke of Guise and his family. Henry was desirous of increasing 
his power by acting as umpire between the two parties. Guise, 
however, having formed the famous League, which, without pay- 
ing any regard to the royal authority, aimed at the entire suppres- 
sion of the Huguenots, the king was forced to declare himself the 
head of it. EHzabeth secretly supported the Huguenots ; but it 
was some years before any important transactions took place be- 
tween her and France. 

The affairs of the Netherlands were in as disturbed a state as 
those of France. In 1572 the provinces of Holland and Zealand 
revolted from the Spaniards and the tyranny of Alva. The 
Prince of Orange, who had been declared a rebel, and whose am- 
ple possessions in the Low Countries had been confiscated, emerged 
from his retreat in Germany to put himself at the head of the in- 
surgents ; and, by uniting the revolted cities in a league, he laid 
the foundation of that illustrious commonwealth, the offspring of 
industry and liberty, whose arms and policy long made so signal 
a figure in every transaction of Europe. The history of the mem- 
orable struggle of the Prince of Orange against the Duke of Alva 
and his successors can not be related in this place. The Hol- 
landers, anxious to secure the assistance of Elizabeth, offered her 
the possession and sovereignty of their provinces if she would 
exert her power in their defense. But as an open war with the 
Spanish monarchy was the apparent consequence of her accepting 
this offer, she refused, in positive terms, the sovereignty proffered 
her ; and she at present confined her efforts in their favor to an 
attempt at a mediation with Philip. But a4ew years afterward, 
Elizabeth, seeing from the union of all the provinces a fair pros- 
pect of tbeir making a long and vigorous defense against Spain, 
no longer scrupled to embrace the protection of their liberties ; 
she concluded a treaty with them, in which she stipulated to as- 
sist them with 5000 foot and 1000 horse, and to lend them 
£100,000 on receiving the bonds of some of the most consider- 
able towns of the Netherlands for repayment within the year 
(1577). 

§ 15. During these years, while Europe was almost every where 
in great commotion, England enjoyed a profound tranquillity, 
owing chiefly to the prudence and vigor of the queen's adminis- 
tration, and to the wise precautions which she employed in all her 
measures. By means of her rigid economy, she paid all the debts 
which she found on the crown, with their full interest, though 
some of these debts had been contracted even during the reign of 
her father. Some loans, which she had exacted at the commence- 



336 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIII. 

ment of her reign, were repaid by her — a practice in that age 
somewhat unusual. During this peaceable and uniform govern- 
ment England furnishes few materials for history ; and, except 
the small part which Elizabeth took in foreign transactions, there 
scarcely passed any occurrence which requires a particular detail. 

Philip, though he had not yet come to an open rupture with the 
queen, was every day, both by the injuries which he committed and 
suffered, more exasperated against her. That he might retaliate 
the assistance whicli she gave to his rebels in the Low Countries, 
he had sent, under the name of the Pope, a body of troops into 
Ireland for the purpose of fomenting a rebellion (1579). When 
' the English embassador made complaints of this invasion, he was 
answered by like complaints of the piracies committed by Francis 
Drake, a bold seaman, who had assaulted the Spaniards in the 
place where they deemed themselves most secure, in the New 
World. Drake, with the queen's consent and approbation, set sail 
from Plymouth in 1577 with four ships and a pinnace, on board 
of which were 164 able sailors. He passed into the South Sea by 
the Straits of Magellan, and, attacking the Spaniards, who ex- 
pected no enemy in those quarters, he took many rich prizes, and 
prepared to return with the booty which he had acquired. Ap- 
prehensive of being intercepted by the enemy if he took the same 
way homeward by which he had reached the Pacific Ocean, he at- 
tempted to find a passage by the north of California ; and failing 
in that enterprise, he set sail for the East Indies, and returned 
safely by the Cape of Good Hope. He was the first Englishman 
who sailed round the globe, and the first commander-in-chief; for 
Magellan, whose ship executed the same adventure, died in his 
passage. His name became celebrated on account of so bold and 
fortunate an attempt ; but many, apprehending the resentment of 
the Spaniards, endeavored to persuade the queen that it would be 
more prudent to disavow the enterprise, to punish Drake, and to 
restore the treasure. But Elizabeth, who admired valor, and was 
allured by the prospect of sharing in the booty, determined to 
countenance that gallant sailor : she conferred on him the honor 
of knighthood, and accepted of a banquet from him at Deptford, 
on board the ship which had achieved so memorable a voyage. 

§ 16. The Duke of Alengon, now created Duke of Anjou, had 
never entirely dropped his pretensions to Elizabeth ; and that 
princess, though her suitor was nearly 25 years younger than her- 
self, and had no knowledge of her person but by pictures or de- 
scriptions, was still pleased with the image which his addresses 
afforded her of love and tenderness. The Duke of Anjou, encour- 
aged by the accounts sent him of the queen's prepossessions in his 
favor, paid her secretly a visit at Greenwich ; and, after some con- 



A. D. 1577-1582. NEGOTIATIONS OF MARRIAGE. 337 

ference with her, the purport of which is not known, he departed 
(1579). It appeared that, though his figure was not advantageous, 
he had lost no ground by being personally known to her ; and 
soon after she commanded her ministers to draw up the terins of 
a contract of marriage, which was to be celebrated six weeks after 
the ratification of the articles. Elizabeth, however, though she 
had proceeded thus far, betrayed a constant vacillation of purpose; 
and not only the court of France, but Walsingham himself, Bur- 
leigh, and all her. wisest ministers, were in amazement, doubtful 
where this contest between inclination and reason, love and am- 
bition, would at last terminate. The States of the Netherlands 
chose the Duke of Anjou their governor; and having been suc- 
cessful in raising the siege of Cambray, he put his army into win- 
ter-quarters, and came over to England, in order to prosecute his 
suit to the queen. The reception which he met with made him 
expect entire success. In the midst of the pomp which attended 
the anniversary of her accession (Nov. 17, 1581), she was seen, 
after long and intimate discourse with him, to take a ring from 
her. own finger, and put it upon his ; and all the spectators con- 
cluded that in this ceremony she had given him a promise of mar- 
riage, and was even desirous of signifying her intentions to all 
the world. But the combat of her sentiments was not entirely 
over; her ambition, as well as prudence, rousing itself by intervals, 
still filled her breast with doubt and hesitation ; and she was ob- 
served to pass several nights without any sleep or repose. At last 
her settled habits of prudence and ambition prevailed over her 
temporary inclination ; and having sent for the Duke of Anjou, 
she had a long conference with him in private, where she was 
supposed to have made him apologies for breaking her former en- 
gagements. He expressed great disgust on his leaving her ; threw 
away the ring which she had given him, and uttered many curses 
on the mutability of women and of islanders (1582). 

§ 17. Several conspiracies in which the Jesuits were active, 
some real, others imaginary, had excited the suspicion and vigi- 
lance of the government, and were imputed to the intrigues of the 
Queen of Scots ; and, as her name was employed in all of them, 
the council thought that they could not use too many precautions 
against the danger of her claims, and the restless activity of her 
temper. An association was set on foot by the Earl of Leicester 
and other courtiers, to defend the queen, to revenge her death, or 
any injury committed against her, and to exclude from the throne 
all claimants by whose suggestion, or for whose behoof, any violence 
should be offered to her majesty. The Queen of Scots was sensi- 
ble that this association was leveled against her ; and, to remove 
all suspicion from herself, she also deeired to subscribe it. Eliza- 

r 



338 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIII. 

beth, that she might the more discourage malcontents, by showing 
them the concurrence of the nation in her favor, summoned a new 
Parliament, and she met with that dutiful attachment which s,he 
expected (Nov. 23, 1584). The association was confirmed by Par- 
liament, and a clause was added, by which the queen was empow- 
ered to name commissioners for the trial of any pretender to the 
crown who should attempt or imagine any invasion, insurrection, 
or assassination against her ; and for the greater security, a coun- 
cil of regency, in case of the queen's violent death, was appointed 
to govern the kingdom, to settle the succession, and to take ven- 
geance for that act of treason. A severe law was also passed that 
all Jesuits and popish priests should depart the kingdom within 
40 days; and the exercise of the Catholic religion, which had 
formerly been prohibited under lighter penalties, and which was 
in many instances connived at, w^as totally suppressed. In 1568 
a popish seminary for refugee priests had been established at 
Douay, under the auspices of Philip, and directed by the Jesuits, 
whence the priests were continually passing into England, to keep 
alive the expiring faith, and sometimes to excite sedition. Thus 
Parsons and Campion, two Jesuits, had made themselves busy in 
England in 1581, respecting Pope Pius's bull of excommunication ; 
and the latter, having been detected in treasonable practices, was 
publicly executed. Hence the necessity for these new laws. 

But the most material subject agitated in this session was the 
Court of Ecclesiastical Commission, and the oath ex officio, as it 
was called, exacted by that court. This is a subject of such im- 
portance as to merit some explanation. The first primate after 
the queen's accession was Parker, a man rigid in exacting con- 
formity to the established worship, and in punishing, by fine or 
deprivation, all the Puritanical clergymen who attempted to inno- 
vate any thing in the habits, ceremonies, or Liturgy of the Church. 
He died in 1575, and was succeeded by Grindal, who, as he him- 
self was inclined to the new sect, was with great difficulty brought 
to execute the laws against them, or to punish the nonconforming 
clergy. He declined obeying the queen's orders for the suppres- 
sion o^ prophesying s, or the assemblies of the zealots in private 
houses ; and for this offense she had, by an order of the Star 
Chamber, sequestered him from his archiepiscopal functions, and 
confined him to his own house. Upon his death, which happened 
in 1583, she determined not to fall into the same error in her next 
choice ; and she named Whitgift, a zealous churchman, who had 
already signalized his pen in controversy, and who, having in vain 
attempted to convince the Puritans by argument, was now resolved 
to open their eyes by power and by the execution of penal stat- 
utes. By his advice, the queen issued a new commission more ar- 



A. D. 1582-1585. HIGH COMMISSION COURT. 339 

bitrary than any of the former, and conveying more unlimited au- 
thority. She appointed 44 commissioners, 12 of whom were bish- 
ops ; 3 commissioners made a quorum, and the jurisdiction of the 
court extended over the whole kingdom, and over all orders of 
men, though more particularly directed against the clergy. The 
commissioners were empowered to visit and reform all errors, 
heresies, schisms ; and they were directed to make inquiry, not 
only by the legal methods of juries and witnesses, but by all other 
means and ways which they could devise. Where they found 
reason to suspect any person, they might administer to him an oath 
called ex officio, by which he was bound to answer all questions, 
and might thereby be obliged to accuse himself or his most inti- 
mate friend. In a word, this court was a real Inquisition, except 
that it could not employ torture. Censure and deprivation were 
its usual punishments ; and sometimes it resorted to fine and im- 
prisonment ; but these, as well as the whole constitution of the 
court, were always regarded as illegal by the courts of law. In a 
speech from the throne at the end of the session the queen re- 
proved the Commons for touching upon this grievance in their 
petition ; and, so far from yielding to the displeasure of the Par- 
liament, granted, before the end of her reign, a new commission, 
in which she enlarged, rather than restrained, the powers of the 
commissioners. The act against Jesuits and seminary priests 
Avas violently opposed by one Parry, who had received the queen's 
pardon for a crime by which he was exposed to capital punish- 
ment. Having obtained permission to travel, he retired to Milan, 
where, according to his own confession, he was persuaded by a 
Jesuit that he could not perform a more meritorious action than 
to take away the life of his sovereign and benefactress ; and his 
design, having been communicated to the Pope through Cardinal 
Como, received the approbation of the holy father. On his return 
to England Parry communicated his intention to Neville, by whom 
it was betrayed to the ministers, and he was condemned and ex- 
ecuted as a traitor (1585). 

§ 18. These bloody designs now appeared every where as the 
result of that bigoted spirit by which the two religions, especially 
the Roman Catholic, were at this time actuated. About the same 
time, Baltazar Gerard, a Burgundian, undertook and executed the 
same design against the Prince of Orange ; and that great man 
perished at Delft by the hands of a desperate assassin. The 
States of the Netherlands now renewed their offer to Elizabeth of 
acknowledging her for their sovereign on condition of obtainino; 
her protection and assistance. Elizabeth declined this proposal ; 
but being determined not to permit, without opposition, the total 
subjection of the revolted provinces, she accepted the protectorate, 



340 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIII. 

and agreed to send over an army to their assistance (1585). The 
Earl of Leicester was sent over to Holland at the head of the En- 
glish auxiliary forces. Elizabeth, finding that an open breach 
w^ith Philip was unavoidable, resolved not to leave him unmolest- 
ed in America. A fleet of 20 sail was equipped to attack the 
Spaniards in the West Indies, of which Sir Francis Drake was 
appointed admiral. They made several conquests ; and, sailing 
along the coast of Virginia, they found the small remains of a col- 
ony which had been planted there by Sir Walter Ealeigh, and 
Avhich had gone extremely to decay. This was the first attempt 
of the English to form such settlements ; and though they have 
since surpassed all European nations, both in the situation of their 
colonies, and in the noble principles of liberty and industry on 
which they are founded, they had here been so unsuccessful that 
the miserable planters abandoned their settlements, and prevailed 
on Drake to carry them with him to England. He returned with 
so much riches as encouraged the volunteers, and with such ac- 
counts of the Spanish weakness in those countries as served ex- 
tremely to inflame the spirits of the nation to future enterprises. 

Leicester's operations were much less successful than those of 
Drake. This man possessed neither courage nor capacity equal 
to the trust reposed in him by the queen ; and as he was the only 
bad choice she made for any considerable employment, men natu- 
rally believed that she had here been influenced by an affection 
still more partial than that of friendship. He gained, indeed, ad- 
vantages at first, but failed in an attempt which he made upon 
Zutphen. In a skirmish under the walls of this town Sir Philip 
Sydney was mortally wounded, and soon after died (Sept. 22, 
1586). This person is described by the writers of that age as the 
most perfect model of an accomplished gentleman that could be 
formed even by the wanton imagination of poetry or fiction. Vir- 
tuous conduct, polite conversation, heroic valor, and elegant eru- 
dition, all concurred to render him the ornament and delight of 
the English court ; and as the credit M^hich he possessed with the 
queen and the Earl of Leicester was wholly employed in the en- 
couragement of genius and literature, his praises have been trans- 
mitted with advantage to posterity. No person was so low as 
not to become an object of his humanity. After this last action, 
while he was lying on the field mangled with wounds, a bottle of 
water was brought him to relieve his thirst ; but, observing a sol- 
dier near him in a like miserable condition, he said, " This man's 
necessity is greater than mine ;" and resigned to him the bottle of 
water. 

§ 19. Some priests of the English seminary at Eheims had 
wrought themselves up to a high pitch of rage and animosity 



A.D. 1585, 1586. BABINGTON'S CONSPIRACY. 341 

against the queen. Intoxicated with admiration of the divine 
power and infallibility of the Pope, they revered his bull, by which 
he excommunicated and deposed her. The assassination of heret- 
ical sovereigns, and of that princess in particular, was represented 
as the most meritorious of all enterprises ; and they taught that 
whosoever perished in such pious attempts, enjoyed, without dis- 
pute, the glorious and never-fading crown of martyrdom. By such 
doctrines they instigated John Savage, a man of desperate cour- 
age, who had served some years in the Low Countries, to attempt 
the life of Elizabeth ; and this assassin, having made a vow to 
persevere in his design, was sent over to England, and recom- 
mended to the confidence of the more zealous Catholics. About 
the same time, John Ballard, a priest of that seminary, when on a 
mission in England and Scotland, had observed a spirit of mutiny 
and rebellion to be very prevalent among the Roman Catholic 
devotees in these countries, and had founded on that disposition 
the project of dethroning Elizabeth, and of restoring, by force of 
arms, the exercise of the ancient religion. Mendoza, the Spanish 
embassador at Paris, strongly encouraged Ballard to hope for suc- 
cors. Pie accordingly returned to England in the disguise of a 
soldier, and assumed the name of Captain Fortescue ; and he bent 
his endeavors to effect at once the project of an assassination, an 
insurrection, and an invasion (1586). With this view he address- 
ed himself to Anthony Babington, a young gentleman of a good 
family and fortune, who had discovered an excellent capacity, and 
was accomplished in literature beyond most of his years or sta- 
tion. Babino;ton had before been engao^ed with one Morgan in a 
secret correspondence with the Queen of Scots ; but after she was 
put under the custody of Sir Amias Paulet, and reduced to a more 
rigorous confinement, he had desisted from every attempt of that 
nature. When Ballard began to open his intentions to Babing- 
ton, he found his zeal suspended, not extinguished ; his former ar- 
dor revived on the mention of any enterprise which seemed to 
promise success in the cause of Mary and of the Catholic religion. 
Ballard proceeded to discover to him the design undertaken by 
Savage, and was well pleased to observe that, instead of being 
shocked with the project, Babington only thought it not secure 
enough when intrusted to one single hand, and proposed to join 
five others mth Savage in this desperate enterprise. In prosecu- 
tion of these views, Babington employed himself in increasing the 
number of his associates, as he aimed at the deliverance of the 
Queen of Scots at the very same instant when Elizabeth should 
be assassinated ; and he secretly drew into the conspiracy many 
Catholic gentlemen discontented with the present government. 
These desperate projects had not escaped the vigilance of Eliza- 



342 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIII. 

beth's council, particularly of Walsingham, secretary of state, who, 
by means of spies, had got a hint of the designs entertained by the 
fugitives. But the bottom of the conspiracy was never fully 
known till Gifford, a seminary priest, came over, and made a ten- 
der of his services to Walsingham. By his means the discovery 
became of the utmost importance, and involved the fate of Mary, 
as well as of those zealous partisans of that princess. Babington 
and his associates employed Gifford to communicate their design 
to the Queen of Scots, and Gilford immediately applied to Wal- 
singham, that the interest of that minister might forward his se- 
cret correspondence with Mary. Gifford found a brewer who 
supplied Paulet's family with ale, and bribed him to convey let- 
ters to the captive queen. The letters, by Paulet's contrivance, 
were thrust through a chink in the wall, and answers were re- 
turned by the same conveyance. Ballard and Babington were at 
first diffident of Gifford' s fidelity ; and, to make trial of him, they 
gave him only blank papers made up like letters ; but finding by 
the answers that these had been faithfully delivered, they laid aside 
all farther scruple, and conveyed to Mary by his hands the par- 
ticulars of the whole conspiracy. Mary replied that she approved 
highly of the design ; that the gentlemen might expect all the re- 
wards which it should ever be in her power to confer ; and that 
the death of Elizabeth was a necessary circumstance, before any 
attempts were made, either for her own deliverance or an insur- 
rection. These and other letters were carried by Gifford to Secre- 
tary Walsingham, and copies taken of them. At length Ballard 
was seized ; . and Babington, observing that he was watched, made 
his escape, and gave the alarm to the other conspirators. They 
all took to flight, covered themselves with several disguises, and 
lay concealed in St. John's Wood and other places, but were soon 
discovered and thrown into prison. In their examinations they 
contradicted each other, and the leaders were obliged to make a 
full confession of the truth. Fourteen were condemned and exe- 
cuted, of whom seven acknowledged the crime on their trial ; the 
rest were convicted by evidence. 

§ 20. The lesser conspirators being dispatched, measures were 
taken, after much deliberation, for the trial and conviction of the 
Queen of Scots. She was conducted to Fotheringay Castle in the 
county of Northampton, which it was determined to make the last 
stage of her trial and sufferings. Her two secretaries, Nau, a 
Frenchman, and Curie, a Scot, were immediately arrested; her 
papers were sent up to the council, among which were found many 
letters from persons beyond sea, and several too from English no- 
blemen, containing expressions of respect and attachment. It was 
resolved to try Mary, not by the common statute of treasons, but 



A.D. 1586. TRIAL OF MARY. 343 

by an act which had passed the former year with a view to this 
very event ; and the queen, in terms of that act, appointed a com- 
mission, consisting of 47 noblemen and privy counselors, and em- 
powered them to examine and pass sentence on Mary, whom she 
denominated the late Queen of Scots, and heir to James V. of 
Scotland. Mary at first refused to answer, pleading her royal dig- 
nity, but the commissioners Would not admit this objection ; and 
at length, by a well-timed speech by Sir Christopher Hatton, the 
vice-chamberlain, she was persuaded to answer before the court, 
though, on her first appearance before the commissioners, she re- 
newed her protestation against the authority of her judges- The 
only part of the charge which Mary positively denied was her con- 
currence in the design of assassinating Elizabeth. This article, 
indeed, was the most heavy, and the only one that could fully just- 
ify the queen in proceeding to extremities against her. In order 
to prove the accusation, there was produced the following evidence : 
copies taken in Secretary Walsingham's office of the intercepted 
letters between her and Babington, in which her approbation of 
the murder was clearly expressed ; the evidence of her two secre- 
taries, Nau and Curie, who had confessed, without being put to 
any torture, both that she had received these letters from Babing- 
ton, and that they had written the answers by her order ; the con- 
fession of Babington that he had written the letters and received 
the answers ; and the confession of Ballard and Savage that Bab- 
ington had shown them these letters of Mary written in the ci- 
pher which had been settled between them. Her reply consisted 
chiefly of her own denial, and an insinuation of forgery against 
Walsingham, which was indignantly repelled, and which she after- 
ward withdrew. Such a defense can not w^eigh against so over- 
whelming a weight of testimony ; nor is it probable that she should 
have been partially made acquainted with the nature of the con- 
spiracy. Having finished the trial, the commissioners adjourned 
from Fotheringay Castle, and met in the Star Chamber at London, 
where they pronounced sentence of death upon the Queen of Scots, 
and confirmed it by their seals and subscriptions (Oct. 25, 1586). 
The queen had now brought affairs with Mary to that situation 
which she had long ardently desired ; but she foresaw the invidi- 
ous colors in which this example of uncommon jurisdiction would 
be represented by the numerous partisans of Mary, and the re- 
proach to which she herself might be exposed with all foreign 
princes, perhaps with all posterity. She therefore pretended the 
utmost reluctance to proceed to the execution of the sentence ; 
affected the most tender sympathy with her prisoner ; displayed 
all her scruples and difficulties ; rejected the solicitation of her 
courtiers and ministers ; and affirmed that, were she not moved 



344 ELIZABETH. Ch.u'. XVIII. 

by the deepest concern for her people's safety, she would not hesi- 
tate a moment in pardoning all the injuries which she herself had 
received from the Queen of Scots. That the voice of her people 
might be more audibly heard in the demand of justice upon Mary, 
she summoned a new Parliament ; and she knew, both from the 
usual dispositions of that assembly, and from the influence of her 
ministers over them, that she should not want the most earnest 
solicitations to consent to that measure which was so agreeable to 
her secret inclinations. The event answered her expectations ; 
the sentence against Mary was unanimously ratified by both 
houses ; and an application was voted to obtain Elizabeth's con- 
sent to its publication and execution. She gave an answer, am- 
biguous, embarrassed ; full of real artifice and seeming irresolu- 
tion ; and she begged them to think once again whether it were 
possible to find any expedient, besides the death of the Queen of 
Scots, for securing the public tranquillity. The Parliament, in 
obedience to her commands, took the affair again under consider- 
ation, but could find no other possible expedient. The queen then 
published the sentence by proclamation ; and this act seemed to 
be attended with the unanimous and hearty rejoicings of the peo- 
ple (Dec. 6). When the sentence was notified to her, Mary was 
nowise dismayed at the intelligence ; and as she was told that 
her death was demanded by the Protestants for the establishment 
of their faith, she insisted that she was really a martyr to her re- 
ligion, and was entitled to all the merits attending that glorious 
character. In her last letter to Elizabeth, which was full of dig- 
nity, without departing from that spirit of meekness and of char- 
ity which appeared suitable to this concluding scene of her unfor- 
tunate life, she preferred no petition for averting the fatal sen- 
tence ; on the contrary, she expressed her gratitude to Heaven for 
thus bringing to a speedy period her sad and lamentable pilgrim- 
age. She merely desired to be buried in France, and made some 
requests in favor of her servants. The King of France sent an 
embassador to intercede for the life of Mary, but without success. 
The interposition of the young King of Scots, though not able to 
change Elizabeth's determination, seemed, on every account, to 
merit more regard. As soon as James heard of the trial and con- 
demnation of his mother, he sent Sir William Keith, a gentleman 
of his bed-chamber, to London, and wrote a letter to the queen, 
in which he remonstrated, in very severe terms, against the indig- 
nity of the procedure. Soon after, James sent the Master of Gray 
and Sir Robert Melvil to enforce the remonstrances of Keith, and 
to employ with the queen every expedient of argument and men- 
aces. Elizabeth, however, still retained her resolution of execut- 
ing the sentence against Mary; and it is believed that the Master 



A.D. 1586. EXECUTION OF MARY. 345 

of Gray, gained by the enemies of that princess, secretly gave his 
advice not to spare her, and undertook, at all events, to pacify his 
master. 

§ 21. When Elizabeth thought that as many importunities had 
been used and as much delay interposed as decency required, she 
at last determined to carry the sentence into execution ; but even 
in this final resolution she could not proceed without displaying a 
new scene of duplicity and artifice. In order to alarm the vulgar, 
all sorts of rumors were dispersed respecting invasions from 
France, Spain, and Scotland, and of attempts and projects against 
the queen's life. Elizabeth, affecting to be in terror and perplex- 
ity, was observed to sit much alone, pensive and silent, and some- 
times to mutter to herself half sentences importing the difficulty 
and distress to which she was reduced. She ordered Secretary 
Davison privately to draw a warrant for the execution of the 
Queen of Scots, but next day she enjoined him to delay ; and when 
Davison told her that the warrant had already passed the great 
seal, she seemed to be somewhat moved, and blamed him for his 
precipitation ; but the council persuaded him to send off* the war- 
rant, and promised to justify his conduct, and to take on them- 
selves the whole blame of this measure. The warrant was accord- 
ingly dispatched to the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent, and some 
others, ordering them to see the sentence executed upon the Queen 
of Scots. 

The two earls came to Fotheringay Castle, and, being intro- 
duced to Mary, informed her of their commission, and desired her 
to prepare for death next morning at eight o'clock. She seemed 
nowise terrified, though somewhat surprised, with the intelligence. 
She said, with a cheerful and even a smiling countenance, that she 
did not think the queen, her sister, would have consented to her 
death, or have executed the sentence against a person not subject 
to the laws and jurisdiction of England. " But as such is her 
will," said she, " death, which puts an end to all my miseries, shall 
be to me most welcome ; nor can I esteem that soul worthy the fe- 
licities of heaven which can not support the body under the horrors 
of the last passage to these blissful mansions." When the earls 
had left her she ordered supper to be hastened, that she might have 
the more leisure after it to finish the few affairs which remained to 
her in this world, and to prepare for her passage to another. She 
supped sparingly, as her manner usually was, and her wonted cheer- 
fulness- did not even desert her on this occasion. She comforted 
her servants under the affliction which overwhelmed them, and 
which was too violent for them to conceal it from her. Toward 
morning she arose and dressed herself in a rich habit of silk and 
velvet, the only one which she had reserved to herself. Having 

P 2 



346 ELIZABETH. Chap. XVIII. 

passed into the hall, where was erected the scaffold covered with 
black, she saw with an undismayed countenance the executioners 
and all the preparations of death. Here her old servant, Sir An- 
drew Melvil, took an affecting leave of her. The warrant for her 
execution was then read to her ; and during this ceremony she 
was silent, but showed in her behavior an indifference and uncon- 
cern as if the business had nowise regarded her. Before the ex- 
ecutioners performed their office, the Dean of Peterborough step- 
ped forth, and though the queen frequently told him that he needed 
not concern himself about her, that she was settled in the ancient 
Catholic and Roman religion, and that she meant to lay down her 
life in defense of that faith, he still thought it his duty to persist 
in his lectures and exhortations. She now began, with the aid of 
her two women, to disrobe herself, and the executioner also lent 
his hand to assist them. She smiled, and said thai she was not 
accustomed to undress herself before so large a company, nor to 
be served by such valets. Her servants, seeing her in this condi- 
tion ready to lay her head upon the block, burst into tears and 
lamentations. She turned about to them, put her finger upon her 
lips as a sign of imposing silence upon them, and, having given 
them her blessing, desired them to pray for her. One of her 
maids, whom she had appointed for that purpose, covered her eyes 
with a handkerchief; she laid herself down without any sign of 
fear or trepidation, and her head was severed from her body at 
two strokes by the executioner. He instantly held it up to the 
spectators, streaming with blood and agitated with the convulsions 
of death. The Dean of Peterborough alone exclaimed, " So per- 
ish all Queen Elizabeth's enemies ! " The Earl of Kent alone re- 
plied " Amen !" The attention of all the other spectators was fix- 
ed on the melancholy scene before them, and zeal and flattery alike 
gave place to present pity and admiration of the expiring princess 
(Feb. 8, 1587). 

Thus perished, in the 45th year of her age and 19th of her cap- 
tivity in England, Mary Queen of Scots, a woman of great accom- 
plishments both of body and mind, natural as well as acquired, but 
unfortunate in her life, and during one period very unhappy in her 
conduct. In order to form a just idea of her character, we must 
set aside one part of her conduct, while she abandoned herself to 
the guidance of a profligate man, and must consider these faults, 
whether we admit them to be imprudences or crimes, as the result 
of an inexplicable though not uncommon inconstancy in the hu- 
man mind, of the frailty of our nature, of the violence of passion, 
and of the influence which situations, and sometimes momentary 
incidents have on persons whose principles are not thoroughly con- 
firmed by experience and reflection. An enumeration of her qual- 



A. p. 1587. ELIZABETHS AFFECTED SORROW. 347 

ities might cany the appearance of a panegyric ; an account of her 
conduct must in some parts wear the aspect of sevete satire and 
invective. 

§ 22. When the queen was informed of Mary's execution she 
affected the utmost surprise and indignation. She put herself in 
deep mourning, and she was seen perpetually bathed in tears, and 
surrounded only by her maids and women. None of her ministers 
or counselors dared to approach her; or, if any had such temerity, 
she chased them from her with the most violent expressions of 
rage and resentment ; they had all of them been guilty of an un- 
pardonable crime in putting to death her dear sister and kinswom- 
an, contrary to her fixed purpose, of which they were sufficiently 
apprised and acquainted. No sooner was her. sorrow so much 
abated as to leave room for reflection than she wrote a letter of 
apology to the King of Scots ; and, in order the better to appease 
him, she committed Davison to prison, and ordered him to be tried 
in the Star Chamber for his misdemeanor. He was condemned 
to imprisonment during the queen's pleasure, and to pay a fine of 
£10,000. He remained a long time in custody ; and the fine, 
though it reduced him to beggary, was rigorously levied upon him. 
James discovered the highest resentment, and refused to admit 
Elizabeth's envoy into his presence. He recalled his embassadors 
from England, and seemed to breathe nothing but war and ven- 
geance. The States of Scotland, being assembled, took part in 
his anger, and professed that they were ready to spend their lives 
and fortunes in revenge of his mother's death, and in defense of 
his title to the crown of England. But the judicious representa- 
tions made to him by Walsingham, joined to the peaceable, unam- 
bitious temper of the young prince, prevailed over his resentment, 
and he fell gradually into a good correspondence with the court 
of England. It is probable that the queen's chief object in her 
dissimulation with regard to the execution of Mary was that she 
might thereby afford James a decent pretense for renewing his 
friendship with her, on which their mutual interests so much de- 
pended. 




Dutch medal on th( 



overthrow of the Armada. Obv. : flavit . rTTH^ ^T . dissipati 
svNT . 15S8 : the Armada advancing in order. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

'ELIZABETH CONTINUED. FROM THE EXECUTION OF THE QUEEN OP SCOTS 
TO THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH. A.D. 1587-1603. 

§ 1. Preparations of Philip for an Invasion of England. The Invincible 
Armada. § 2. Defeat of the Spanish Armada. § 3. Expedition against 
Portugal. § 4. French Affairs. Elizabeth assists Henry IV. Naval 
Enterprises against Spain. § 5. Elizabeth's Proceedings with her Par- 
liament. § 6. Affairs of France. Raleigh's Expedition to Guiana. § 7. 
Expeditions to Cadiz and Ferrol. The Earl of Essex. Death of Bur- 
leigh and of Philip II. § 8. Affairs of Ireland. Tyrone's Rebellion. 
Essex Lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Disgrace of Essex. § 9. His Insur- 
rection. His Trial and Execution. § 10. Death and Character of Eliz- 
abeth. § 11. General Reflections on the Period of the Tudors. Power 
of the Crown under that Dynasty. § 12. The Constitution intact in The- 
ory. Benevolences. Monopolies. § 13. Relations of the Crown and 
Commons. § 14. Administration of Justice. § 15. Consequences of the 
Reformation. Court of High Commission. § 16. General State of the 
Nation. 

§ 1. While Elizabeth insured tranquillity from the attempts 
of her nearest neighbor, she was not negligent of more distant dan- 
gers. She kneAv that Philip, eager for revenge and zealous to ex- 
terminate heresy, had formed, with the sanction and co-operation 
of the Pope and of the Guises in France, the ambitious project of 
subduing England, and was secretly preparing a great navy to at- 
tack her. Accordingly, she sent Sir Francis Drake with a fleet, 
soon after Mary's death (1587), to pillage the Spanish coast and 
destroy the shipping. Drake burned more than 100 ships off Ca- 
diz, and destroyed a vast quantity of stores which had been col- 



A.D. 1587. 



THE SPANISH ARMADA. 



349 




Reverse of medal on preceding page : allidoe . non . i.^edor : 

midst of a stormy sea. 



the church on a rock in the 



lected for the invasion of England. Meanwhile Philip continued 
his preparations with the greatest energy; every part of his vast 
empire resounded with the noise of armaments ; and all his min- 
isters, generals, and admirals were employed in forwarding the 
design. Vessels of uncommon size and force were built ; vast ar- 
mies were assembled ; nor were any doubts entertained but such 
vast preparations, conducted by officers of consummate skill, must 
finally be successful ; and the Spaniards, ostentatious of their pow- 
er, and elated with vain hopes, had already denominated their 
navy the Invincible Artnada. Elizabeth meantime made prepara- 
tions for resistance ; nor was she dismayed with that power by 
which all Europe apprehended she must of necessity be overwhelm- 
ed. Her force, indeed, seemed very unequal to resist so potent 
an enemy. All the sailors in England amounted at that time to 
about 14,000 men. The size of the English shipping was in gen- 
eral so small, that, except a few of the queen's ships of war, there 
were not four vessels belonging to the merchants which exceed- 
ed 400 tons. The royal navy consisted of only 34 sail, many of 
which were of small size ; none of them exceeded the bulk of 
our largest frigates, and most of them deserved rather the name 
of pinnaces than of ships. The only advantage of the English 
fleet consisted in the dexterity and courage of the seamen. All 
the commercial towns of England were required to furnish ships 
for re-enforcing this small navy ; and the citizens of London, in 
order to show their zeal in the common cause, instead of 15 ves- 
sels which they were commanded to equip, voluntarily fitted out 
double the number. The gentry and nobility hired, and armed, 



350 ELIZABETH. Chap. XIX. 

and manned 43 ships at their own charge ; and all the loans of 
money which the queen demanded were frankly granted by the 
persons applied to. Lord Howard of Effingham, a man of cour- 
age and capacity, was admiral, and took on him the command of 
the navy; Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, the most renowned 
seamen in Europe, served under him. On land three large armies 
were assembled ; but the men were raised in haste, and such raw 
levies were much inferior to the Spaniards in discipline and repu- 
tation. The queen did every thing in her power to animate her 
soldiers and excite the martial spirit of the nation. She appeared 
on horseback in the camp that was formed at Tilbury ; and, riding 
through the lines, discovered a cheerful and animated countenance, 
exhorted the soldiers to remember their duty to their country and 
their religion, and professed her intention, though a woman, to 
lead them herself into the field against the enemy, and rather to 
perish in battle than survive the ruin and slavery of her people. 

§ 2. The sailing of the Spanish Armada was delayed by the 
death of the admiral and vice-admiral ; and Philip appointed the 
Duke of Medina Sidonia to the command, a nobleman of great 
family, but entirely unacquainted with sea affairs. The Armada 
at last set sail from Lisbon (May 29, 1588), but, being dispersed 
by a storm, was obliged to put into the Groine (Corunna) to refit. 
When this was accomplished, the Spaniards with fresh hopes set 
out again to sea, in prosecution of their enterprise. The fleet con- 
sisted of 130 vessels, of which nearly 100 were galleons, and were 
of greater size than any ever before used in Europe. It carried 
on board 20,000 soldiers. The plan formed by the King of Spain 
was that the Armada should sail to Dunkirk, and, having taken 
on board the Spanish troops in the Netherlands under the com- 
mand of the Duke of Parma, should thence make sail to the 
Thames, and, having landed the whole Spanish army, thus com- 
plete at one blow the entire conquest of England. On the 19th 
of July the Spaniards were descried off the Lizard, and Effingham 
had just time to get out of Plymouth when he saw the Armada 
coming full sail toward him, disposed in the form a crescent, and 
stretching the distance of seven miles from the extremity of one 
division to that of the other. He gave orders not to come to close 
fight with the Spaniards, where the size of the ships and the num- 
bers of the soldiers would be a disadvantage to the English, but 
to cannonade them at a distance, and to wait the opportunity 
which winds, currents, or various accidents must affi^rd him of 
intercepting some scattered vessels of the enemy. Nor was it long 
before the event answered expectation. A great ship of Biscay, 
on board of which was a considerable part of the Spanish money, 
took fire by accident ; and while all hands were employed in ex- 



A.D. 1587,1588. DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA. 35I 

tinOTishino; the flames, she fell behind the rest of the Armada ; 
the great galleon of Andalusia was detained by the springing of 
her mast ; and both these vessels were taken, after some resist- 
ance, by Sir Francis Drake. As the Armada advanced up the 
Channel, the English hung upon its rear, and still infested it with 
skirmishes ; while, the alarm having now reached the coast of 
Enghmd, the nobility and gentry hastened out with their vessels 
from every harbor, and re-enforced the admiral. The Armada 
cast anchor before Calais, in expectation that the Duke of Parma, 
who had received intelligence of their approach, would put to sea 
and join his forces to them. The English admiral practiced here 
a successful stratagem upon the Spaniards. He took eight of his 
smaller ships, and, filling them with all combustible materials, 
sent them one after another into the midst of the enemy. The 
Spaniards fancied that they were iire-ships of the same contriv- 
ance with a famous vessel which had lately done so much execu- 
tion in the Scheldt, near Antwerp, and they immediately cut their 
cables, and took to flight with the gTcatest disorder and precipi- 
tation. The English fell upon them next morning while in con- 
fusion ; and, besides doing damage to other ships, they took or 
destroyed about 12 of the enemy. 

By this time it was become apparent that the intention for 
which these preparations were made by the Spaniards was en- 
tirely frustrated. The Duke of Parma positively refused to leave 
the harbor ; and the Spanish admiral, finding that in many ren- 
counters, while he lost so considerable a part of his own navy, he 
had destroyed only one small vessel of the English, prepared to 
return homeward ; but, as the wind was contrary to his passage 
throuo-h the Channel, he resolved to sail northward, and, makinsr 
the tour of the island, reach the Spanish harbors by the ocean. 
The English fleet followed him during some time ; and, had not 
their ammunition fallen short, by the negligence of the officers in 
supplying them, they had obliged the whole Armada to surrender 
at discretion. A violent tempest overtook the Armada after it 
passed the Orkneys, and many of the ships were miserably "UTcck- 
ed. Not a half of the navy returned to Spain ; and the seamen 
as well as soldiers who remained were so overcome with hard- 
ships and fatigue, and so dispirited by their discomfiture, that 
they filled all Spain with accounts of the desperate valor of the 
English, and of the tempestuous violence of that ocean which 
surrounds them. Such was the miserable and dishonorable con- 
clusion of an enterprise which had been preparing for three years, 
which had exhausted the revenue and force of Spain, and which 
had long filled all Europe with anxiety and expectation. 

§ 3. The discomfiture of the Armada had begotten in the nation 



352 ELIZABETH. Chap. XIX. 

a kind of enthusiastic passion for enterprises against Spain ; and 
a design was formed in the following year (1589) to conquer the 
kingdom of Portusral for Don Antonio, an illegitimate branch of 
the royal family of that country. Sir Francis Drake and Sir 
John Norris were the leaders in this romantic enterprise, which 
was afterward joined by the Earl of Essex ; but the queen only 
allowed six of her ships of war to attend the expedition. The 
English gained several advantages over the Spaniards, and even 
got possession of the suburbs of Lisbon ; yet, their ammunition 
and provisions being exhausted, and the army wasted by fatigue 
and intemperance, it was found necessary to make all possible 
haste to re-embark. They sailed thence to Vigo, which they took 
and burned, and, having ravaged the country around, they set sail 
and arrived in England. It is computed that 1100 gentlemen 
embarked on board the fleet, and that only 350 survived the mul- 
tiplied disasters to which they had been exposed through fatigue, 
famine, sickness, and the sword. 

§ 4. Meanwhile a revolution was in progress in France which 
finally engaged Elizabeth to take a part in the affairs of that coun- 
try. Henry III., to disembarrass himself of the tyranny of the 
league, had caused its leaders, the Duke of Guise and his brother 
the cardinal, to be assassinated ; and, having entered into a con- 
federacy with the Huguenots and the King of Navarre, was himself 
murdered by Jaques Clement, a Dominican friar (Aug. 9, 1589). 
The King of Navarre, next heir to the crown, assumed the govern- 
ment by the title of Henry IV. ; but the league governed by the 
Duke of Mayenne, brother to Guise, gathered new force, and the 
King of Spain entertained views either of dismembering the French 
monarchy or of annexing the whole to his own dominions. In 
these distressful circumstances Henry addressed himself to Eliza- 
beth, who made him a present of £22,000, and sent him a re- 
enforcement of 4000 men under Lord Willoughby (1590). In 
the following year she sent over, at two different times, a large 
body of men to the assistance of Henry, with the view of expel- 
ling the leaguers from Normandy. The Earl of Essex was ap- 
pointed general of these forces, a young nobleman who, by many 
exterior accomplishments, and still more real merit, was daily ad- 
vancing in favor with Elizabeth, and seemed to occupy that place 
in her affections which Leicester, now deceased, had so long en- 
joyed. During these military operations in France Elizabeth 
employed her naval power against Philip, and endeavored to in- 
tercept his West Indian treasures, the source of that greatness 
which rendered him so formidable to all his neighbors. This 
war did great damage to Spain, but it was attended with consid- 
erable expense to England. 



A.D. J588-1595. AFFAIRS OF FRANCE. 3 



00 



§ 5. Elizabeth summoned therefore a Parliament in order to 
obtain a supply of money (1593) ; but, far from making any con- 
cessions in return, there never was any Parliament whom she 
treated in a more haughty manner, whom she made more sensi- 
ble of their own weakness, or whose privileges she more openly 
violated. She sent Peter Wentworth to the Tower for moving 
a petition for the settlement of the succession ; committed Sir 
Thomas Bromley, who had seconded him, to the Fleet Prison, 
together with Stevens and Welsh, two members to whom Sir 
Thomas had communicated his intention. Morrice, chancellor 
of the duchy, and attorney of the Court of Wards, having made a 
motion for redressing the abuses in the bishops' courts, but, above 
all, in the High Commission, was seized in the House itself by a 
sergeant-at-arras, discharged from his office, incapacitated from 
any practice in his profession as a common lawyer, and kept 
some years prisoner in Tilbury Castle. The queen expressly 
pointed out both what the House should and should not do, and 
the Commons were as obsequious to the one as to the other of her 
injunctions. They accordingly passed a law against recusants, 
entitled "An Act to retain her majesty's subjects in their due 
obedience," by which an obstinate and prolonged refusal to attend 
public worship Avas made a capital felony. This law bore equal- 
ly hard upon the Catholics and the Puritans. Nevertheless, the 
Commons not only voted a subsidy, but even enlarged it at the 
instance of the Peers. 

§ 6. Meanwhile Henry IV., moved by the necessity of his af- 
fairs, had resolved to renounce the Protestant religion, and was 
solemnly received by the French prelates of his party into the 
bosom of the Church (July 25, 1593). Elizabeth pretended to be 
extremely displeased with this abjuration of Henry ; and she 
wrote him an angry letter, reproaching him with this interested 
change of his religion. Sensible, however, that the league and 
the King of Spain were still their common enemies, she hearkened 
to his apologies, continued her succors both of men and money, 
and formed a new treaty, in which they mutually stipulated never 
to make peace but by common agreement. She assisted Henry in 
finally breaking the force of the league, which, after the conver- 
sion of that monarch, went daily to decay, and was threatened 
with speedy ruin and dissolution. The English forces rendered 
Henry considerable assistance till he made peace with Spain in 
1598. 

This was the age of naval enterprises, and several were under- 
taken about this time by Sir John Hawkins and his son Eichard 
Hawkins, Sir Francis Drake, and others. In 1595, Sir Walter 
Kaleigh, who had been thrown into prison for an intrigue with a 



354 E^LIZABETH. Chap, XIX. 

maid of honor, no sooner recovered his liberty than he was push- 
ed by his active and enterprising genius to attempt some great ac- 
tion. It was imagined that in the inland parts of South Amer- 
ica, called Guiana, a country as yet undiscovered, there were 
mines and treasures far exceeding any which Cortez or Pizarro 
had met with. Raleigh, whose turn of mind was somewhat ro- 
mantic and extravagant, undertook, at his own charge, the discov- 
ery of this wonderful country. Having taken the small town of 
St. Joseph, in the isle of Trinidad, where he found no riches, he 
left his ship and sailed up the River Oronoco in pinnaces, but 
without meeting with any thing to answer his expectations. 

§ 7. In 1596 the English attempted the Spanish dominions in 
Europe, where they heard Philip was making great preparations 
for a new invasion of England. A powerful fleet was equipped 
at Plymouth, in which were embarked near 7000 soldiers. The 
land forces were commanded by the Earl of Essex; the navy by 
Lord Effingham, high admiral. The fleet set sail on the 1st of 
June, and bent its course to Cadiz, which place was taken chiefly 
through the impetuous valor of Essex, who disregarded the more 
cautious counsels of Effingham. The admiral was afterward created 
Earl of Nottingham, and his promotion gave great disgust to Es- 
sex. In the preamble of the patent it was said that the new dig- 
nity was conferred bn him on account of his good services in taking 
Cadiz, a merit which Essex pretended solely to belong to himself. 
Next year the queen, having received intelligence that the Span- 
iards were preparing a squadron in order to make a descent upon 
Ireland, equipped a large fleet, in which she embarked about 6000 
troops, and appointed the Earl of Essex commander-in-chief both 
of the land and sea forces. The design was to attack Ferrol and 
the Groine, where the Spanish expedition was preparing ; but the 
English fleet having been dispersed and shattered by a storm, and 
their provisions much spent, Essex confined his enterprise to the 
intercepting of the Indian fleet ; but the Spaniards contrived to 
get to Terceira, and Essex intercepted only three ships, which, 
however, were so rich as to repay all the charges of the expe- 
dition. 

The Earl of Essex continued daily to increase in the queen's 
favor, but his lofty spirit could ill submit to that implicit defer- 
ence which her temper required, and which she had ever been ac- 
customed to receive from all her subjects. Being once engaged 
in a dispute with her about the choice of a governor for Ireland, 
he was so heated in the argument that he entirely forgot the rules 
both of duty and civility, and turned his back upon her in a con- 
temptuous manner. Her anger, naturally prompt and violent, 
rose at this provocation ; and she instantly gave him a box on the 



A. D. 1595-1598. AFFAIRS OF IRELAND. 35 



00 



ear, adding a passionate expression suited to his impertinence. 
Instead of recollecting himself, and making the submissions due to 
her sex and station, he clapped his hand to his sword, and swore 
that he would not bear such usage were it from Henry VIII. him- 
self; and he immediately withdrew from court. Yet the queen's 
partiality reinstated him in his former favor, and her kindness to 
him appeared rather to have acquired new force from this short 
interval of anger and resentment. The death of Lord Burleigh, 
who had always opposed Essex, which happened about the same 
time (1598), seemed to insure him constant possession of the queen's 
confidence, and nothing, indeed, but his own indiscretion could 
thenceforth have shaken his well-established credit. Soon after 
the death of Burleigh, the queen, who regretted extremely the loss 
of so wise and faithful a minister, was informed of the death of 
her capital enemy, Philip II., who, after languishing under many 
infirmities, expired in an advanced age at Madrid (Sept. 13). 

§ 8. About this time Elizabeth's attention was called to the 
affairs of Ireland. Though the dominion of the English over that 
country had been established above four centuries, their authority 
hitherto had been little more than nominal. A body of 1000 men 
was supported there, which, on extraordinary emergencies, was 
augmented to 2000. No wonder that such a force was unable to 
control the half-civilized Irish, and that their ancient animosity 
against the tyranny of the English, now farther inflamed by relig- 
ious antipathy, should have broken out in several dangerous re- 
bellions. Hugh O'Neale, nephew to Shan O'Neale, or the Great 
O'Neale, had been raised by the queen to the dignity of Earl of 
Tyrone ; but, having murdered his cousin, son of that rebel, and 
being acknowledged head of his clan, he preferred the pride of 
barbarous license and dominion to the pleasures of opulence and 
tranquillity, and he fomented all those disorders by which he hoped 
to weaken or overturn the English government. He entered into 
a correspondence with Spain ; he procured thence a supply of 
arms and ammunition ; and, having united all the Irish chieftains 
in a dependence upon himself, he began to be regarded as a for- 
midable enemy. Tyrone defied and eluded for some years the 
arms of Sir John Norris, the English commander, and defeated his 
successor, Sir Henry Bagnal, in a pitched battle at Blackwater, 
\vhere 1500 men, together with the general himself, were left dead 
Upon the spot. This victory, so unusual to the Irish, roused their 
courage, supplied them with arms and ammunition, and raised the 
reputation of Tyrone, who assumed the character of the deliverer 
of his country and patron of Irish liberty. The English council, 
sensible that the rebellion of Ireland was now come to a danger- 
ous head, resolved to push the war by more vigorous measures ; 



2,oG ELIZABETH. Chap. XIX. 

and Essex prevailed upon the queen to appoint him governor of 
Ireland by the title of lord lieutenant ; and to insure him of suc- 
cess, she levied an army of 18,000 men. Essex landed at Dub- 
lin in April (1599) ; but, instead of bringing the war to an end, 
as had been expected, he found himself, at the end of the campaign, 
unable to effect any thing against the enemy. By long and tedi- 
ous marches, and by sickness, his numbers were reduced to 4000 
men. Essex hearkened, therefore, to a message sent him by Ty- 
rone, who desired a conference, and a cessation of arms was agreed 
upon. Essex also received from Tyrone proposals for a peace, in 
which that rebel had inserted many unreasonable and exorbitant 
conditions ; and there appeared afterward some reason to suspect 
that he had here commenced a very unjustifiable correspondence 
with the enemy. 

So unexpected an issue of an enterprise, the greatest and most 
expensive that Elizabeth had ever undertaken, provoked her ex- 
tremely against Essex. She took care to inform him of her dis- 
satisfaction, but commanded him to remain in Ireland till farther 
orders. Essex, however, dreading that, if he remained any longer 
absent, the queen would be totally alienated from him, immediate- 
ly set out for England ; and, making speedy journeys, he arrived 
at court before any one was in the least apprised of his intentions. 
Though besmeared with dirt and sweat, he hastened up stairs to 
the presence chamber, thence to the privy chamber, nor stopped 
till he was in the queen's bed-chamber, who was newly risen, and 
was sitting with her hair about her face. He threw himself on 
his knees, kissed her hand, and had some private conference with 
her, where he was so graciously received that on his departure he 
was heard to express great satisfaction, and to thank God that, 
though he had suffered much trouble and many storms abroad, he 
found a sweet calm at home. But this placability of Elizabeth 
was merely the result of her surprise, and of the momentary satis- 
faction which she felt on the sudden and unexpected appearance 
of her favorite. When Essex waited on her in the afternoon, he 
found her extremely altered in her carriage toward him. She or- 
dered him to be confined to his chamber ; to be twice examined 
by the council; and, though his answers were calm and submiss- 
ive, she committed him to the custody of Lord Keeper Egerton, 
and held him sequestered from all company, even from that of his 
countess. The vexation of this disappointment, and of the tri- 
umph gained by his enemies, preyed upon his haughty spirit, and 
he fell into a distemper which seemed to put his life in danger. 
When Elizabeth heard of his sickness, she was not a little alarm- 
ed with his situation, and sent him word that, if she thought such 
a step consistent with her honor, she would herself pay him a visit. 



A.D. 1598, 1599. DISGRACE OF ESSEX. 357 

Essex rapidly recovered ; but a belief was instilled into Elizabeth 
that his distemper had been entirely counterfeit, in order to move 
her compassion, and she relapsed into her former rigor against 
him. There w^ere several incidents which kept alive the queen's 
anger. Every account which she received from Ireland convinced 
her more and more of his misconduct in that government, and of 
the insignificant purposes to which he had employed so much force 
and treasure. The comparison of his successor Mountjoy's vigor- 
ous and successful administration with that of Essex contributed 
to alienate Elizabeth from her favorite ; and she received addi- 
tional disgust from the partiality of the people, who, prepossessed 
with an extravagant idea of Essex's merit, complained of the in- 
justice done him by his removal from court and by his confine- 
ment. Elizabeth had often expressed her intentions of having 
him tried in the Star Chamber ; but her tenderness for him pre- 
vailed at last over her severity, and she was contented to have him 
only examined by the privy council. Essex pleaded in his de- 
fense with great humility ; but the council deprived him of all his 
public oftices, and sentenced him to return to his own house, there 
to continue a prisoner till it should please her majesty to release 
this and all the rest of his sentence. Sir Robert Cecil, the youn- 
ger son of Burleigh,* who was now secretary, used all his influence 
to ruin Essex. Bacon, so much distinguished afterward by his 
high offices, and still more by his profound genius for the sci- 
ences, pleaded against him before the council ; although Essex, 
who could distinguish merit, and who passionately loved it, had 
entered into an intimate friendship with Bacon ; had zealously at- 
tempted, though without success, to procure him the office of so- 
licitor general ; and, in order to comfort his friend under the dis- 
appointment, had conferred on him a present of land to the value 
of £1800. 

§ 9. All the world expected that Essex would soon be rein- 
stated in his former credit when they saw that, though he was 
still prohibited from appearing at court, he was continued in his 
office of master of horse, and was restored to his liberty. But 
Elizabeth, though gracious in her deportment, was of a temper 
somewhat haughty and severe ; and being continually surrounded 
with Essex's enemies, means were found to persuade her that his 
lofty spirit was not sufficiently subdued, and that he must undergo 
a farther trial before he could again be safely received into favor. 

* The eldest son, Thomas Cecil, succeeded his father as Lord Burleigh 
in 1598. He was created Earl of Exeter in 1605, and from him the present 
Marquis of Exeter is descended. Eobert Cecil, mentioned above, was made 
Earl of Salisbury in 1605, and is the ancestor of the present Marquis of 
Sahsbury. 



358 ELIZABETH. Chap. XIX. 

He possessed a monopoly of sweet wines ; and as his patent was 
near expiring, he patiently expected that the queen would renew 
it, and he considered this event as the critical circumstance of his 
life, which would determine whether he could ever hope to be re- 
instated in credit and authority ; but she denied his request, and 
even added, in a contemptuous style, that an ungovernable beast 
must be stinted in his provender. This rigor, pushed one step too 
far, proved the final ruin of this young nobleman, and was the 
source of infinite sorrow and vexation to the queen herself Being 
now reduced to despair, he gave entire reins to his violent dispo- 
sition, and threw off all appearance of duty and respect. Intox- 
icated with the public favor which he already possessed, he prac- 
ticed anew every art of popularity. He secretly courted the con- 
fidence of the Catholics ; but his chief trust lay in the Puritans, 
whom he openly caressed, and whose manners he seemed to have 
entirely adopted. He engaged the most celebrated preachers of 
that sect to resort to Essex House, he had daily prayers and ser- 
mons in his family, and he invited all the zealots in London to 
attend those pious exercises. He also indulged himself in great 
liberties of speech, and was even heard to say of the queen that 
she was now grown an old woman, and was become as crooked in 
her mind as in her body. These stories were carried to Elizabeth, 
who was ever remarkably jealous on this head ; and, though she 
was now approaching to her 70th year, she allowed her courtiers, 
and even foreign embassadors, to compliment her upon her beauty ; 
nor had all her good sense been able to cure her of this preposter- 
ous vanity. Essex even made secret applications to the King of 
Scots, and assured him that he was determined to use every ex- 
pedient for extorting an immediate declaration in favor of that 
monarch's right of succession. James willingly hearkened to this 
proposal, but did not approve of the violent methods by which 
Essex intended to carry it out. 

But Essex now resorted to more desperate counsels. A select 
council of malcontents was formed, by whom it was agreed that 
Essex should seize the palace, should oblige the queen to assemble 
a Parliament, and should, with common consent, settle a new plan 
of government. While these desperate projects were in agitation, 
many reasons of suspicion were carried to the "queen, and Essex 
received a summons to attend the council, which met at the treas- 
urer's house. While he was musing on this circumstance a pri- 
vate note was conveyed to him, by which he was warned to pro- 
vide for his own safety. He concluded that all his conspiracy was 
discovered, at least suspected, and he immediately dispatched mes- 
sages to his more intimate confederates, requesting their advice 
and assistance in the present critical situation of his affairs. 



A.D. 1599-1601. ESSEX'S INSURRECTION AND TRIAL. 359 

Flight was proposed, but rejected by Essex; to seize the palace 
seemed impracticable, without more preparations ; there remained, 
therefore, no expedient but that of raising the city, which was im- 
mediately resolved on, but the execution of it was delayed till next 
day; and emissaries were dispatched to all Essex's friends, in- 
formino; them that Cobham and Raleio[:h had laid schemes against 
his life, and entreating their presence and assistance. 

Next day (Feb. 8, 1601) there appeared at Essex House the 
Earls of Southampton and Rutland, the Lords Sandys and Mont- 
eagle, with about 300 gentlemen of good quality and fortune, and 
Essex informed them of the danger to which he pretended the 
machinations of his enemies exposed him. The queen, beino- in- 
formed of these designs, sent some of the chief officers of state to 
Essex House to learn the cause of these unusual commotions. 
Essex detained them prisoners in his house, and proceeded to the 
execution of his former project. He sallied forth with about 200 
attendants, armed only with Avalking-swords, and in his passage 
to the city was joined by the Earl of Bedford and Lord Crom- 
well. He cried aloud, " For the queen I for the queen ! a plot 
is laid for my life !" and then proceeded to the house of Smith, 
the sheriff, on whose aid he had great reliance. The citizens 
flocked about him in amazement, but no one showed a disposition 
to join him. The sheriff, on the earl's approach to his house, 
stole out at the back door, and made the best of his way to the 
mayor. Essex meanwhile, observing the coldness of the citizens, 
after in vain attempting to force his way through the streets, re- 
tired toward the river, and, taking boat, arrived at Essex House. 
He was now reduced to despair, and surrendered in the evening 
to the Earl of Nottingham. 

The queen soon gave orders for the trial of the most consider- 
able of the criminals, and the Earls of Essex and Southampton 
were arraigned before a, jury of 25 peers, by whom they were 
found guilty. Bacon, though he was none of the crown la'^^yers, 
yet did not scruple, in order to obtain the queen's favor, to be act- 
ive in bereaving of life his friend and patron, whose generosity 
he had often experienced. After Essex had passed some days in 
the solitude and reflections of a prison, his proud heart was at 
last subdued, not by the fear of death, but by the sentiments of 
religion, a principle which he had before attempted to make the 
instrument of his ambition, but which now took a more firm hold 
of his mind, and prevailed over every other motive and considera- 
tion. He made a full confession of his disloyalty, in which he 
spared not even his most intimate friends. 

The present situation of Essex called forth all the queen's 
tender affections, and kept her in the most real agitation and ir- 



360 ELIZABETH. Chap. XIX. 

resolution. She signed the warrant for his execution ; she coun- 
termanded it ; she again resolved on his death ; she felt a new 
return of tenderness. AVhat chiefly hardened her heart against 
him was his supposed obstinacy in never making, as she hourly 
expected, any application to her for mercy ; and she finally gave 
her consent to his execution. He discovered at his death symp- 
toms rather of penitence and piety than of fear, and willingly ac- 
knowledged the justice of the sentence by which he suffered. The 
execution was private, in the Tower, agreeably to his own request 
(Feb. 25). The Earl of Essex was but 34 years of age when his 
rashness, imprudence, and violence brought him to this untimely 
end. Some of Essex's associates were tried, condemned, and ex- 
ecuted. Southampton's life was saved with great difficulty, but 
he was detained in prison during the remainder of this reign. 

§ 10. The remaining transactions of this reign are neither 
numerous nor important. The war was continued against the 
Spaniards with success; and in 1602 Tyrone appeared before 
Mountjoy, and made an absolute surrender of his life and for- 
tunes to the queen's mercy. But Elizabeth was now incapable 
of receiving any satisfaction from this fortunate event. She had 
fallen into a profound melancholy, which all the advantages of her 
high fortune, all the glories of her prosperous reign, were unable 
in any degree to alleviate or assuage. Her dejection has been 
ascribed to various causes, and particularly to compunction for 
the fate of Essex, but it was probably the natural result of disease 
and old age. Her anxious mind at last had so long preyed on 
her frail body that her end was visibly approaching; and the 
council, being assembled, sent the keeper, admiral, and secretary 
to know her will with regard to her successor. She answered, 
Avith a faint voice, that, as she had held a regal sceptre, she de- 
sired no other than a royal successor. Cecil requesting her to 
explain herself more particularly, she subjoined that she would 
have a king to succeed her ; and who should that be but her 
nearest kinsman, the King of Scots f Being then advised by the 
Archbishop of Canterbury to fix her thoughts upon God, she re- 
plied that she did so, nor did her mind in the least wander from 
him. Her voice soon after left her ; her senses failed ; she fell 
into a lethargic slumber, which continued some hours ; and she 
expired gently, without farther struggle or convulsion, in the 70th 
year of her age and 45th of her reign (March 24, 1603). 

So dark a cloud overcast the evening of that day which had 
shone out with a mighty lustre in the eyes of all Europe. There 
are few great personages in history who have been more exposed 
to the calumny of enemies and the adulation of friends than Queen 
Elizabeth, and yet there is scarcely any whose reputation has been 



A.D. 1601-1603. REFLECTIONS ON THE TUDOR PERIOD. 351 

more certainly determined by the almost unanimous consent of 
posterity. Her vigor, her constancy, her magnanimity, her pene- 
tration, vigilance, address, are allowed to merit the highest praises, 
and appear not to have been surpassed by any person that ever 
filled a throne ; a conduct less rigorous, less imperious, more sin- 
cere, more indulgent to her people, vi^ould have been requisite to 
form a perfect character. By the force of her mind she con- 
trolled all her more active and stronger qualities, and prevented 
them from running into excess ; her heroism v^as exempt from 
temerity, her frugality from avarice, her active temper from tur- 
bulency and a vain ambition ; she guarded not herself with equal 
care or equal success from lesser infirmities : the rivalship of 
beauty, the desire of admiration, the jealousy of love, and the sal- 
lies of anger. 

§ 11. The many arbitrary acts of power exercised by the Tudor 
princes have, by some historians, been ascribed to an actual in- 
crease of the prerogative, nor can it be justly doubted that the 
crown gained an accession of strength under that dynasty. To be 
persuaded of this, we need only advert to the succession of the 
crown. Under the early Plantagenets the notion was not alto- 
gether obsolete that the sovereign was in a certain degree elective, 
and the invariable right of succession in the eldest branch was 
not completely established till the reign of Edward I. But under 
Henry VIII. an act was passed empowering that monarch to be- 
queath the crown to whomsoever he pleased, even to one not of 
the blood royal. So, too, an alteration was made in the corona- 
tion oath of Edward VI. ; and that prince was crowned, as the 
rightful and undoubted heir, before he had sworn to preserve the 
liberties of the realm, and without the consent of the people hav- 
ing been asked to his accession. 

This augmented power of the crown under the Tudors was not 
supported by military force, and seems to have rested mainly upon 
public opinion. Such a state of opinion was a natural consequence 
of the long and bloody wars of the Roses, which, being carried on 
merely for the choice of a sovereign, must have filled the public 
mind with an exaggerated idea of his personal importance. The 
same wars, however, undoubtedly added to the material, as well 
as to the ideal, power of the crown. The great nobility were near- 
ly exterminated by them, who had hitherto been the chief support 
of the people in their struggles with the throne. The nobles were 
farther overawed and depressed by several severe and unjust exe- 
cutions, as those of the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Suffolk, and 
the Duke of Buckingham, under Henry VIII., and of several others 
in the subsequent reigns. On the other hand, the dissolution of 
the monasteries, and various encroachments upon the property of 

Q 



362 ELIZABETH. Chap. XIX. 

the Church, supplied Henry and his successors with funds to pur- 
chase the affection of the nobles, and to attach them by the grate- 
ful bonds of self-interest. 

§ 12. Yet in theory at least the Constitution remained intact, 
however it might sometimes be violated in practice. This is evi- 
dent from several works,* written in the reign of Elizabeth, which 
represent the English Constitution as a monarchy limited by law. 
The two chief privileges of Parliament, that of legislation and that 
of taxation, were regarded as indisputable. Henry VIII. procured 
indeed a statute to enable the king, on attaining the age of 24, to 
repeal any acts passed since his accession, and another to give his 
proclamations the force of laws. Yet here the Constitution is ac- 
knowledged in the very breach and suspension of it, for the king 
does not assume these powers, but has them conferred upon him 
by Parliament. On the other hand, the parliamentary right of 
taxation was sometimes evaded, or attempted to be evaded, by 
the crown. One of the devices for this purpose was called a Be- 
nevolence, which, under the pretense of a free gift, was in reality 
an extortion of money from those who could afford to contribute. 
In this sense,! the first clear precedent for a benevolence was that 
extorted by Edward IV. in 1474. His successor passed an act (1 
Rich. III., c. 2) declaring such a method of raising money illegal. 
Nevertheless, Henry VII. levied Si benevoleiice in 1491, but appears 
not to have succeeded in obtaining the money till he had procured 
an act a few years afterward (11 Henry VII., c. 10). In 1505, 
however, he levied a benevolence without any fresh act. Henry 
VIII. seems to have made two similar attempts, in 1525 and 1544. 
The first of these was abandoned from the appearance of symp- 
toms of rebellion, and for the second he seems to have been ulti- 
mately compelled to come to Parliament for an act. These are 
the only instances of such attempts under the Tudors. But Eliz- 
abeth exercised an act of great arbitrary power. Read, an alder- 
man of London, wdio had refused to contribute, was enrolled as a 
foot-soldier, and sent to the wars in Scotland, where he was taken 
prisoner. Henry VIII. sometimes also resorted to forced loans, 
from the obligation of which he in one case procured the Parlia- 
ment to release him. Elizabeth also raised compulsory loans, but 
she was punctual in repaying them. 

The sovereigns of this period still continued to derive an income 

* Such are Aylmer's Harhorowe for faithful Subjects ; Hooker's JEccl. 
Polity ; Sir T. Smith's Commomcealth, etc. Compare a letter of Henry VIII. 
himself to the Pope, quoted by Mr. Froude, Hist, of Eng., i., 187. 

I It should be borne in mind that the term benevolence was also applied 
to the supply constitutionally granted by Parliament, as in the ordinary 
formula of assent : Le roy reinercie ses loyaux sujets, accepte leur benevolence^ 
etc. ; but this is quite a different thing. 



Chap. XIX. THE CROWN AND THE COMiAIONS. 353 

from some feudal rights, as escheats, purveyance, etc. Another 
source of income was the sale of pardons, and sometimes of bish- 
oprics. The sovereign also enjoyed the means of rewarding his 
favorites and adherents by the erection of monopolies ; that is, the 
granting of patents for the exclusive sale of certain articles. To- 
ward the close of Elizabeth's reign this abuse had reached an in- 
tolerable height, and some of the most necessary articles of life, as 
salt, iron, calf skins, train oil, vinegar, sea coals, lead, paper, and 
a great many more, were in the hands of patentees. The Parlia- 
ment was at length aroused, and some stormy debates ensued on 
the subject in the session of 1601. Elizabeth was obliged to prom- 
ise that the monopolies complained of should be abolished, but it 
does not appear that her word was very strictly kept. 

§ 13. The narrative will have conveyed some idea of the haughty 
manner in which the Tudor sovereigns treated the Commons. 
Elizabeth prescribed to them what subjects they should debate, 
reprimanded unruly members, and committed some of them to the 
Tower. But, though they submitted to this treatment, we are not 
to suppose that they were ignorant of their privileges, or disposed 
to surrender them. There was little or no public opinion to sup- 
port them in resisting the crown ; their debates were hardly 
known, and met with but little sympathy out of doors ; and the 
press was under a censorship. Yet instances are not wanting in 
which the Commons boldly asserted their privileges. In the de- 
bate on a subsidy in 1601, Mr. Sergeant Heyle having observed 
that the queen might take it at her pleasure, and that she had as 
much right to their land and goods as to any revenue of the crown, 
Mr. Montague replied that it would be found from former grants 
that subsidies were a free gift. " And though," he observed, " her 
majesty requires this at our hands, yet it is in us to give, not in her 
to exact of duty."* And Speaker Onslow, in his address to the 
queen herself, at the close of the session of 1566, plainly pointed 
out the limits of her prerogative. *' By our common law," he said, 
''although there be for the prince provided many princely prerog- 
atives and royalties, yet it is not such as the prince can take money 
or other things, or do as he will at his own pleasure, without or- 
der, but quietly to suffer his subjects to enjoy their own, without 
wrongful oppression ; wherein other princes, by their liberty, do 
take as please th them."t 

The Commons gained ground as the Tudor dynasty proceeded. 
In the reign of Henry YIII. they ventured to throw out only one 
bill recommended by the crown ; but there are many instances 

* D'Ewes' Journal, p. 663. Hume's whole account of this debate (in the 
note) is very garbled ; and though he gives Sergeant Heyle's speech, he 
omits Montague's answer, f D'Ewes, p. 115. 



364 ELIZABETH. Chap. XIX. 

under his successors of their doing so. On the other hand, the 
crown did not scruple to reject bills which had passed both houses ; 
and in 1597 Elizabeth refused no fewer than 48. The inter- 
ference of the crown in elections shows the opinion entertained 
of the power of the Commons ; and the same fact is evident from 
the creation of what we should now call rotten boroughs. In the 
short reign of Edward VI. 22 boroughs were created or restored ; 
in that of Mary, 14 ; while Elizabeth added no fewer than 62 
members to the House, of whom a large proportion sat for petty 
boroughs under the influence of the crown. Thus a great many 
placemen, officers of the court, and lawyers on the look-out for 
promotion, were introduced into the House, a circumstance which, 
together with the manners of the times, accounts for the occasion- 
ally servile tone of the debates. 

§ 14. Turning from the Legislature to the executive and the 
administration of justice, we shall find, in like manner, that the 
liberty of the subject, though secure in legal theory, was frequently 
violated in practice. The law forbade any man to be thrown into 
prison without legal warrant, or to be kept there without being 
speedily brought to trial, or to be condemned without a trial by his 
peers ; yet, in fact, all these things were frequently done. Even 
under the Plantagenets the king's ordinary council sometimes 
exercised an arbitrary jurisdiction, depriving an accused person of 
trial by jury, or jounishing jurors whose verdict had displeased them 
by fine and imprisonment. Under the Tudors these illegal pro- 
ceedings were still farther aggravated by means of the same coun- 
cil, or rather a committee of it, called the court of Star Chamber.* 
The most flagrant violations of justice were naturally displayed 
in political trials, which, Mr. Hallam has not scrupled to say, " ren- 
dered our courts of justice little better than the caverns of mur- 
derers, ""j" The state trials conducted in Parliament were no bet- 
ter than those in the ordinary courts of law. Cromwell, the min- 
ister of Henry VIII., introduced the precedent of condemning an 
accused person without hearing him in his defense ; but, by a just 
retribution, he himself was one of the first to fall by his own in- 
vention. 

§ 15. The reforms of the Church introduced by Henry VIII. 
]3roceeded little beyond the abolishment of the papal jurisdiction in 
England ; those of Edward VI. went a great way in the direction 
of Calvinism. Elizabeth was inclined to the Lutheran rites ; and 
these might seem the fairest compromise between Protestant and 
papist, in the uniformity of worship which she had determined to 
establish. Of course the zealots of neither sect were satisfied, and 
thus she raised up two political as well as religious parties against 
* See Notes and Illustrations — the Star Chamber. f Const. Hist., i., 231. 



Chap. XIX. GENERAL STATE OF THE NATION. 365 

her, both of which occasioned her great trouble. In her first year 
two important acts were passed, that of supremacy and that of uni- 
formity ; by the latter of which the use of any but the established 
Liturgy was prohibited under severe penalties. In order to en- 
force this law, a new court, called the Court of High Commission, 
was erected, with powers hitherto unknown to the Constitution, 
of which an account has been already given (p. 338). The courts 
of law regarded this tribunal from the first as illegal, and frequently 
granted prohibitions against its acts. On one occasion the judges 
refused to entertain a charge of murder against a man who had 
killed one of the pursuivants of the commissioners while attempt- 
ing to enter his house by virtue of their warrant. Under the Stu- 
arts, however, when the judges had been rendered more dependent 
and servile, we shall find this court emancipated from all control 
of the laws. 

§"T^If we turn our attention from constitutional questions to 
the general state of the nation, we must, on the whole, pronounce 
the period of the Tudors to have been one of advancement and im- 
provement. The arms and negotiations of Henry VIII., though 
not always well directed, extended English influence on the Con- 
tinent ; and though this advantage was lost in the short but in- 
glorious reign of Mary, which threatened to make England a Span- 
ish province, it was more than recovered under Elizabeth. In 
her reign England first became a great maritime power ; and 
some of the sea-fights and expeditions which then took place, es- 
pecially the destruction of the Spanish Armada, were as brilliant 
and glorious exploits as any that can be found in our naval annals. 
Nor was the aid which her land forces lent to the Huguenots in 
France, and to the nascent liberties of the Dutch, wanting in glory, 
though rather, perhaps, from the cause in Mdiich they were engaged, 
than from the feats actually performed. The enterprising voyages 
of maritime discovery by Drake, Cavendish, and others, likewise 
shed a lustre on her reign, and prepared the way for that extens- 
ive colonization which has proved one of the chief sources of 
England's greatness. 

It is a retnarkable fact, evident from the whole tenor of Euro- 
pean history, that a bigoted devotion to the Roman See and its 
doctrines is wholly incompatible with true enlightenment and so- 
cial progress. We see this truth illustrated in English history in 
the early dawn of the Reformation under Edward III., and still 
more so in its final establishment under the Tudors. Learning 
and science then began to revive ; and the annals of Elizabeth are 
adorned with some of the greatest names of English literature. 
The majesty of English prose was formed by the hand of Hooker ; 
the harmony of English verse flowed from the lips of Spenser. 



S6Q 



ELIZABETH. 



Chap. XIX. 



The drama, the surest proof of an advanced civilization, had then 
its first beginnings, and was perfected by the immortal genius of 
Shakspeare ; while Bacon opened up a new method of philosophy, 
whose practical fruits we may be said even now to gather. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1559. Coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Res- 
toration of the Protestant worship. 

1531. Queen Maiy returns to Scotland. 

.156T. JIurder of Darnley and marriage of 
Mary to Botliwell. 

1588. Mary escapes into England ; is brought 
to trial and detained a prisoner. 

1572. The Duke of Norfolk tried and exe- 
cuted for treason. Massacre of St. 
Bartholomew. 

15S4. Act against Jesuits and seminary 
priests. 

1586. Battle of Zutphen and death of Sii- 



A.l>. 

Philip Sydney. Babington's con- 
spiracy. Mary Queen of Scots tried 
and condemned. 
1587. The Queen of Scots executed (Feb. 8). 
' Defeat of the Spanish Armada. 
■ 1596. Expedition to Cadiz. 
1599. The Earl of Essex appointed lord-lieu- 
tenant of Ireland to put doM'n Ty- 
rone's rebellion. 

1601. Conspiracy and execution of Esses. 

1602. Tyrone submits. 

1603. Death of Elizabeth. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. THE COURT OF STAR CHAMBER. 

The origin of tliis court is derived from the 
most remote antiquity. It was originally 
composed of all the members of the king's 
consilium ordinarium or ordinary council, 
and its jurisdiction embraced both civil and 
criminal causes. Its title was derived from 
the camera stellata or Star Chamber, an 
apartment in the king's palace at Westmin- 
ster in which it held its sittings ; and we find 
'•'■ the lords sitting in Star Chamber" used as 
a well-known phrase in the records of Ed- 
ward III. The name was continued long 
after the locality of the court was changed. 
In the time of Edward IH. the jurisdiction 
of the court had become so oppressive, tliat 
various statutes were made to abridge and 
restrain it ; and after this period its power, 
though not wholly extinct, appears to have 
gradually declined till the time of the Tu- 
dors. Heniy VH., in the third year of his 
reign, erected a new court on the ruins of 
the old. It consisted of the chancellor, the 
treasurer, and the lord privy seal, as judges, 
together with a bishop, a temporal lord of 
the council, and the two chief justices, or, in 
their absence, two other justices, as assist- 
ants. This court was not therefore, strictly 
speaking, the Court of Star Chamber; still 
less are we to look upon it, as some writers 
have done, as the original of that famous 
court. Yet as most of, if not all, the mem- 
bers who composed it were also members of 
the ordinary councU, it may be regarded as 
a sort of committee of the ancient court of 
Star Chamber; and both Lord Coke {Fourth 
Institute^ p. 62) and Lord Hale {Jurisdiction 
of the Lords' Ho^tse^ ch. v., p. 35) consider 
it as only a modification of that tribunal. 
So also the judges of the King's Bench, in 



the 13th year of Elizabeth, cite the proceed- 
ings of this court under the name of the Star 
Chamber (Plowden's Commentaries^ 393). 
Yet that appellation does not appear to have 
been given to it either in the statute by 
which it was erected, or in another passed in 
the 21st year of Henry VHI., by which the 
president of the council was added to the 
number of the judges. 

The fact just mentioned, however, shows 
that the tribunal erected by Henry VH. con- 
tinued to exist as a distinct court from the 
ordinaiy council till a late period of the reign 
of Henry VIII. It was chiefly designed to 
restrain and punish illegal combinations, 
such as the giving of liveries, etc. , the par- 
tiality of sheriffs in forming panels and mak- 
ing untrue returns, the taking of money by 
juries, riots, and unlawful assemblies; and 
it had the power to punish offenders, just as 
if they had been convicted in due course of 
law. But toward the close of Hemy VIII. 's 
reign the jurisdiction of the ancient Star 
Chamber was revived, and the court of Hen- 
ry YU. became gradually merged in it. The 
precise period of this revival can not be as- 
certained. By some it is ascribed to Cardinal 
Wolsey ; and, at all events, the ancient court 
Avas again in activity in the 31st year of Hen- 
iy YUI. , as the celebrated act of that year 
concerning proclamations ordains that of- 
fenders against it may be tried before the 
Star Chamber. Sir Thomas Smith, who wrote 
his Commonwealth of England in Elizabeth's 
reign, knows nothing of Henry V^H.'s court : 
it had then become merged in the general 
council. 

The judges of the revived court, however, 
continued to be the same, viz. , the lord chan- 
cellor, or lord keeper, as president, the treas- 
urer, the privy seal, and the president of the 



Chap. XIX. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 



367 



council ; but -with these were associated the 
members of the council, and all peers of the 
realm who chose to attend. Under the Tu- 
dors the number of judges often amounted to 
30 or 40 ; but under James I. and Charles I. 
only such peers seem to have been summon- 
ed as were also members of the privy coun- 
cil. The bishops also ceased to attend. 

The civil jurisdiction of the Star Chamber 
embraced disputes between English and alien 
merchants, questions of maritime law, testa- 
mentaiy causes, suits between corporations, 
etc. ; but these were gradually ti-ansferred to 
the Admiralty Court, the Court of Chancery, 
and the common law courts. It was the 
criminal jurisdiction which rendered the 
Star Chamber most powerful and most odious. 
The offenses of which it took cognizance 
were perjuiy, forgery, riot, maintenance, 
fraud, libel, and conspiracy; and generally, 
all misdemeanors, especially of a public kind, 
which could not be brought under the law. 
The regular course of proceeding was by in- 
formation at the suit of the attorney general, 
or sometimes of a private person. Deposi- 
tions of witnesses were taken in writing and 
read in court. But occasionally the process 
was summary. The accused was privately ex- 
amined, sometimes tortured, and, if thought 
to have confessed enough, was sentenced 
without any formal trial. The court had 
power to pronounce any sentence short of 
death. Fines and imprisonment were the 
usual punishments, and the fines were fre- 
quently so enormous as to be ruinous. To- 
ward a later period the Star Chamber sen- 
tenced to the pillory, whipping, cutting off 
the ears, etc. It exercised an illegal control 
over the ordinary courts of justice. In the 
reigns of James I. and Charles I. its juris- 
diction became very tyrannical and offensive 
as a means of asserting the royal preroga- 
tive ; and the court was at length abolished 
by the Long Parliament in the reign of the 
latter monarch (16 Chas. I., c. 10), as will be 
related in its pi'oper place. 

For farther information respecting the 
Star Chamber, see Hallam's Constitvtional 
History, ch. i. and ch. viii. ; Sir F. Pal- 



grave's Fssay upon the original Authority 
of the King^s Council; and the article 
'■''• Star Chamber" in the Fenny Cyclopaedia. 

B. AUTHORITIES FOR THE PERIOD 
OF THE TUDORS, 

The works of several of the chroniclers 
which serve for the period of the Plantage- 
nets extend also into that of the Tudors, as 
those of Fabian, Hall, Grafton, Polydore, 
"Virgil, HoUingshed, Stowe, etc. 

The History of the reign of Henry VH. 
has been written by Loi-d Bacon; that of 
Henry VHL by Lord Herbert of Chei'bury ; 
that of Edward VI. by Hay ward; that ^ 
Elizabeth by Camden. Edward VI. left a 
journal of some of the occurrences of his 
reign. 

Subsidiary works for this period are Fid- 
des' Life of Wolsey; Le Grand, Hint, die 
Divorce; Froude's History of England, 4 
vols., containing the period from the fall of 
Wolsey to the death of Henry VIII. ; Sir 
Simon D' Ewes' Journal of Queen Elizabeth's 
Parliameyits ; BixcWs Memoirs; Winwood's 
Memorials; Miss Aiken's Memoirs of the 
Court of Queen Elizabeth; Ellis's Original 
Letters; Murdon's State Papers; the State 
Trials, State Pa2}ers, Hardwicke Pajoers, etc. 

For a view of the Constitution during this 
period, see Hallam's Constitutional History, 
vol. i. The 2d chapter of Brodie's Hist, of 
the Britif^h Emjnre is useful respecting the 
reign of Elizabeth. 

For the Scotch affairs of the period should 
be consulted George Buchanan's Hist, of 
Scotland, (translated by Bond) ; Drummond's 
Hist, of Scotland; the Memoirs of Melvil, 
Keith, Forbes; Robertson's Hist, of Scot- 
land; Ty tier's Hist, of Scotland. 

For ecclesiastical affairs and the history 
of the Reformation, Strype's Eccl. Memo- 
rials, Annals of the Re formation, and Lives 
of Parker, Grindal, Whitgift, and Aylmer ; 
Burnet's Hist, of the Reformation ; Collier's 
Eccl. History; Heylyn's Hist, of the Refor- 
tnation; Fox-e's Acts and 3'Ionuments; Neal's 
Hist, of the Puritans, etc. 






Sardonyx ring, with cameo head of Queen Elizabeth, in the possession 
of Rev. Lord John Thynne. 

This is said to be the identical ring given by Queen Elizabeth to Essex. It has descended from Lady 
Frances Devereux, Essex's daughter, in unbroken succession from mother and daughter to the present possessor. 
The ring is gold, the sides engraved, and the inside of blue enamel.— Labarte, Arts of the Middle Ages, p. 55. 



368 GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE HOUSE OF STUART. 



P 
H 

CO 

O 

P 

o 

w 

K 
H 

P^ 
O 

P 
FQ 
-11 
H 

Hi 

<1 
O 

o 

-^ 

o 



>. 



03 > 

ss 






'c3 >^ 



M 






o 



^ )^ d '- . 

CO h S <^ fl 
o 53 o) 03 



Qi 



o .^ 

o s^ 
3 



f-3 



^ P4 



T-H g 



"P-go_C5 



5-= s 

s 



O 53 

CO r* 

. '^ 

H o *s 



^ a 



I 4:3 



fi> 



. as 

3 03 

S 5 0' 

;^ S-i 



-^2 






•^ CO 

IS 



$1 bJ} 



" -Sooio 

CO 03 CO to 

to ® 

03 OJ 



CO 



t^2 



K. 









-aj c3 13 



■n 



3^ 



HH g g « . 



. 03 

a -a 2 



o 






S So 

CO g 

03 ^-< i_; 

.Q O »-l 
>^ . «^ 

<( -r; <! 
CO .-^^ 

< g 



_CI^ 03 
03^ C! 

m g g 

03 Cw "^ 

h-i Q _; 
hk ^ T3 • 



OS«M 



to S 

ft,a 

CD ^^ 



■S PI CO 
CO _2t- 
-p g^ 

to St- 
03 o '^ 

6^ 




Obverse of medal of James I. iac : i . totivs . ins : bett . imp : et . feanc . et . hib 
REX. (The title Imperator is to be noted.) Bust of king, facing. 

B O O K V. . 

THE HOUSE OF STUART, TO THE ABDICA- 
TION OF JAMES II. 

A.D. 1603-1688. 



CHAPTER XX. 
jAsiES I. A.D. 1603-1625. 



§ 1. Introduction. § 2. Accession of James. § 3. Conspiracy in favor of 
Arabella Stuart. Conference at Hampton Court. § 4. Proceedings of 
Parliament. Peace with Spain. § 5. The Gunpowder Plot. § 6. Strug- 
gles with the Parliament. Assassination of Henry IV. of France. § 7. 
State of Ireland, and Settlement of Ulster. Death of Prince Henry, and 
Marriage of the Princess Elizabeth. § 8. Rise of Somerset. Murder of 
Sir Thomas Overbury. § 9. Somerset's Fall and Rise of Buckingham. 
§ 10. English Colonization. Raleigh's Expedition to Guiana. His Ex- 
ecution. § 1 1. Negotiations for the Spanish Match. Affairs of the Palat- 
inate. § 12. Discontent of the English. A Parliament. Impeachments. 
Fall of Lord Bacon. § 13. Rupture between the King and Commons. 
§ 14. Progress of the Spanish Match, Prince Charles and Buckingham 
visit Madrid. § 15. The Marriage Treaty broken by Buckingham. Tri- 
umph of the Commons. § 16. Rupture with Spain, and Treaty with 
France. Mansfeldt's Expedition. Death and Character of the King. 

§ 1. In the preceding narrative we have seen the liberties of 
the nation commenced and founded under the Plantagenets, 
eclipsed but not extinguished under the Tudors ; in the present 
book we shall behold them tending through many dangers to their 
secure establishment. The reformation having been completed 
under the Tudor dynasty, the nation had more leisure to devote 

Q2 



370 JAMES I. Chap. XX. 

their attention to their political condition ; while the same move- 
ment had awakened in a large party not only a desire for farther 
ecclesiastical reforms, but also for an extension of civil freedom. 
Fortunately for the people, the sceptre had passed into the hands 
of a weak sovereign, whose vanity and presumption continually led 
him to parade that opinion of his absolute sovereignty which he 
had neither the means nor the ability successfully to assert. 
Thus, to the ruin of his son and successor, but to the everlasting 
benefit of the English nation, he provoked and precipitated the 
decision of the question as to what were the privileges of the crown 
and what were the constitutional liberties of the people. With 
the history of the progress of this great debate the following book 
will be chiefly occupied, for its engrossing nature left comparative- 
ly little leisure for other transactions. 

§ 2. The crown of England was never transmitted from father 
to son with greater tranquillity than it passed from the family of 
Tudor to that of Stuart, in spite of the will of Henry VIII., sanc- 
tioned by act of Parliament, by which the succession had been 
settled on the house of Suffolk, the descendants of his younger 
sister Mary. Queen Elizabeth, on her death-bed, had recognized 
the title of her kinsman James, and the whole nation seemed to dis- 
pose themselves with joy and pleasure for his reception. Great 
were the rejoicings, and loud and hearty the acclamations, which 
resounded from all sides. But James, though sociable and famil- 
iar with his friends and courtiers, hated the bustle of a mixed 
multitude ; and though far from disliking flattery, yet was he 
still fonder of tranquillity and ease. He issued, therefore, a proc- 
lamation, forbidding the resort of people, on pretense of the scarcity 
of provisions and other inconveniences, which, he said, would nec- 
essarily attend it ; and by his repulsive, ungainly manners, as well 
as by symptoms which he displayed of an arbitrary temper, he had 
pretty well lost his popularity even before his arrival in London. 

James, at his accession, was 36 years of age, and had by his 
queen, Anne of Denmark, two sons, Henry and Charles, and one 
daughter, Elizabeth. His education having been conducted by the 
celebrated George Buchanan, he had acquired a considerable stock 
of learning, but at the same time an immeasurable conceit of his 
own wisdom. He took every occasion to make a pedantic display 
of his acquirements both in conversation and in writing, for he 
was an author, and had published, for the use of his son, a book 
called Basilikon Doron (BaanXii^dp ^wpop) or Hoi/al Gift, besides 
works on demonology and other subjects. These qualities led the 
Duke of Sully to characterize him as the most learned fool in 
Christendom, Avhile his courtiers and flatterers gave him the name 
of the British Solomon. 



A.D. 1603, 1604. ACCESSION OF JAMES f. 37^ 

James signalized Ms accession by distributing a profusion of 
titles ; and in three months after his entrance into the kingdom he 
is computed to have bestowed knighthood on no fewer than 700 
persons. He had brought with him, to what he called the " Land 
of Promise," great numbers of his Scottish courtiers, many of 
whom were immediately added to the English privy council. Yet 
he left almost all the chief offices in the hands of Elizabeth's min- 
isters, and trusted the conduct of political concerns, both foreign 
and domestic, to his English subjects. Among these, Secretary 
Cecil, afterward created Earl of Salisbury, was always regarded 
as his prime minister and chief counselor. The secret correspond- 
ence into which he had entered with James, and which had sensi- 
bly contributed to the easy reception of that prince in England, 
had laid the foundation of Cecil's credit. 

§ 3. Shortly after the accession of James a double conspiracy to 
subvert the government was discovered. One of these plots, call- 
ed the Main, is said to have been chiefly conducted by Sir Walter 
Raleigh and Lord Cobham, and consisted of a plan to place Ara- 
bella Stuart, the cousin of the king,* on the throne, with the as- 
sistance of the Spanish government. The other plot, called the 
Bye, the Surprise, or the Surprising Treason, was led by Broke, 
brother of Lord Cobham, and by Sir Griffin Markham, and was a 
design to surprise and imprison the king, and to remodel the gov- 
ernment. Broke was engaged in both plots, and formed the con- 
necting link between them. Li this wdld undertaking men of all 
persuasions were enlisted ; as Lord Grey, a Puritan, Watson and 
Clarke, two Roman Catholic priests, and others. Their designs 
came to the ears of Secretary Cecil, and the conspirators were ar- 
rested. The two priests and Broke were executed ; Cobham, 
Grey, and Markham were pardoned after they had laid their heads 
upon the block. Raleigh too was reprieved, not pardoned ; and 
he remained in confinement many years afterward. His guilt 
rested on the evidence of Cobham ; and there are good reasons for 
thinking that he was entirely innocent. 

The religious disputes between the Church and the Puritans in- 
duced James to call a conference at Hampton Court, on pretense 
of finding expedients which might reconcile both parties. The 
Church of England had not yet abandoned the rigid doctrines of 
grace and predestination ; the Puritans had not yet separated 
themselves from the Church, nor openly renounced episcopacy. 
The conference was opened Jan. 14, 1604. The demands of the 
Puritans were for purity of doctrine, good pastors, a reform in 
church government and in the book of Common Prayer. The 

* She was the daughter of the Duke of Lenox, the brother of Lord Darn- 
ley, the king's father. See genealogical table, p. 241. 



372 JAMES L Chap. XX". 

king, from the beginning of the conference, showed the strongest 
propensity to the Established Church, and frequently inculcated 
the maxim, No Bishop, no King. The bishops, in their turn, 
were very liberal of their praises toward the royal disputant ; and 
after a few alterations in the Liturgy had been agreed to, both 
parties separated with mutual dissatisfaction. James was glad of 
this opportunity to display his learning, and boasted mightily of 
his performance. 

§ 4. Upon the assembling of the Parliament the Commons 
granted the king tonnage and poundage,* but they demurred to 
vote him a supply when the question was brought before them by 
some members attached to the court. In order to cover a disap- 
pointment which might bear a bad construction both at home and 
abroad, James sent a message to the House, in which he told them 
that he desired no supply ; and he was very forward in refusing 
what was never offered him. Soon after, he prorogued the Par- 
liament, not without discovering, in his speech, visible marks of 
dissatisfaction. The struggle between the Stuarts and the Com- 
mons was already begun. 

This summer a peace with Spain was finally concluded, and was 
signed by the Spanish ministers at London. 

§ 5. The Roman Catholics had expected great favor and in- 
dulgence on the accession of James, and it is pretended that he 
had even entered into positive engagements to tolerate their re- 
ligion as soon as he should mount the throne of England. Very 
soon they discovered their mistake, and were at once surprised 
and enraged to find James, on all occasions, express his intention 
of strictly executing the laws enacted against them, and of perse- 
vering in all the rigorous measures of Elizabeth. Catesby, a gen- 
tleman of good parts and of an ancient family, first thought of a 
most extraordinary method of revenge, and he opened his inten- 
tion to Percy, a descendant of the illustrious house of Northum- 
berland. The scheme was, to destroy, at one blow, the king, the 
royal family, the Lords, and the Commons, when assembled on the 
first meeting of the Parliament, by blowing them up with gun- 
powder. Percy was charmed with this project of Catesby ; and 
they agreed to communicate the matter to a few more, and among 
the rest to Thomas Winter, whom they sent over to Flanders in 
quest of Fawkes, an officer in the Spanish service, with whose 
zeal and courage they were all thoroughly acquainted. When 
they enlisted any new conspirator, in order to bind him to secrecy, 
they always, together with an oath, employed the sacrament, the 

* These, which are the origin of our custom-house duties, consisted chief- 
ly of a duty of 3s. upon eveiy tun of wine imported, and of Is. in the pound 
on other articles. 



A.D. 1604, 1605. GUNPOWDER PLOT. 378 

most sacred rite of their religion. All this passed in the spring 
and summer of the year 1604, when the conspirators also hired, in 
Percy's name, the vault below the House of Lords. Thirty-six 
barrels of powder were lodged in it, the whole covered up with 
fagots and billets, the doors of the cellar boldly flung open, and 
every body admitted, as if it contained nothing dangerous. 

The dreadful secret, though communicated to above 20 persons, 
had been religiously kept during the space of nearly a year and a 
half But Catesby's money being exhausted, he was compelled 
to seek the means of proceeding with the conspiracy by enlisting 
other persons ; and particularly Sir Everard Digby, of Gothirst, 
in Buckinghamshire, and Francis Tresham, of Rushton, in North- 
amptonshire, two opulent Catholic gentlemen. It is suspected 
that the plot was revealed by the latter. Ten days before the 
meeting of Parliament, Lord Monteagle, a Catholic, son to Lord 
Morley, and brother-in-law of Tresham, received the following 
letter, which had been delivered to his servant by an unknown 
hand. " My lord, out of the love I bear to some of your friends, 
I have a care of your preservation ; therefore I would advise you, 
as you tender your life, to devise some excuse to shift off your at- 
tendance at this Parliament ; for God and man have concurred 
to punish the wickedness of this time. And think not slightly of 
this advertisement, but retire yourself into your country, where 
you may expect the event in safety ; for, though there be no ap- 
pearance of any stir, yet, I say, they will receive a terrible blow 
this Parliament, and yet they shall not see who hurts them." 
Monteagle communicated it to Lord Salisbury, and he to the king, 
who conjectured, from the serious, earnest style of the letter, that 
it implied something dangerous and important. A terrible Mow, 
and yet the authors concealed, seemed to denote some contrivance 
by gunpowder; and it was thought advisable to inspect all the 
vaults below the Houses of Parliament. This care belonged to 
the Earl of Suffolk, lord chamberlain, who purposely delayed the 
search till the day before the meeting of Parliament. He re- 
marked those great piles of wood and fagots which lay in the 
vault under the Upper House, and he cast his eye upon Fawkes, 
who stood in a dark corner, and passed himself for Percy's serv- 
ant. These circumstances appeared suspicious, and it was re- 
solved that a more thorough inspection should be made. About 
midnight. Sir Thomas Knevet, a justice of peace, was sent with 
proper attendants ; and before the door of the vault finding 
Fawkes, who had just finished all his preparations, he immediate- 
ly seized him, and, turning over the fagots, discovered the powder 
(Nov. 5). The matches,'and every thing proper for setting fire to 
the train, were taken in Fawkes's pocket, who, finding his guilt 



374 JAMES !. Chap. XX. 

now apparent, and seeing no refuge but in boldness and despair, 
expressed the utmost regret that he had lost the opportunity of 
firing the powder at once, and of sweetening his own death by 
that of his enemies. Before the council he displayed the same 
intrepid firmness ; and though he was put to the rack in the 
Tower, he does not appear to have disclosed the names of his as- 
sociates till they had already risen in arms. 

Catesby, Percy, and the other criminals, hearing that Fawkes 
was arrested, hurried down to Warwickshire, where Sir Everard. 
Digby, thinking himself assured that success had attended his con- 
federates, was already in arms in order to seize the Princess Eliz- 
abeth. Hence they proceeded to Holbeach in Staffordshire ; and 
they were obliged to put themselves on their defense against the 
country, who were raised from all quarters and armed by the 
sheriff. The conspirators, with all their attendants, never exceed- 
ed the number of 50 persons, and, being surrounded on every side, 
could no longer entertain hopes either of prevailing or escaping. 
Having therefore confessed themselves and received absolution, 
they boldly prepared for death, and resolved to sell their lives as 
dearly as possible to the assailants. But even this miserable con- 
solation was denied them. Some of their powder took fire, and 
disabled them for defense. The people rushed in upon them. 
Percy and Catesby were killed by one shot. Digby, Eookwood, 
Thomas Winter, and others, being taken prisoners, were tried, con- 
fessed their guilt, and died by the hands of the executioner, as well 
as Garnet, superior of the Jesuits in England, who was privy to 
the conspiracy. Tresham was committed to the Tower, where he 
died on the 27th December. On the meeting of Parliament, 
James, in his opening speech, declared that he would only punish 
those who were actually concerned in the plot, but the Parlia- 
ment passed some new statutes of an oppressive character against 
the Catholics. 

§ 6. The little concern which James took in foreign affairs ren- 
ders the domestic occurrences, particularly those of Parliament, 
the most interesting of his reign. A new session was held this 
spring (1610), the king full of hopes of receiving supply, the Com- 
mons of circumscribing his prerogative. The Earl of Salisbury 
laid open the king's necessities, first to the Peers, then to a com- 
mittee of the Lower House. The Commons, not to shock the 
king with an absolute refusal, granted him one subsidy and one fif- 
teenth, which would scarcely amount to £100,000, The king 
sought to indemnify himself by raising the customs rates payable 
upon commodities ; but a spirit of liberty had now taken posses- 
sion of the House ; the leading members, men of an independent 
genius and large views, began to regulate their opinions more by 



A.D. 1605-1612. DEATH OF HENRY PRINCE OF WALES. 375 

the future consequences which they foresaw than by the former 
precedents which were set before them. Though expressly for- 
bidden by the king to touch his prerogative, they passed a bill 
abolishing these impositions, which was rejected by the House of 
Lords. They likewise discovered some discontent against the 
kmg's proclamations, against the practice of borrowing on privy 
seals, and other abuses ; and they made remonstrances against the 
proceedings of the High Commission Court, with which, however, 
James refused compliance. But the business which chiefly occu- 
pied them during this session was the abolition of wardships and 
purveyance, prerogatives which had been more or less touched on 
every session during the whole reign of James. They offered the 
king a settled revenue as an equivalent for the powers which he 
should part with, and the king was willing to hearken to terms ; 
but the session was too far advanced to bring so difficult a matter 
to a full conclusion. We know not exactly the reason of this 
failure ; it only appears that the king was extremely dissatisfied 
with the conduct of the Parliament, and soon after dissolved it. 
This was his first Parliament, and it sat nearly seven years. 

This year was distinguished by the murder of the French 
monarch, Henry IV., by the poniard of the fanatical Ravaillac. 
In England the antipathy to the Catholics was increased by this 
tragical event ; and some of the laws which had formerly been 
enacted in order to keep these religionists in awe, began now to 
be executed with greater rigor and severity. 

§ 7. About this time the king brought to a conclusion the in- 
stitutions which he had framed to civilize the Irish, and to render 
their subjection durable and useful to the crown of England. 
James proceeded in this work by a steady, regular, and well- 
concerted plan. In particular, the whole province of Ulster hav- 
ing fallen to the crown by the attainder of rebels, a company was 
established in London for planting new colonies in that fertile 
country ; the property was divided into moderate shares, the 
largest not exceeding 2000 acres ; tenants were brought over 
from England and Scotland ; and by these means Ulster, from 
being the most wild and disorderly province of all Ireland, soon 
became the best cultivated and most civilized. On this settle- 
ment the Earl of Salisbury founded a financial scheme. On pre-, 
tense of raising money for its defense, a new order of nobility, 
called baronetcy, was invented, and the patents sold for £1095 
apiece. Hence baronets bear on their shields the arms of Ulster, 
a bloody hand. 

The sudden death of Henry, Prince of Wales (Nov. 6, 1612), 
diffused a universal grief throughout the nation. It is with pe- 
culiar fondness that historians mention him, and in every respect 



376 JAMES I. Chap. XX. 

his merit seems to have been extraordinary. He had not reached 
his 18th year, and he already possessed more dignity in his be- 
havior, and commanded more respect, than his father, with all 
his age, learning, and experience. The marriage of the Princess 
Elizabeth with Frederick, elector palatine, was finished some time 
after the death of the prince (Feb. 14, 1613), and served to dissi- 
pate the grief which arose on that melancholy event ; but this 
marriage, though celebrated with great joy and festivity, ultimate- 
Iv proved itself an unhappy event to the king, as well as to his 
son-in-law, and had ill consequences on the reputation and for- 
tunes of both. 

§ 8. About the end of 1609, Robert Carr, a youth of 20 years 
of age, and of a good family in Scotland, arrived in London, after 
having passed some time in his travels. All his natural accom- 
plishments consisted in good looks, all his acquired abilities in an 
easy air and graceful demeanor. He had letters of recommenda- 
tion to his countryman. Lord Hay, and that nobleman assigned 
him the office, at a match of tilting, of presenting to the king his 
buckler and devicg. The king became strongly attached to him, 
taught him even the elements of the Latin grammar, and determ- 
ined to initiate him into all the profound mysteries of govern- 
ment, on which the monarch set so high a value. The favorite 
was not at first so intoxicated with advancement as not to be sen- 
sible of his own ignorance and inexperience. He had recourse to 
the assistance and advice of a friend, and he was more fortunate 
in his choice than is usual with such pampered minions. In Sir 
Thomas Overburyhe met with a judicious and sincere counselor, 
who, building all hopes of his own preferment on that of the young 
favorite, endeavored to instill into him the principles of prudence 
and discretion. But an event soon happened which proved the 
ruin both of the tutor and his pupil. Carr had succeeded to 
Salisbury's power on the death of that able minister in 1612, 
and had been created Viscount Rochester in the preceding year. 
Having entertained an illicit passion for the wife of the Earl of 
Essex,* Rochester had even formed the project of espousing her 
by procuring a divorce from her husband. Overbury, to whom 
he communicated the. scheme, strongly opposed it ; and, in order 
to get him out of the way, Rochester, instigated by the countess, 
persuaded the king to send him on an embassy into Russia. 
Having declined this proposal, Overbury was committed to the 
Tower. This obstacle being removed, the lovers pursued their 
purpose, and the king himself entered zealously into the project 
of procuring the countess a divorce from her husband. As Essex 
himself made no opposition, the sentence was speedily pronounced ; 
* Essex had been restored to the honors of his father in 1603. 



A.D. 1612-1615. SOMERSET'S FALL— RISE OF BUCKINGHAM. 377 

and, to crown the scene, the king, solicitous lest the lady should 
lose any rank by her new marriage, bestowed on his minion the 
title of Earl of Somerset. Notwithstanding this success, the 
Countess of Somerset was not satisfied till she should farther 
satiate her revenge on Overbury ; and she engaged her husband, 
as well as her uncle, the Earl of Northampton, in the atrocious 
design of taking him off secretly by poison. Fruitless attempts 
were reiterated by weak poisons^ but at last they gave him one 
so sudden and violent that the symptoms were apparent to ever\^ 
one who approached him (Sept. 15, 1613). His interment was 
hurried on with the greatest precipitation ; and, though a strong 
suspicion immediately prevailed among the public, the full proof 
of the crime was not brought to light till some years afterward. 

§ 9. But the favorite had not escaped that still voice which 
can make itself heard amid all the hurry and flattery of a court. 
Conscious of the murder of his friend, Somerset received small 
consolation from, the enjoyments of love, or the utmost kindness 
and indulgence of his sovereign. The graces of his youth gTad- 
ually disappeared, the gayety of his manners was obscured, his 
politeness and obliging behavior were changed into sullenness 
and silence ; and the king, whose affections had been gained by 
these superficial accomplishments, began to estrange himself from 
a man who no longer contributed to his amusement. The saga- 
cious courtiers observed the first symptoms of this disgust. Som- 
erset's enemies seized the first opportunity, and offered a new min- 
ion to the king. George Yilliers, a youth of one-and-twenty, 
younger brother of a good family, returned at this time (1615) 
from his travels, and was remarked for the advantages of a hand- 
some person, genteel air, and fashionable apparel. At a comedy 
he was purposely placed full in James's eye, and immediately en- 
orao-ed the attention, and, in the same instant, the affections of 
that monarch. After some manoeu\Tes to save appearances, James 
bestowed the ofS.ce of cup-bearer on young Yilliers. The whole 
court was now thrown into two parties between the two minions, 
while the king himself, divided between inclination and decorum, 
increased the doubt and ambiguity of the courtiers ; but the dis- 
covery of Somerset's guilt in the murder of Overbury at last de- 
cided the controversy, and exposed him to the ruin and infamy 
which he so well merited. An apothecary's apprentice, who had 
been employed in making up the poisons, having retired to Flush- 
ing, began to talk very freely of the whole secret, and the affair 
at last came to the ears of the king's envoy in the Low Countries. 
By this means Sir Ealph Winwood, secretary of state, was in- 
formed, and he immediately carried the intelligence to James. 
Sir Edward Coke was employed to unravel the labyrinth of guilt. 



378 JAMES I. Chap. XX. 

All the accomplices in Overbury's murder were brought to trial, 
and received the punishment due to their crime ; but the king be- 
stowed a pardon on the principals, Somerset and the countess. 
To soften the rigor of their fate, after some years' imprisonment, 
he restored them to their liberty, and conferred on them a pen- 
sion, with which they retired, and languished out old age in in- 
famy and obscurity. Their guilty loves were turned into the most 
deadly hatred ; Bnd they passed many years together in the same 
house, without any intercourse or correspondence with each other. 
From the conduct of James to the guilty pair, as well as from the 
improbability that the countess should have procured Overbury's 
murder merely out of revenge for his having dissuaded Somerset 
from marrying her, we are irresistibly led to infer that there was 
some dark and unrevealed secret connected with this event in 
which the king himself was implicated.* 

The fall of Somerset, and his banishment from court, opened 
the way for Villiers to mount up at once to the full height of fa- 
vor, of honors, and of riches. In the course of a few years James 
created him Viscount Villiers, Earl, Marquis, and Duke of Buck- 
ingham, and conferred upon him some of the highest offices in the 
kingdom, and thus the fond prince, by loading his favorite with 
premature and exorbitant honors, took an infallible method to 
render him rash, precipitate, and insolent. 

§ 10. The commencement of English colonization dates from the 
reign of James. In that of Elizabeth, Ealeigh endeavored to plant 
a colony in North America, in the district called after the queen, 
Virginia ; but it proved a failure. Toward the close of Eliza- 
beth's reign, and the beginning of that of James, several discov- 
eries and surveys were made in North America ; and in 1606 
James granted charters to two companies — the London or South 
Virginia Company, and the Plymouth Company — for planting 
colonies in that quarter ; in consequence of which, Jamestown, 
in the Bay of Chesapeake, was founded in the following year, and 
was kept from perishing by the courage and fortitude of James 
Smith. In 1610 Lord Delaware proceeded thither as Governor 
of Virginia, with a new body of emigrants, who were again re- 
enforced in the following year, and from this time the colony flour- 
ished and increased. In 1610 a charter was also granted for the 
colonization of Newfoundland. At the same time the trade to 
the east was fostered and encouraged by the government. On the 
31st Dec, 1600, the East India Company was established by a 
charter of Elizabeth for 15 years, which was renewed by James 

* See Amos, ' ' Great Oyer of Poisoning ; Trial of the Earl of Somerset 
for poisoning Sir Thomas Overbury in the Tower of London :" London, 
1846. 



A. D. 1615-1(518. RALEIGH'S EXPEDITION. 379 

in 1609 for an unlimited period; and in 1612 the first English 
factory was established at Surat. 

But the man who had given the first impulse to British colo- 
nization was still languishing in prison. The long sufferings of 
Kaleigh had worn out his unpopularity. People forgot that he 
had been the bitter enemy of their great favorite, the Earl of Es- 
sex, and were struck with the extensive genius of the naan who, 
being educated amid naval and military enterprises, had surpassed 
in the pursuits of literature even those of the most recluse and 
sedentary lives. They admired his unbroken magnanimity, which 
at his' age and under his circumstances could ensrage him to un- 
dertake and execute so great a work as his ''History of the 
World." To increase these favorable dispositions, on which he 
built the hopes of recovering his liberty, he spread the report of 
a gold mine in Guiana, a country discovered by him about 23 
years before, and which was sufficient, according to his representa- 
tion, not only to enrich all the adventurers, but to afford immense 
treasures to the nation. The king released Raleigh from the 
Tower, and conferred on him authority over his fellow-adventur- 
ers, though he still refused to grant him a pardon. Raleigh main- 
tained that the English title to the whole of Guiana, by virtue of 
its discovery, remained certain and indefeasible ; but it happened 
in the mean time that the Spaniards, not knowing or not acknowl- 
edging this claim, had taken possession of a part of Guiana, had 
formed a settlement on the River Oronoco, had built a little 
town called St. Thomas, and were there workino; some mines of 
small value. Gondomar therefore, the Spanish embassador, com- 
plained of Raleigh's preparations ; but the latter protested the in- 
nocence of his intentions, and James assured Gondomar that he 
should pay with his head for any hostile attempt. Raleigh bent 
his course to St. Thomas ; and remaining himself at the mouth 
of the river with five of the largest ships, he sent up the rest to 
St. Thomas, under the command of his son and a Captain Keymis, 
a person entirely devoted to him. The Spaniards, who had ex- 
pected this invasion, fired on the English at their landing, were 
repulsed and pursued into the town ; but young Raleigh received 
a shot, of which he immediately expired. This dismayed not 
Keymis and the others. They carried on the attack ; got posses- 
sion of the town, which they afterward reduced to ashes ; and 
found not in it any thing of value. But Keymis, being unable to 
penetrate to the real or supposed mine, returned to Raleigh with 
the melancholy intelligence of his son's death and the ill success 
of the enterprise ; and then, stung with the reproaches of Raleigh, 
retired to his cabin, and put an end to his own life. The other 
adventurers now concluded that they were deceived by Raleigh, 



380 . JAMES I. Chap. XX. 

and thought it safest to return immediately to England, and cany 
him along with them to answer for his conduct. The Spanish 
embassador demanded the execution of Raleigh ; and James, in 
order to please the Spanish court, made use of that power which 
he had purposely reserved in his own hands, and signed the war- 
rant for his execution upon his former sentence. 

Ealeigh, finding his fate inevitable, collected all his courage. 
" 'Tis a sharp remedy," he said, " but a sure one for all ills," 
when he felt the edge of the axe by which he was to be beheaded. 
With the utmost indifference he laid his head upon the block, and 
received the fatal blow ; and in his death there appeared the same 
great mind which during his life had displayed itself in all his 
conduct and behavior (Oct. 29, 1618). No measure of James's 
reign was attended with more public dissatisfaction. It was re- 
garded as a piece of complaisance toward Spain, with which coun- 
try James was now meditating more intimate connections. 

§ 11. Gondomar, the Spanish embassador, had made offer of the 
second daughter of Spain to Prince Charles ; and, that he might 
render the temptation irresistible to the necessitous monarch, he 
gave hopes of an immense fortune which should attend the prin- 
cess. The court of Spain, though determined to contract no alli- 
ance with a heretic, entered into negotiations with James, which 
they artfully protracted ; and the transactions in Germany, so im- 
portant to the Austrian greatness, became every day a new motive 
for this duplicity of conduct. The States of Bohemia, which were 
in open revolt against the Emperor Ferdinand II. for the defense 
of their religious liberties, had elected Frederick, elector palatine, 
for their king, since, in addition to his own forces, he was son-in- 
law to the King of England, and nephew to Prince Maurice, whose 
authority was become almost absolute in the United Provinces. 
They hoped that these princes, moved by the connections of blood, 
as well as by the tie of their common religion, would interest 
themselves in all the fortunes of Frederick, and would promote 
his greatness. On the other hand, all the Catholic princes of the 
empire had embraced Ferdinand's defense; and, above all, the 
Spanish monarch, deeming his own interest closely connected with 
that of the younger branch of his family, prepared powerful suc- 
cors from Italy and from the Low Countries. 

The news of these events no sooner reached England than the 
whole kingdom was on fire to engage in the quarrel ; but James, 
besides that his temper was too little enterprising for such vast 
undertakings, was restrained by another motive which had a 
mighty influence over him : he refused to patronize the revolt of 
subjects against their sovereign, and from the very first denied to 
his son-in-law the title of Kinof of Bohemia. After much irreso- 



A.D. 1618-1621. FALL OF LORD BACON. 381 

lution, he resolved to defend tbe hereditary dominions of the pal- 
atine, but to leave the King of Bohemia to his fate. Meanwhile, 
affairs every where hastened to a crisis. Almost at one time it 
was known in England that Frederick, being defeated in the great 
and decisive battle of Prague, had fled with his family into Hol- 
land, and that Spinola, the Spanish commander, had invaded the 
palatinate, and, meeting with no resistance, except from some 
princes of the union, and from one English regiment of 2400 men, 
commanded by the brave Sir Horace Vere, had in a little time 
reduced the greater part of that principality (1620). 

§ 1 2. High were now the murmurs and complaints against the 
king's neutrality and inactive disposition ; but the only attention 
James paid to this feeling was to make it a pretense for obtaining 
money. He first tried the expedient of a benevolence ; but the 
jealousy of liberty was now roused, and the nation regarded such 
expedients as real extortions, contrary to law, and dangerous to 
freedom. A Parliament was found to be the only resource w^hich 
could furnish any large supplies ; and writs were accordingly is- 
sued for summoning that great council of the nation (Jan. 30, 
1621). In this Parliament, although there appeared at first noth- 
ing but di!ity and submission on the part of the Commons, there 
were first regularly formed, though without acquiring these de- 
nominations, the parties of court and country. The Commons, 
beino; informed that the kino; had remitted several considerable 
sums to the palatine, without a negative voted him two subsidies. 
Afterward they proceeded to the examination of grievances. They 
found that patents had been granted to Sir Giles Mompesson for 
licensing inns and ale-houses, and for gold and silver thread, which 
he made of a baser metal. The Commons proceeded against him 
by way of impeachment — a revival of a practice they had some- 
times adopted under the Lancastrian kings, but of which there 
had been no instance under the Tudors. Encouraged by this suc- 
cess, the Commons carried their scrutiny into other abuses of im- 
portance, and sent up an impeachment to the Peers against the 
celebrated Bacon, now Viscount St. Albans and chancellor. His 
w^ant of economy and his indulgence to servants had involved him 
in necessities ; and, in order to supply his prodigality, he had been 
tempted to take bribes, by the title of presents, and that in a very 
open manner, from suitors in chancery. The chancellor, conscious 
of guilt, deprecated the vengeance of his judges, and endeavored, 
by a general avowal, to escape the confusion of a stricter inquiry. 
The Lords insisted on a particular confession of all his corruptions. 
He acknowledged 28 articles, and was sentenced to pay a fine of 
£40,000, to be imprisoned in the Tower during the king's pleas- 
ure, to be forever incapable of any office, place, or employment, and 



382 JAMES I. Chap. XX. 

never again to sit in Parliament, or come within the verge of the 
court. In consideration of his great merit, the king released him 
in a little time from the Tower, remitted his line, as well as all the 
other parts of his sentence, conferred on him a pension of £1800 
a year, and employed every expedient to alleviate the weight of 
his age and misfortunes. And that great philosopher at last ac- 
knowledged with regret that he had too long neglected the true 
ambition of a fine genius, and, by plunging into business and af- 
fairs which require much less capacity, but greater firmness of 
mind than the pursuits of learning, had exposed himself to such 
grievous calamities. 

§ 13. The Commons were proceeding with the reformation of 
abuses when they were adjourned by the king's commission, who 
was displeased to see his prerogative too nearly touched. Before 
separating they passed a unanimous resolution to spend their lives 
and fortunes in defense of their religion and of the palatinate, 
"lifting up their hats in their hands so high as they could hold 
them, as a visible testimony of their unanimous consent, in such 
sort that the like had scarce ever been seen in Parliament." This 
solemn protestation and pledge was recorded in the Journals. 
During the recess of Parliament the king had been so 'imprudent 
as to commit to prison Sir Edwin Sandys, without any known 
cause except his activity and vigor in discharging his duty as a 
member of Parliament ; and, above all, the transactions in Ger- 
many, joined to the king's cautions, negotiations, and delays, in- 
flamed that jealousy of honor and religion which prevailed through- 
out the nation. This summer the ban of the empire had been 
published against the elector palatine, and the execution of it was 
committed to the Duke of Bavaria. The upper palatinate was in 
a little time conquered by that prince, and the progress of the 
Austrian arms was attended with rigors and severities exercised 
against the professors of the Reformed religion. The zeal of the 
Commons immediately moved them, upon their reassembling 
(Nov. 14), to take all these transactions into consideration. They 
framed a remonstrance against the growth of popery, adverting 
particularly to the contemplated Spanish match and to the con- 
quest of the palatinate. As soon as the king heard of the intend- 
ed remonstrance, he wrote a letter to the speaker, in which he 
sharply rebuked the House for openly debating matters far above 
their reach and capacity, and he strictly forbade them to meddle 
with any thing that regarded his government or deep matters of 
state. By this violent letter the Commons were inflamed, not 
terrified. In a new remonstrance they insisted on their former 
remonstrance and advice ; and they maintained, though in respect- 
ful terms, that they were entitled to interpose with their counsel 



A.D. 1621. RUPTURE WITH THE COMMONS. 3^3 

in all matters of government, and to possess entire freedom of 
speech in their debates. So vigorous an answer was nowise cal- 
culated to appease the king. It is said, when the approach of the 
committee who were to present it was notified to him, he ordered 
twelve chairs to be brought, for that there were so many kings a 
coming. In his answer he commented on the unfitness of the 
House to enter on affairs of government, and told them that their 
privileges were derived from the gi'ace and permission of his an- 
cestors, but that, as long as they contained themselves within the 
limits of their duty, he would be careful to maintain and preserve 
their lawful liberties and privileges. 

This open pretension of the king's naturally gave great alarm 
to the House of Commons. They therefore framed a protesta- 
tion, in which they repeated all their former claims for freedom 
of speech, and an unbounded authority to interpose with their ad- 
vice and counsel ; and they asserted " that the liberties, frianchises, 
privileges, and jurisdictions of Parliament are the ancient and un- 
doubted bu'thright and inheritance of the subjects of England." 
The king, being informed of this proceeding, sent immediately for 
the journals of the Commons, and with his own hand, before the 
council, he tore out this protestation, and ordered his reasons to 
be inserted in the council-book. He then prorogued the Parlia- 
ment, and soon after dissolved it by proclamation. Several of the 
leading members of the House, among whom was Sir Edward 
Coke,* were committed to prison ; and others, as a lighter punish- 
ment, were sent to Ireland, in order to execute some business. 

§ 14. Meanwhile, the efforts made by Frederick for the recov- 
ery of his dominions were vigorous but unsuccessful. Count Tilly 
defeated his armies ; and though James negotiated for him with 
the emperor, he neglected to give him any material support. At 
length he persuaded his son-in-law to disarm, under color of duty 
and submission to the emperor. James's eyes were now entirely 
turned toward Spain ; and he doubted not, if he could effect his 
son's marriage with the infanta, but that, after so intimate a con- 
junction, the restoration of the palatine could easily be obtained. 
A dispensation from Eome was requisite for the marriage of the 
infanta with a Protestant prince ; and the King of Spain, having 
undertaken to procure that dispensation, had thereby acquired the 
means of retarding at pleasure or of forwarding the marriage, and 
at the same time of concealing entirely his artifices fi'om the court 

* Sir Edward Coke, the rival and enemy of Bacon, and the most eminent 
lawyer of those times, had been created chief justice of the King's Bench in 
16l'3 ; but, having lost the favor of James by his opposition to the illegal 
exercise of the royal prerogative, he was deprived of his seat upon the 
Bench in 1616. and was retiirned to Parliament in 1621. 



384 



JAMES I. Chap. XX. 



of England. In order to soften the objection on the score of re- 
ligion as much as possible, James issued public orders for dis- 
charging all popish recusants who were imprisoned; and it was 
daily apprehended that he would forbid, for the future, the execu- 
tion of the penal laws enacted against them. By this concession, 
as well as by the skillful negotiations of the Earl of Bristol, 
James's embassador to Philip IV., matters seemed to have been 
nearly brought to a successful conclusion, when all these flattering 
prospects were blasted by the temerity of a man whom the king 
had fondly exalted from a private condition to be the bane of him- 
self, of his family, and of his people. Buckingham represented to 
the Prince of Wales that a journey to Madrid would be an unex- 
pected gallantry which would equal all the fictions of Spanish ro- 
mance, and must immediately introduce him to the princess under 
the agreeable character of a devoted lover and daring adventurer. 
The mind of the young prince was inflamed by these generous and 
romantic ideas ; and having with difficulty obtained the consent 
of the king, the prince and Buckingham, with three attendants, 
passed disguised and undiscovered through France, under the 
names of John and Thomas Smith. They even ventured into a 
court ball at Paris, where Charles saw the Princess Henrietta, 
whom he afterward espoused, and who was at that time in the 
bloom of youth and beauty. In eleven days after their departure 
from London they arrived at Madrid (March 7, 1623), and sur- 
prised every body by a step so unusual among great princes. The 
Spanish monarch, by the most studious civilities, showed the re- 
spect which he bore to his royal guest. He gave him a golden 
key which opened all his apartments, that the prince might, with- 
out any introduction, have access to him at all hours ; and he in- 
troduced him into the palace with the same pomp and ceremony 
that attends the kings of Spain on their coronation. The infanta, 
however, was only shown to her lover in public, the Spanish ideas 
of decency being so strict as not to allow of any farther inter- 
course till the arrival of the dispensation. A treaty was soon 
concluded, in which nothing could reasonably be found fault with 
except one article, in which the king promised that the children 
should be educated by the princess till ten years of age. This 
condition could not be insisted on but with a view of seasoning 
their minds with Catholic principles ; and, though so tender an 
age seemed a sufficient security against theological prejudices, yet 
the same reason which made the Pope insert that article should 
have induced James to reject it. But, besides the public treaty, 
there were separate articles, privately sworn to by the king, in 
which he promised to suspend the penal laws enacted against 
Catholics, to procure a repeal of them in Parliament, and to grant 



A.D. 1621-1623. MARRIAGE TREATY BROKEN. 335 

a toleration for the exercise of the Catholic religion in private 
houses. But meanwhile Gregory XY., who granted the dispen- 
sation, died, and Urban VIII., his successor, delayed sending a new 
dispensation, in hopes of extorting fresh concessions. The King 
of England, as well as the prince, became impatient. On the first 
hint Charles obtained permission to return, and Philip grajed his 
departure with all the circumstances of elaborate civility and re- 
spect which had attended his reception. But Buckingham's be- 
havior, composed of English familiarity and French vivacity, his 
sallies of passion, his indecent freedoms with the prince, his disso- 
lute pleasures, his arrogant, impetuous temper, which he neither 
could nor cared to disguise, had disgusted the Spaniards. Sen- 
sible how odious he was become to them, and dreading the influ- 
ence which that nation would naturally acquire after the arrival 
of the infanta, he resolved to employ all his credit in order to pre- 
vent the marriage. His impetuous and domineering character had 
acquired, what it ever after maintained, a total ascendant over 
the temper of Charles ; and when the prince left Madrid he was 
firmly determined, notwithstanding all his professions, to break 
off the treaty with Spain. 

§ 15. A rupture with Spain, the loss of two millions, were pros- 
pects little agreeable to the pacific and indigent James ; but, find- 
ing his only son bent against a match which had always been op- 
posed by his people and his Parliament, he yielded to difiiculties 
which he had not courage or strength of mind sufficient to over- 
come. Buckingham assumed entirely the direction of the nego- 
tiations ; and Bristol received positive orders not to deliver the 
proxy, which had been left in his hands, or to finish the marriage, 
till security were given for the full restitution of the palatinate. 
Philip understood this language ; but, being determined to throw 
the blame of the rupture entirely on the English, he delivered into 
Bristol's hand a written promise, by which he bound himself to 
procure the restoration of the palatine, either by persuasion or by 
every other possible means ; and when he found that this con- 
cession gave no satisfaction, he ordered the infanta to lay aside 
the title of Princess of Wales, which she bore after the arrival of 
the dispensation from Rome, and to drop the study of the English 
language ; and, thinking that such rash counsels as now governed 
the court of England would not stop at the breach of the mar- 
riage treaty, he ordered preparations for war immediately to be 
made throughout all his dominions. 

The king, having broken with Spain, was obliged to concert new 
measures ; and without the assistance of Parliament no effectual 
step of any kind could be taken. It might be hoped that, the 
Spanish alliance, which gave such umbrage, being abandoned, the 

R 



386 JAMES I. Chap. XX. 

Commons would now be better satisfied with tbe king's adminis- 
tration. In his speech to the houses (Feb. 19, 1624) James drop- 
ped some hints of his cause of complaint against Spain, and he gra- 
ciously condescended to ask the advice of Parliament, which he had 
ever before rejected, with regard to the conduct of so important 
an affair. Buckingham delivered to a committee of Lords and 
Commons a long narrative, which he pretended to be true and 
complete, of every step taken in the negotiations with Philip ; 
but, partly by the suppression of some facts, partly by the false 
coloring laid on others, this narrative was calculated entirely to 
mislead the Parliament, and to throw on the court of Spain the 
reproach of artifice and insincerity. The Prince of Wales, who 
was present, vouched for its truth ; and the king himself lent it, 
indirectly, his authority, by telling the Parliament that it was by 
his orders Buckingham laid the whole affair before them. Such, 
on the threshold of manhood, was Charles's initiation in insincer- 
ity. The narrative concurred so well with the passions and prej- 
udices of the Parliament that no scruple was made of immediately 
adopting it, and they immediately advised the king to break off 
both treaties with Spain, as well that which regarded the mar- 
riage as that for the restitution of the palatinate. The people 
displayed their triumph by public bonfires and rejoicings, and by 
insults on the Spanish ministers, and Buckingham became the fa- 
vorite of the public and of the Parliament. The Commons voted 
a sum of £300,000, which, at the king's own proposition, was paid 
to a committee of Parliament, and issued by them, without being 
intrusted to his management. Advantage Avas also taken of the 
present juncture to pass the bill against monopolies, which had 
formerly been encouraged by the king, but which had failed by 
the rupture between him and the last House of Commons ; and 
the Commons corroborated their newly-revived power of impeach- 
ment by preferring one against the Earl of Middlesex, the treas- 
urer, who was found guilty of accepting presents and of other mis- 
demeanors. 

§ 16. All James's measures, and all the alliances into which he 
entered, were now founded on the system of enmity to the Austrian 
family, and of ^ar to be carried on for the recovery of the palat- 
inate. An army of 6000 men was levied in England and sent 
over to Holland, which had renewed the war with the Spanish 
monarchy. A treaty was entered into with France, which in- 
cluded a marriage between Charles and the Princess Henrietta ; 
and as the prince, during his abode in Spain, had given a verbal 
promise to allow the infanta the education of her children till the 
age of thirteen, this article was here inserted in the treaty. In 
the spring of 1625 James was seized with a tertian ague, a«d aft- 



A.D. 1623-1625. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF JAMES. 387 

er some fits expired on the 27tli of March, after a reign over En- 
gland of 22 years and some days, and in the 59 th year of his age. 
His reign over Scotland was almost of equal duration with his life. 
No prince was ever so much exposed to the opposite extremes of 
calumny and flattery, of satire and panegyric. His generosity 
bordered on profusion, his learning on pedantry, his pacific dispo- 
sition on pusillanimity, his wisdom on cunning, his friendship on 
light fancy and boyish fondness. His capacity was considerable, 
but fitter to discourse on general maxims than to conduct any in- 
tricate business. Awkward in his person and ungainly in his 
manners, he was ill qualified to command respect ; partial and 
undiscerning in his affections, he was little fitted to acquire gen- 
eral love. Never had sovereign a higher notion of the kingly dig- 
nity, never was any less qualified by nature to sustain it. He 
spent much of his time in hunting, and in the coarse and vulgar 
sports of cock-fighting and baiting bulls and bears ; and the man- 
ners of his court were disgraced by buffoonery, drunkenness, and 
debauchery. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1603. Accession of James I. A conspiracy to 

place Arabella Stuart on the throne. 

1604. Hampton-court conference. 

1605. The GunpoTvder Plot. 

1607. Jamestown in Virginia founded. 
1611. Ulster colonized by Londoners and 

others. 
1616. The Earl and Countess of Somerset 



convicted of the murder of Sir* Thom- 
as Overbuiy. 

1618. Sir Walter Raleigh executed after his 
unfortunate expedition to Guiana. 

1621. Eupture between the king and the 
Commons. 

1623. prince Charles and Buckingham pro- 
ceed to Madrid. 

1625. Death of James I., March 27. 




Obverse of pattern for a Broad of Charles I. caeolvs . d : g : mag : beit : fr : et . 
HI : EEX. Bust of king to left. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

CHARLES I. — FROM HIS ACCESSION TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 
CIVIL WAR. A.D. 1625-1642. 

§ 1. Accession of Charles. Proceedings in Parliament. § 2. Expedition 
against Spain. Second Parliament. Impeachment of Buckingham. §3. 
Illegal Taxation. War with Prance. Expedition to the Isle of Rhe. 
§ 4. Third Parliament. Petition of Right. Struggle between the King 
and Commons. § 5. Assassination of Buckingham. Surrender of Ro- 
chelle. § 6. New Session, Tonnage and Poundage. Religious Dis- 
putes. Dissolution of Parliament. § 7. Peace Avith France and Spain. 
The King's Advisers. Laud's Innovations in the Church. Arbitrary 
and illegal Government. § 8. Ship-money. Trial of Hampden. § 9. 
Discontents in Scotland. The Covenant. Episcopacy aboHshed. Scotch 
Wars. § 10. Fourth English Parliament. Riots in London. § 11. 
Scotch War. Rout at Newburn, and Treaty of Ripon. Council at York, 
and Summoning of the Long Parliament. § 12. Meeting of the Long 
Parliament. Impeachment of Strafford. Great Authority of the Com- 
mons. Triennial Bill. § 13. Strafford's Trial. His Attainder and Ex- 
ecution. § 14. Court of High Commission and Star Chamber abolished. 
King's Journey to Scotland. § 15. Irish Rebellion. § 16. Meeting of 
the English Parliament. The Remonstrance. Impeachment of the 
Bishops. § 17. Accusation of Lord Kimbolton and the five Members. 
The King leaves London. The Militia Bill. The King arrives at York. 
§ 18. Preparations for a Civil War. The King erects his Standard at 
Nottingham. 

§ 1. Soon after his accession, Charles, now m his 25th year, 
completed his marriage with the French princess Henrietta. He 
had espoused her by proxy at Paris, and on the 22d of June, 1625, 
Buckingham conducted her to England. On the 18th of that 
month a new Parliament assembled at Westminster, and Charles 
not unnaturally expected that at the commencement of his reign 
they would display their affection by granting him supplies ade- 
quate to conduct a war which had been undertaken with the ap- 
parent approbation of the people. But the House of Commons 
was almost entirely governed by a set of men of the most uncom- 



A.D.1625. PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. 389' 

mon capacity and the largest views : men who were now formed 
into a regular party, and united, as well by fixed aims and proj- 
ects, as by the hardships which some of them had undergone in 
prosecution of them. Among these we may mention the names 
of Sir Edward Coke, Sir Edwin Sandys, Sir Robert Philips, Sir 
Francis Seymour, Sir Dudley Digges, Sk John Eliot, Sir Thomas 
Wentworth, Mr. Selden, and Mr. Pym. Animated with a warm 
regard to liberty, these generous patriots saw with regret an un- 
bounded power exercised by the crown, and were resolved to seize 
the opportunity which the king's necessities oiFered them of re- 
ducing the prerogative within more reasonable compass. The 
end they esteemed beneficent and noble, the means regular and 
constitutional. To grant or refuse supplies was the undoubted 
privilege of the Commons ; and Avith these views they voted only 
two subsidies (about £140.000) to meet the expenses of the 
formidable war into which Charles was about to plunge. Not 
discouraged, however, by this failure, Charles, though he was 
constrained to adjourn the Parliament by reason of the plague, 
which at that time raged in London, immediately reassembled 
them at Oxford, and made a new attempt to gain from them 
some sitpplies. But, though he laid bare to them all his necessi- 
ties — though he showed that upward of a million a year was 
necessary for the conduct of the war and for the defense of Ire- 
land, and even condescended to use entreaties, the Commons re- 
mained inexorable. Besides all their other motives, they had 
made a discovery which inflamed them against the court and 
aofainst the Duke of Buckino[ham. The French court, not with- 
out the connivance, it was suspected, of Charles and his minis- 
ters, had attempted to employ against the Huguenots of Rochelle 
some English vessels which had been sent to Dieppe on pretense 
of serving against the Genoese. When, on discovery of his desti- 
nation, Pennington, the commander, had sailed with his squadron 
to England, Buckingham, lord admiral, had compelled him to re- 
turn ; and the contemplated enterprise was frustrated only by the 
mutiny and desertion of the crews. The king, finding that the 
Parliament was resolved to grant him no supply, took advantage 
of the plague, which began to appear at Oxford, and on that pre- 
tense immediately dissolved them (Aug. 12). To supply the want 
of parliamentary aids, Charles issued privy seals for borrowing 
money from his subjects. The advantage reaped by this expedient 
was a small compensation for the disgust which it occasioned : 
by means, however, of that supply, and by other expedients, he 
was, though with difficulty, enabled to equip his fleet, which con- 
sisted of 80 vessels, and carried on board an army of 10,000 men, 
under Su' Edward Cecil, lately created Viscount Wimbledon. 



390 CHARLES I. Chap. XXI. 

§ 2. Cecil undertook an expedition against Cadiz, which proved 
a complete failure, and increased the complaints against the court. 
A little prudence might have discovered to Charles the folly of 
persisting in hostilities which he had not the means of carrying 
on without the surrender of his dearest pretensions, and from 
which he had an opportunity to escape, as war was not actually 
declared against Spain till after the dissolution of his first Parlia- 
ment. But his evil genius, and the violent counsels of Bucking- 
ham, urged him on to his destruction. The abortive attempt 
upon Cadiz increased his necessities, and obliged him to call a 
new Parliament (Feb. 6, 1626). But the views of the last Par- 
liament were immediately adopted by this, as if the same men had 
been every where elected, and no time had intervened since .their 
meeting. The inadequate supplies which they voted were coupled 
with the condition that they were to proceed in regulating and 
controlling every part of government which displeased them, to 
which the king's urgent necessities obliged him to submit. The 
Duke of Buckingham, who became every day more unpopular, 
was obliged to sustain two violent attacks this session, one from 
the Earl of Bristol, another from the House of Commons. The 
Earl of Bristol had mortally offended Buckingham in the affair of 
the Spanish marriage, and was consequently obnoxious to Charles. 
When the Parliament was summoned, Charles, by a stretch of 
prerogative, had given orders that no writ, as is customary, should 
be sent to Bristol. That nobleman applied to the House of Lords 
by petition, and craved their good offices with the king for obtain- 
ing what was his due as a peer of the realm. His writ was sent 
him, but accompanied with a letter from the Lord Keeper Coven- 
try, commanding him, in the king's name, to absent himself from 
Parliament. This letter Bristol conveyed to the Lords, and ask- 
ed advice how to proceed in so delicate a situation. The king's 
prohibition was withdrawn, and Bristol took his seat. Provoked 
at these repeated instances of vigor, which the court denominated 
contumacy, Charles ordered his attorney general to enter an ac- 
cusation of high treason against him. By way of recrimination, 
Bristol accused Buckingham of high treason, and proved that he 
was the author of the war with Spain. The lower House also, 
after having voted that common fame was a sufficient ground of 
accusation by the Commons, proceeded to frame regular articles 
against Buckingham. They accused him of having united many 
offices in his person ; of neglecting to guard the seas, insomuch 
that many merchant ships had fallen into the hands of the en- 
emy ; of delivering ships to the French king in order to serve 
against the Huguenots ; of being employed in the sale of honors 
and offices ; of accepting extensive grants from the crown ; of 



A.D. 1625, 1626. ILLEGAL TAXATION. 39I 

procuring many titles of honor for his kindred ; and of adminis- 
tering physic to the late king without acquainting his physicians. 
It is probable that several of these articles were well founded ; 
but, as the Commons called for no evidence, it is impossible to 
give a decided opinion upon them. The Parliament was dis- 
solved before any of these impeachments was brought to a term- 
ination ; but Bristol recorded a satisfactory answer on the jour- 
nals ; while the fact that Buckingham made none at all to that in 
the Lords renders his course very suspicious. 

§ 3. Having thus failed in obtaining a grant, certain new coun- 
sels, with which Charles had threatened the Parliament, were now 
to be tried, in order to supply his necessities. A commission was 
openly granted to compound with the Catholics, and agree for dis- 
pensing with the penal laws enacted against them. From the no- 
bility he desired assistance ; from the city he required a loan of 
£100,000. The former contributed slowly ; but the latter, cover- 
ing themselves under many pretenses and excuses, gave him at 
last a flat refusal. Each of the maritime towns was required, 
with the assistance of the adjacent counties, to arm so many ves- 
sels as were appointed them. The city of London was rated at 
20 ships. This is the first appearance, in Charles's reign, of 
ship-money ; a taxation which had once been imposed by Eliza- 
beth, but which afterward, when carried some steps farther by 
Charles, created such violent discontents. But after the news of 
the battle of Luttern, between the King of Denmark and Count 
Tilly, the imperial general, in which the former was totally de- 
feated, money, more than ever, became necessary, in order to sup- 
port a prince who was so nearly allied to Charles. After some 
deliberation, an act of council was passed, importing that, as the 
urgency of affairs admitted not the way of Parliament, the most 
speedy, equal, and convenient method of supply was by a general 
LOAN from the subject, according as every man was assessed in 
the rolls of the last subsidy. Commissioners, invested with an 
almost inquisitorial power, w^ere appointed to levy the money. 
That religious prejudices might support civil authority, sermons 
were preached by Sibthorpe and Mainwaring in favor of the gen- 
eral loan ; and the court industriously spread them over the 
kingdom. Passive obedience was there recommended in its full 
extent, the whole authority of the state was represented as be- 
longing to the king alone, and all limitations of law and a Con- 
stitution were rejected as seditious and impious. Throughout 
England many refused these loans ; some were even active in en- 
couraging their neighbors to insist upon their common rights and 
privileges. By warrant of the council these were thrown into 
prison. 



392 CHARLES 1. Chap. XXI. 

Great was at this time the surprise of all men when Charles, 
baffled in every attempt against the Austrian dominions, embroil- 
ed with his own subjects, unsupplied with any treasure but what 
he extorted by the most invidious and most dangerous measures, 
as if the half of Europe, now his enemy, were not sufficient for 
the exercise of military prowess, wantonly attacked France. This 
war is commonly ascribed to a personal pique between Bucking- 
ham and Eichelieu ; but it can scarcely be doubted that there 
were other motives for it : on the part of France, disgust, fanned 
by the Pope, at the non-fulfillment of the articles of the marriage 
treaty ; on that of England, disappointment at having received no 
assistance in the German war. Buckingham had persuaded Charles 
to dismiss at once all his queen's French servants, contrary to the 
articles of the marriage treaty, and encouraged the English ships 
of war and privateers to seize vessels belonging to French mer- 
chants. But, finding that all these injuries produced only remon- 
strances and embassies, or at most reprisals, on the part of France, 
he resolved to undertake at once a military expedition against 
that kingdom. Buckingham sailed first to Rochelle with a fleet 
of nearly 100 sail and an army of 7000 men ; but, though Rochelle 
was in possession of the Huguenots, and was then besieged by 
Cardinal Eichelieu, the inhabitants, mistrusting the English com- 
mander, refused to admit him. Buckingham then bent his course 
to the isle of Rhe ; but all his measures were so ill concerted, that 
in a few months he returned to England, having lost two thirds 
of his land forces — totally discredited both as an admiral and a 
general, and bringing no praise with him but the vulgar one of 
courage and personal bravery (Oct., 1627). 

§ 4. Meanwhile the money levied, or rather extorted, under 
color of prerogative, had come in very slowly, and had left such 
ill-humor in the nation that it appeared dangerous to renew the 
experiment, and the absolute necessity of supply forced the king 
to call a third Parliament. When the Commons assembled (March 
17, 1628) they appeared to be men of the same independent spirit 
with their predecessors, and possessed of such riches that their 
property was computed to surpass three times that of the House 
of Peers. Many of the members had been cast into prison, and 
had suffered by the measures of the court ; yet, notwithstanding 
these circumstances, which might prompt them to embrace violent 
resolutions, they entered upon business with perfect temper and 
decorum. The king told them in his first speech that, if they 
should not do their duties in contributing to the necessities of the 
state, he must, in discharge of his conscience, use those other 
means which God had put into his hands. " Take not this for a 
threatening," added the king, " for I scorn to threaten any but 



A. D. 1626-1628. PETITION OF RIGHT. 393 

ray equals ; but as an admonition from him avIio, by nature and 
duty, has most care of your preservation and prosperity." The 
lord keeper, by the king's direction, added a speech to the same 
eiFect ; but these haughty and unwise rebukes made no impression 
upon the Commons. After some excellent speeches from Sir 
Francis Seymour, Sir Robert Philips, Sir Thomas Wentworth, 
and others, in favor of liberty, a vote was passed without opposi- 
tion against arbitrary imprisonments and forced loans. And the 
spirit of liberty having obtained some contentment by this exer- 
tion, the reiterated messages of the king, who pressed for supply, 
were attended to with more temper. Five subsidies were voted 
him, with which, though much inferior to his wants, he declared 
himself well satisfied. The supply, though voted, was not as yet 
passed into a law, and the Commons resolved to employ the inter- 
val in providing some barriers against the violation of their rights 
and liberties. Forced loans, benevolences, taxes without consent 
of Parliament, arbitrary imprisonment, the billeting of soldiers, 
martial law — these were the grievances complained of, and against 
these an eternal remedy was to be provided. The Commons pre- 
tended not, as they affirmed, to any unusual powers or privileges ; 
they aimed only at securing those which had been transmitted 
from their ancestors ; and their law, which provided against all 
these abuses, and which was founded on Magna Charta and other 
ancient statutes, they resolved to call a Petition of Right, as im- 
plying that it contained a corroboration or explanation of the an- 
cient Constitution, not any infringement of royal prerogative or 
acquisition of new liberties. 

The king attempted to elude the bill by persuading the House 
of Lords to induce the Commons so to modify it that a saving 
clause should still be left for his sovereign power. But the Com- 
mons, who saw through these artifices, sent the bill in its original 
state to the upper House, and the Peers passed the petition with- 
out any material alteration, and nothing but the royal assent was 
wanting to give it the force of a law. The king accordingly came 
to the House of Peers, sent for the Commons, and, being seated 
in his chair of state, the petition was read to him. G-reat was 
now the astonishment of all men when, instead of the usual con- 
cise and clear form by which a bill is either confirmed or rejected, 
Charles said, in answer to the petition, " The king willeth that 
right be done according to the la^vs and customs of the realm, and 
that the statutes be put into execution ; that his subjects may have 
no cause to complain of any wrong or oppression contrary to their 
just rights and liberties, to the preservation whereof he holds 
himself in conscience as much obliged as of his own prerogative." 
The result might have been foreseen. The Commons returned in 

R2 



394 CHARLES I. Chap. XXL 

very ill humor, which they vented by impeaching Dr. Mainwar- 
ing. They next proceeded to censure the conduct of Buckingham, 
whose name hitherto they had cautiously forborne to mention. 
After some abortive attempts to divert the tempest that was ready 
to burst on the duke, the king thought proper, upon a joint appli- 
cation of the Lords and Commons, to come to the House of Peers, 
and, by pronouncing the usual form of words, " Let it be law as 
is desired," to give full sanction and authority to the petition.* 
The Commons, nevertheless, continued to carry their scrutiny 
into every part of government, and resumed their censure of Buck- 
ingham's conduct, to whom they attributed all their grievances. 
They also complained that the levying of tonnage and poundage, 
without consent of Parliament, was a palpable violation of the 
ancient liberties of the people, and an open infringement of the 
Petition of Kight, so lately granted. The king, in order to pre- 
vent the finishing and presenting this remonstrance, came sud- 
denly to the Parliament, and ended this session by a prorogation 
(June 26). 

§ 5. But the object of the displeasure of the Commons was soon 
after removed in a sudden and unexpected manner. The Duke 
of Buckingham repaired to Portsmouth to superintend the prep- 
arations for an expedition to relieve Roclielle. Here he engaged 
in conversation with Soubise and other French gentlemen, after 
which he drew toward the door ; and in that passage, turning 
himself to speak to Sir Thomas Fryar, a colonel in the army, he 
was, on a sudden, over Sir Thomas's shoulder, struck upon the 
breast with a knife. Without uttering other words than " The 
villain has killed me," in the same moment pulling out the knife, 
,he breathed his last (Aug. 23). Soon after, a man without a hat 
was seen walking very composedly before the door. One crying 
out, " Here is the fellow who killed the duke," every body ran to 
ask, " AVhich is he?" The man very sedately answered, "I am 
he." Pie was now known to be one Felton, who had served un- 
der the duke in the station of lieutenant. His captain being killed 
in the retreat at the isle of Rhe, Felton had applied for the com- 
pany ; and when disappointed he threw up his commission, and 
retired in discontent from the army. When asked at whose in- 
stigation he had performed the horrid deed, he replied that the 
resolution proceeded only from himself and the impulse of his own 
conscience, and that his motives would appear if his hat were 
found ; for that, believing he should perish in the attempt, he had 
there taken care to explain them. The king urged that Felton 
should be racked in order to extort from him a discovery of his 

* This celebrated Petition of Right, which is the second great charter 
of English Hberties, is printed in extenso in Notes and Illustrations, p. 420. 



A.D. 1628, 1629. TONNAGE AND POUNDAGE. 395 

accomplices ; but the judges declared that practice altogether ille- 
gal ; so much more exact reasoners, with regard to law, had they 
become, from the jealous scruples of the House of Commons. 
Felton was soon afterward executed for the murder. 

Meanwhile, the distress of Rochelle had risen to the ut-most ex- 
tremity. After Buckingham's death the command of the fleet and 
army was conferred on the Earl of Lindesey, who, arriving before 
Rochelle, made some attempts to break through the mole erected 
across the harbor by Richelieu ; but, by the delays of the En- 
glish, that work w^as now fully finished and fortified, and the in- 
habitants, finding their last hopes fail them, were reduced to sur- 
render at discretion, even in sight of the English admiral (Oct. 18, 
1628). 

§ 6. The failure of an enterprise in which the English nation, 
from religious sympathy, so much interested themselves, could not 
but diminish the king's authority in the Parliament during the 
approaching session (Jan. 20, 1629) ; but the Commons, when as- 
sembled, found many other causes of complaint. All the copies 
of the Petition of Right which were dispersed had, by the king's 
orders, annexed to them the first answer, which had given so little 
satisfaction to the Commons. Selden also complained in the 
House that one Savage, contrary to the Petition of Right, had 
been punished with the loss of his ears by a discretionary or arbi- 
trary sentence of the Star Chamber. But the great article on 
which the House of Commons broke with the king was their claim 
with regard to tonnage and poundage. 

The duty of tonnage and poundage, in more ancient times, had 
been commonly a temporary grant of Parliament ; but it had been 
conferred on Henry V. during life, with the special proviso, how- 
ever, that the grant was not to form a precedent ; and though the 
grant for life had been renewed under subsequent sovereigns, yet 
it was clearly in the power of Parliament to withhold it. In 
Charles's first Parliament the Commons had voted it only for a 
year ; but the Peers rejected this bill ; and as a dissolution of 
Parliament followed soon after, no attempt seems to have been 
made for obtaining tonnage and poundage in any other form. 
Charles, meanwhile, continued still to levy this duty by his own 
authority, and the nation was so accustomed to that exertion of 
royal power that no scruple was at first entertained of submitting 
to it. But the Commons now insisted that the king should at 
once entirely desist from levying these duties ; after which they 
were to take it into consideration how far they would restore him 
to the possession of a revenue of which he had clearly divested 
himself. Charles was not disposed to comply with this condi- 
tion ; yet he contented himself, for the present, with soliciting the 



396 CHARLES I. Chap. XXI. 

House by messages and speeches. But the Commons, instead of 
hearkening to his sohcitations, proceeded to carry their scrutiny 
into his management of religion, which was the only grievance to 
Avhich, in their opinion, they had not, as yet, by their Petition of 
Right, applied a sufficient remedy. 

Amid that complication of disputes in which men were then in- 
volved, we may observe that the appellation Puritan stood for 
three parties, which, though commonly united, were yet actuated 
by very different views and motives. There were the political 
Puritans, who maintained the highest principles of civil liberty ; 
the Puritans in discipline, who were averse to the ceremonies and 
episcopal government of the Church ; and the doctrinal Puritans, 
who rigidly defended the speculative system of the Swiss reform- 
ers. In opposition to all these stood the court party, the hierarchy, 
and the Arminians ; only with this distinction, that the latter sect, 
being introduced a few years before, did not, as yet, comprehend 
all those who were favorable to the Church and to monarchy. 
Till toward the end of James's reign the tenets of the Church of 
England had been Calvinistic. James himself, in the pride of his 
theological learning, had been a rigid opponent of Arminius, the 
champion of free-will. In 1611 he had condescended to procure 
from the Dutch the banishment of Vorstius, a professor of divin- 
ity and disciple of Arminius, and had even given them a hint that 
he was worthy of the flames ; and the divines whom he sent to 
the Synod of Dort in 1618 assisted to procure the condemnation of 
the Arminians in Holland., But soon after this he changed his 
opinion ; the clergy were forbidden to preach the doctrine of pre- 
destination ; and Laud, Howson, and Corbet, notorious Arminians, 
were advanced to bishoprics. These men, and their disciples and 
successors, were the strenuous preachers of passive obedience, and 
of entire submission to princes ; and if these could once be cen- 
sured, and be expelled the Church and court, the Commons con- 
cluded that the hierarchy would receive a mortal blow, the cere- 
monies be less rigidly insisted on, and the king, deprived of his 
most faithful friends, be obliged to abate those high claims of pre- 
rogative on which at present he insisted. But Laud had unfortu- 
nately acquired a great ascendant over Charles ; and as all those 
prelates, obnoxious to the Commons, were regarded as his chief 
friends and most favorite courtiers, he was resolved not to disarm 
and dishonor himself by abandoning them to the resentment of 
his enemies. 

The inquiries and debates concerning tonnage and poundage 
went hand in hand with these theological or metaphysical contro- 
versies. Sir John Eliot framed a remonstrance against levying 
those duties without consent of Parliament, and offered it to the 



A.D. 1629. DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT. 397 

clerk to read. It was refused. He read it himself. The ques- 
tion being then asked for, the speaker, Sir John Finch, said, "That 
he had a command from the king to adjourn, and to put no ques- 
tion." Upon which he rose and left the chair. The whole House 
was in an uproar. The speaker was pushed back into the chair, 
and forcibly held in it by HoUis and Valentine, till a short re- 
monstrance was framed, and was passed by acclamation rather 
than by vote. Papists and Arminians were declared capital en- 
emies to the Commonwealth. Those who levied tonnage and 
poundage were branded with the same epithet. And even the 
merchants who should voluntarily pay these duties were denom- 
inated betrayers of English liberty, and public enemies. The 
doors being locked, the gentleman usher of the House of Lords, 
who was sent by the king, could not gain admittance till this re- 
monstrance was finished. By the king's order, he took the mace 
from the table, which ended their proceedings, and a few days 
after the Parliament was dissolved (March 10, 1629). Several 
members were committed to prison on account of the last tumult 
in the House, which was called sedition ; nor were they released 
without great difficulty, and after several delays. Sir John Eliot, 
Hollis, and Valentine were summoned to their trial in the King's 
Bench for seditious speeches and behavior in Parliament ; but, 
refusing to answer before an inferior court for their conduct as 
members of a superior, they were condemned to be imprisoned 
during the king's pleasure, to find sureties for their good behavior, 
and to be fined, the two former £1000 apiece, the latter £500. 
But they unanimously refused to find sureties, and disdained to 
accept of deliverance on such terms. Sir John Eliot died while 
in custody ; a great clamor was raised against the administration, 
and he was universally regarded as a martyr to the liberties of 
England. 

§ 7. Charles, being destitute of all supply, and having resolved 
to call no more Parliaments till he should see greater indication 
of a compliant disposition in the nation, was necessarily reduced 
to make peace with the two crowns against which he had hitherto 
waged a war, entered into without necessity, and conducted with- 
out glory. After the death of Buckingham, who had somewhat 
alienated Charles from the queen, she is to be considered as his 
chief friend and favorite. His ministers he began to choose from 
the popular leaders : a sure proof that a secret revolution had 
happened in the constitution, and had necessitated the prince to 
adopt new maxims of government. But the views of the king 
were at this time so repugnant to those of the Puritans, that the 
leaders whom he gained lost from that moment all interest with 
their party, and were even pursued as traitors with implacable 



398 CHARLES I. Chap. XXI. 

hatred and resentment. This was the case with Sir Thomas 
Wentworth, whom the king created, first a baron, then a viscount, 
and afterward Earl of Stratford ; made him president of the coun- 
cil of York, and deputy of Ireland ; and regarded him as his 
chief minister and counselor. Sir Dudley Digges was about the 
same time created master of the rolls ; Noy, attorney general ; 
Littleton, solicitor general. All these had likewise been Parlia- 
mentary leaders, and were men eminent in their profession. In 
all ecclesiastical affairs, and even in many civil, Laud, Bishop of 
London, acquired a great ascendant over Charles, and led him, 
by the facility of his temper, into a conduct Avhich proved fatal to 
himself and to his kingdom. Laud, and the other prelates who 
embraced his measures, by adopting many of those religious senti- 
ments which prevailed during the fourth and fifth centuries, could 
not fail of giving the English faith and Liturgy some resemblance 
to the Catholic superstition, which the kingdom in general, and 
the Puritans in particular, held in the greatest horror and detest- 
ation. Alterations were made in the ritual. The communion 
table was removed from the centre of the chmxhes, placed at the 
east end, railed in, and called the altar ; the use of copes, pictures, 
crucifixes, etc., was restored ; in short, those usages were intro- 
duced which characterize the party called High-Church. Hence 
not only the discontented Puritans believed the Church of En- 
gland to be relapsing fast into Komish superstition, the court of 
Rome itself entertained hopes of regaining its authority in this 
island ; and, in order to forward Laud's supposed good intentions, 
an offer was twice made him, in private, of a cardinal's hat, which 
he declined accepting. In return for Charles's indulgence toward 
the Church, Laud and his followers took care to magnify, on every 
occasion, the regal authority, and to treat with the utmost disdain 
or detestation all puritanical pretensions to a free and independ- 
ent constitution. The principles which exalted prerogative were 
not entertained by the king merely as soft and agreeable to his 
royal ears; they were also put in practice during the time that he 
ruled without Parliaments. He levied money either by the re- 
vival of obsolete laws, or by violations, some more open, some 
more disguised, of the privileges of the nation ;. and he gave way 
to severities in the Star Chamber and High Commission, which 
seemed necessary in order to support the present mode of admin- 
istration, and repress the rising spirit of liberty throughout the 
kingdom. He issued a proclamation, from which it was gener- 
ally inferred that during this reign no more Parliaments were in- 
tended to be summoned. Tonnage and poundage continued to be 
levied by the royal authority alone. Compositions were openly 
made with recusants, and the popish religion became a regular 



A.D 1629-1634. ARBITRARY MEASURES 399 

part of the revenue. Under a law of Edward II., persons pos- 
sessed of £40 a year and upward in land were summoned to re- 
ceive knighthood, or compound for their neglect. Commissioners 
were appointed for fixing the rates of composition, and instructions 
were siven to these commissioners not to accept of a less sum 
than would have been due by the party upon a tax of three sub- 
sidies and a half. Monopolies were revived, and many other Il- 
legal methods of raising money were resorted to. 

The court of Star Chamber extended its authority, and it was 
matter of complaint that it encroached upon the jurisdiction of 
the other courts, imposing heavy fines and inflicting severe pun- 
ishment beyond the usual course of justice. One case may be 
mentioned by way of example. Prynne, a barrister of Lincoln's 
Inn, had written an enormous quarto of a thousand pages, which 
he called Histrio-Mastix. Its professed purpose was to decry stage- 
plays, comedies, interludes, music, dancing ; but the author like- 
wise took occasion to declaim against hunting, public festivals, 
Christmas-keeping, bonfires, and maypoles. It was thought some- 
what hard that general invectives against plays should be inter- 
preted into satires against the king and queen, merely because 
they frequented these amusements, and because the queen some- 
times acted a part in pastorals and interludes which were repre- 
sented at court. Yet Prynne was indicted in the Star Chamber 
as a libeler ; was condemned to be put from the bar ; to stand in 
the pillory in two places, Westminster and Cheapside ; to lose 
both his ears, one in each place ; to pay £5000 fine to the king ; 
and to be imprisoned during life (1633). To mortify the Puri- 
tans, Charles renewed his father's edict for allowing sports and 
recreations on Sunday to such as attended public worship ; and 
he ordered his proclamation for that purpose to be publicly read 
by the clergy after divine service. Those who were puritanically 
affected refused obedience, and were punished by suspension or 
deprivation. Some encouragement and protection which the king 
and the bishops gave to wakes, church-ales, bride-ales, and other 
cheerful festivals of the common people, were the obgects of like 
scandal to the Puritans. 

§ 8. Several years were passed in the quiet endurance of these 
and other illegal proceedings. In 1634 a new grievance was in- 
troduced, that of ship-money. The first writs of this kind had 
been directed to sea-port towns only ; but ship-money was at this 
time levied on the whole kingdom, and each county was rated at 
a particular sum, which was afterward assessed upon individuals. 
The tax seems to have been moderately and equitably assessed, 
and the money to have been expended on the navy ; but the impo- 
sition was entirely arbitrary ; by the same right any other tax 



400 CHARLES I, Chap. XXI. 

might be imposed ; and men thought a powerful fleet, though very 
desirable both for the credit and safety of the kingdom, but an un- 
equal recompense for their liberties, which, they apprehended, were 
thus sacrificed to the obtaining of it. 

It would be endless to recount all the acts of tyranny exercised 
at this period by the crowh and the Star Chamber, as well as by 
the ecclesiastical supremacy of Laud, now Archbishop of Canter- 
bury. The Puritans, restrained in England, shipped themselves 
off for America, and laid there the foundations of a government 
which possessed all the liberty, both civil and religious, of which 
they found themselves bereaved in their native country. The 
charter of Massachusetts Bay had been obtained from the crown 
in 1629, and about 350 Nonconformists, chiefly of the independ- 
ent sect, sailed with the first fleet. At last, in 1637, John Hamp- 
den acquired, by his spirit and courage, universal popularity 
throughout the nation, and has merited great renown with pos- 
terity for the bold stand which he made in defense of the laws and 
liberties of his country. Hampden, having been rated at 20 shil- 
lings, as ship-money, for an estate which he possessed in the coun- 
ty of Buckingham, resolved, rather than tamely submit to so ille- 
gal an imposition, to stand a legal prosecution, and expose him- 
self to all the indignation of the court. The case was argued 
during twelve days in the Exchequer Chamber, before all the 
judges of England, and the nation regarded with the utmost anx- 
iety every circumstance of this celebrated trial. The event was 
easily foreseen ; the prejudiced judges, two excepted, gave sentence 
in favor of the crown as to the general right of levy, though three 
others also decided for Hampden on merely technical grounds re- 
lating to his particular case. Hampden, however, obtained by the 
trial the end for which he had so generously sacrificed his safety 
and his quiet ; the people were roused from their lethargy, and 
became sensible of the dangers to which their liberties were ex- 
posed. These national questions were canvassed in every com- 
pany ; and the more they were examined, the more evidently did 
it appear to many that liberty was totally subverted, and an un- 
usual and arbitrary authority exercised over the kingdom. 

§ 9. But, notwithstanding the discontents in England, affairs 
might long have continued on the same footing there had they not 
been influenced by the proceedings in Scotland. Charles, from 
his love of prelacy, which order he considered best fitted to incul- 
cate obedience and loyalty among the people, had raised many of 
the Scotch prelates to the chief dignities of the state. The Scotch 
nobility, whose power was great, and whose connection with the 
king had been much loosened by his long absence, were disgusted 
to find the prelates superior to themselves in power and influence. 



A.D. 1634-1638. DISCONTENTS IN SCOTLAND. 401 

The inferior ranks of the Scotch clergy themselves equaled, if not 
exceeded, the nobility in their prejudices against the court, against 
the prelates, and against episcopal authority. The people, under 
the influence of the nobility and clergy, could not fail to partake 
of their discontents, and were imbued with the same horror against 
popery with which the English Puritans were possessed. Yet, in 
spite of these symptoms, the king's great aim was to complete the 
work begun by his father ; to establish discipline in Scotland upon 
a regular system of canons, to introduce a Liturgy into public 
worship, and to render the ecclesiastical government of all his 
kingdoms regular and uniform. 

The Liturgy which the king, from his own authority, imposed 
on Scotland, though he was not by law the head of the Scottish 
Church, was copied, with a few alterations, from that of England, 
and due notice was given of the intention to commence the use 
of it on Sunday, July 23, 1637. On that day, accordingly, in the 
cathedral church of St. Giles, the Dean of Edinburgh, arrayed in 
his surplice, began the service, the bishop himself and many of 
the privy council being present. But no sooner had the dean 
opened the book than the people, clapping their hands, cursing, 
and crying out, " A pope ! a pope ! antichrist ! stone him !" raised 
such a tumult, that it was impossible to proceed with the service. 
The bishop, mounting the pulpit in order to appease the populace, 
had a stool thrown at him ; the council was insulted ; and it was 
with difficulty that the magistrates were able, partly by authority, 
partly by force, to expel the crowd, and to shut the doors against 
them. The tumult, however, still continued without ; and the 
bishop, going home, was attacked, and narrowly escaped from the 
hands of the enraged multitude. 

Farther riots ensued ; yet Charles continued inflexible, though 
to so violent a combination of a whole kingdom he had nothing 
to oppose but a proclamation (Feb. 15, 1638), in which he par- 
doned all past offenses, and exhorted the people to be more obe- 
dient for the future, and to submit peaceably to the use of the 
Liturgy. This proclamation was instantly encountered with a 
public protestation, presented by the Earl of Hume and Lord 
Lindesey ; and this was the first time that men of quality had ap- 
peared in any violent act of opposition. But this proved a crisis. 
The insurrection, which had been advancing by a gradual and 
slow progress, now blazed up at once. No disorder, however, at- 
tended it. On the contrary, a new order immediately took place. 
Four tables, as they were called, were formed in Edinburgh. One 
consisted of nobility, another of gentry, a third of ministers, a 
fourth of burgesses. The table of gentry was divided into many 
subordinate tables, according to their different counties. Li the 



402 CHARLES 1. Chap. XXI. 

hands of the four tables the whole authority of the kingdom was 
placed. Orders were issued by them, and every where obeyed 
with the utmost regularity. And among the first acts of their 
government was the production of the Covenant. This famous 
deed consisted first of a renunciation of popery, formerly signed 
by James in his youth, followed by a bond of union, by which the 
subscribers obliged themselves to resist religious innovations, and 
to defend one another against all opposition whatsoever. The 
peopte, without distinction of rank or condition, of age or sex, 
flocked to the subscription of this covenant, and even the king's 
ministers and counselors themselves were, most of them, seized by 
the general contagion. The king now began to apprehend the 
consequences, and sent the Marquis of Hamilton as commissioner, 
with authority to treat with the Covenanters. He required the 
Covenant to he renounced and recalled ; but the popular leaders 
told Hamilton they would sooner renounce their baptism. Charles, 
who wanted both decision and sincerity, made concessions, and 
was at last willing entirely to abolish the canons, the Liturgy, and 
the High Commission court, and even to limit extremely the power 
of the bishops. These successive concessions of the king, which 
yet came still short of the rising demands of the malcontents, dis- 
covered his own weakness and gave no satisfaction. "Without 
waiting for the consent of the crown, they elected a general as- 
sembly, which met at Glasgow, Nov. 21, 1638. Episcopacy, the 
High Commission, the canons, and the Liturgy, were abolished 
and declared unlawful ; and the whole fabric which James and 
Charles, in a long course of years, had been rearing with so much 
care and policy, fell at once to the ground. The Covenant like- 
wise was ordered to be signed by every one, under pain of excom- 
munication. 

Preparations were now openly made for war. Cardinal Riche- 
lieu, in revenge for Charles's opposition to his designs upon 
Flanders, carefully fomented the first commotions in Scotland, 
and secretly supplied the Covenanters with money and arms. 
The Earl of Argyle, though he long seemed to temporize, at 
last embraced the Covenant, and became the chief leader of that 
party. Forces were regularly enlisted and disciplined ; arms were 
commissioned and imported from foreign countries ; and the whole 
country, except a small part where the Marquis of Fluntley still 
adhered to the king, being in the hands of the Covenanters, was 
in a very little time put in a tolerable posture of defense. On 
the other hand, Charles's fleet was formidable, and had 5000 land 
forces on board, under the Marquis of Hamilton, who had orders 
to sail to the Firth of Forth, and to cause a diversion in the 
forces of the malcontents. An army was levied of nearly 20,000 



A.D. 1638-1640. PARLIAMENT SUMMONED. 4Q3 

foot and above 3000 horse, and was put under the command of 
the Earl of Arundel. The king himself jomed the army, and he 
summoned all the peers of England to attend him. The whole 
had the appearance of a splendid court rather than a military 
armament ; and in this situation, carrying more show than real 
force with it, the camp arrived at Berwick. Here Charles con- 
cluded a sudden pacification, in which it was stipulated that he 
should withdraw his fleet and army ; that within 48 hours the 
Scots should dismiss their forces ; that the king's forts should be 
restored to him, his authority be acknowledged, and a general as- 
sembly and a Parliament be immediately summoned, in order to 
compose all diiFerences (June 18, 1639). The king, whose char- 
acter was neither vigorous nor decisive, seems to have adopted 
this measure from observing in his army symptoms of sympathy 
with the Scots. He agreed not only to confirm his former con- 
cessions of abrogating the canons, the. Liturg}^, and the High 
Commission, but also to abolish the order itself of bishops, for 
which he had so zealously contended. But the Scotch Parlia- 
ment, which met soon after, having advanced pretensions which 
tended to diminish the civil power of the monarch, the war was 
renewed with gTeat advantages on the side of the Covenanters, 
and disadvantages on that of the king ; for no sooner had Charles 
concluded the pacification than the necessities of his affairs and 
his want of money obliged him to disband his army ; while the 
more prudent Covenanters, in dismissing their trooj)S, had warned 
them to be ready on the first summons. 

§ 10. The king, with great difficulty, found means to draw to- 
gether an army, but soon discovered that, all savings being gone, 
and great debts contracted, his revenue would be insufficient to 
support them. An English Parliament, therefore, formerly so 
unkind and intractable, must now, after above eleven years' in- 
termission, after the king had tried many irregular methods of 
taxation, after multiplied disgusts given to the Puritanical party, 
be summoned to assemble amid the most pressing necessities of 
the crown. The time appointed for the meeting of Parliament 
was purposely late (April 13, 1640), and very near the time al- 
lotted for opening the canipaign against the Scots ; and hence 
Charles took occasion to press them for an immediate grant, be- 
fore they proceeded to offer him petitions for the redress of their 
grievances, promising that as much as was possible of this season 
should afterward be allowed them for that purpose. But, by 
means of the Scottish insurrection, and the general discontents in 
England, affairs were drawn so near to a crisis, that the leaders 
of the House, sagacious and penetrating, began to foresee the con- 
sequences, and to hope that the time so long wished for was now 



404 CHARLES I. Chap. XXr. 

come, when public liberty must acquire a full ascendant. The 
Commons, instead of taking notice of the king's complaints against 
his Scottish subjects, or his applications for supply, entered im- 
mediately upon grievances. They began with examining the be- 
havior of the speaker the last day of the former Parliament, when 
he refused, on account of the king's command, to put the ques- 
tion ; and they declared it a breach of privilege. They proceed- 
ed next to inquire into the imprisonment and prosecution of Sir 
John Eliot, HoUis, and Valentine ; the affair of ship-money was 
canvassed ; and plentiful subject of inquiry was suggested on all 
hands. Charles, in order to bring the matter of supply to some 
issue, solicited the House by repeated messages, and offered to 
abolish ship-money in return for a supply of 12 subsidies, about 
£600,000, payable in three years. But to this the Commons 
objected that, by bargaining for the remission of that duty, they 
would, in a manner, ratify the authority by which it had been 
levied ; at least, give encouragement for advancing new preten- 
sions of a like nature, in hopes of resigning them on like advan- 
tageous conditions. The king was in great doubt and perplexity. 
He saw that his friends in the House were outnumbered by his 
enemies. Where great evils lie on all sides, it is difficult to fol- 
low the best counsel ; nor is it any wonder that the king, whose 
capacity was not equal to situations of such extreme delicacy, 
should hastily have formed and executed the resolution of dis- 
solving this Parliament ; a measure, however, of which he soon 
after repented (May 5). This abrupt and violent dissolution nat- 
urally excited discontents among the people, and these were in- 
creased when some of the members were imprisoned and other- 
wise ill treated. An attack was made during the night upon 
Laud,* in his palace of Lambeth, by above 500 persons; and a 
multitude entered St. Paul's, where the Pligh Commission then 
sat, tore down the benches, and cried out, "No bishop, no High 
Commission." All these instances of discontent were presages of 
some great revolution, had the court possessed sufficient skill to 
discern the danger, or sufficient power to provide against it. 

§ 11. The king, having raised money by several illegal and ar- 
bitrary expedients, was enabled, though with great difficulty, to 
march his army, consisting of 19,000 foot and 2000 horse. The 
Scottish army, though somewhat superior, were sooner ready than 
the king's. The Covenanters still preserved the most pathetic 
and most submissive language, and entered England, they said, 
with no other view than to obtain access to the king's presence, 
and lay their humble petition at his royal feet. At Newburn- 
upon-Tyne they were opposed by a detachment of 4500 men un- 
der Conway, who seemed resolute to dispute with them the pas- 



A.D. 1640. THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 405 

sage of the river. The Scots first entreated them, with great civil- 
ity, not to stop them in their march to their gracious sovereign, 
and then attacked them with gi'eat bravery, killed several, and 
chased the rest from their ground. The English forces at New- 
castle now retreated into Yorkshire, and the Scots took posses- 
sion of Newcastle. Hence they dispatched messengers to the king, 
who was arrived at York ; and they took care, after the advan- 
tage which they had obtained, to redouble their expressions of 
loyalty, duty, and submission to his person, and they even made 
apologies, full of sorrow and contrition, for their late victory. In 
order to prevent their advance, the king agreed to a treaty, and 
named 16 English noblemen, who met with 11 Scottish commis- 
sioners at Ripon. 

An army newly levied, undisciplined, frightened, seditious, ill 
paid, and governed by no proper authority, was very unfit for with- 
standing a victorious and high-spirited enemy, and retaining in 
subjection a discontented and zealous nation ; and Charles, in de- 
spair of being able to stem the torrent, at last determined to yield 
to it. He had summoned a great council of the peers at York 
(Sept. 24), but, foreseeing that they would advise him to call a 
Parliament, he told them in his first speech that he had already 
taken this resolution. They agreed to pay the Scots a weekly 
subsidy of £5600, to be levied on the four northern counties; 
and the negotiation of the treaty was transferred from Eipon to 
London. 

§ 12. The elections, as might have been expected, ran in favor 
of the popular party. The Parliament, memorable as the Long 
Parliament, met on Nov. 3, 1640. The first act of the Com- 
mons was to choose LenthaU for their speaker, in opposition to 
Charles's views, who had intended to advance Gardiner, Recorder 
of London, to that important dignity. Without any interval they 
entered upon business, and they immediately struck a blow which 
may in a manner be regarded as decisive, by impeaching the Earl 
of Strafibrd, who was considered as chief minister. Strafford, 
sensible of the load of popular prejudices under which he labored 
would gladly have declined attendance in Parliament ; but Charles, 
who had entire confidence in the earl's capacity, thought that his 
counsels would be extremely useful during the critical session 
which approached. And when Strafford still insisted on the dan- 
ger of his appearing amid so many enraged enemies, the king, lit- 
tle apprehensive that his own authority was so suddenly to expire, 
promised his protection, and assured him that not a hair of his 
head should be touched by the Parliament. The debate respect- 
ing Strafford was conducted with locked doors ; his impeachment 
was unanimously voted, and Pym was chosen to carry it up to 



406 CHARLES I. Chap XXI. 

the Lords. Most of the house accompanied him on so agreeable 
an errand; and StraiFord, who had just entered the House of 
Peers, and who little expected so speedy a prosecution, was im- 
mediately, upon this general charge, ordered into custody (Nov. 
11). After a deliberation which scarcely lasted half an hour, an 
impeachment of high treason was also voted against Laud, who 
was immediately, upon this general charge, sequestered from Par- 
liament, and committed to custody. The Lord-keeper Finch, and 
Sir Francis Windebank, the secretary, a creature of Laud's, ap- 
prehending a similar attack, fled to the Continent. Thus, in a few 
weeks, this House of Commons, not opposed, or rather seconded, 
by the Peers, had pronduced such a revolution in the government 
that the two most powerful and most favored ministers of the king 
were thrown into the Tower, and daily expected to be tried for 
their life ; while two other ministers had, by flight alone, saved 
themselves from a like fate. The Commons, not content with the 
authority which they had acquired by attacking these great min- 
isters, were resolved to render the most considerable bodies of the 
nation obnoxious to them. All persons who had assumed pow- 
ers not authorized by statute were declared delinquents. This 
term was newly come into vogue, and expressed a degree or spe- 
cies of guilt not exactly known or ascertained. It would com- 
prehend all the sheriffs, and all those who had been employed in 
assessing ship-money ; all the farmers and officers of the customs, 
who had been engaged during so many years in levying tonnage 
and poundage ; and all those who had concurred in the arbitrary 
sentences of the courts of Star Chamber and High Commission. 
No minister of the king, no member of the council, but found him- 
self exposed by this decision. And almost all the bench of bish- 
ops, and the most considerable of the inferior clergy, who had 
voted in the late Convocation, were involved, by these new prin- 
ciples, in the imputation of delinquency. The whole sovereign 
power being thus in a manner transferred to the Commons, the 
popular leaders seemed willing for some time to suspend their act- 
ive vigor, and to consolidate their authority, ere they proceeded 
to any violent exercise of it. This was the time when genius and 
capacity of all kinds, freed from the restraint of authority, and 
nourished by unbounded hopes and projects, began to exert them- 
selves and be distinguished by the public. Then was celebrated 
the sagacity of Pym ; the mighty ambition of Hampden ; then, 
too, were known the dark, ardent, and dangerous character of St. 
John, the impetuous spirit of Hollis, and the enthusiastic genius 
of young Yane. Even men of the most moderate tempers, and 
the most attached to the Church and monarchy, exerted them- 
selves with the utmost vigor in the redress of grievances, and in 



A.D.1640. GREAT AUTHORITY OF THE COMMONS. 407 

j)rosecuting the authors of them ; the lively and animated Digby, 
the firm and undaunted Capel, the modest and candid Palmer. 
In this list, too, of patriot Royalists are found the names of Hyde 
and Falkland. Though in their ultimate views and intentions 
these men differed widely from the former, in their present actions 
and discourses an entire concurrence and unanimity were ob- 
served. 

The harangues of members were now first published and dis- 
persed ; the pulpit and the press were delivered from the long si- 
lence and constraint in which they had been retained by the au- 
thority of Laud and the High Commission. The sentence which 
had been executed against Prynne, as well as against two other 
Puritans, Bastwick and Burton, now suffered a revisal from Par- 
liament, and they were released from their prisons in Scilly and 
the Channel Islands. When the prisoners landed in England they 
were received and entertained with the highest demonstrations of 
affection, were attended by a mighty confluence of company, their 
charges were borne wdth great magnificence, and liberal presents 
bestowed on them. The invasion of the Scots had evidently been 
the cause of assembling the Parliament ; the presence of their 
army reduced the king to that total subjection in wdiich he was now 
held ; and the Commons, for this reason, openly professed their 
intention of retaining these invaders. Eighty thousand pounds a 
month was requisite for the subsistence of the Scotch and English 
armies, a sum much greater than the subject had ever been accus- 
tomed, in any former period, to pay to the public. And though 
several subsidies, together with a poll-tax, were from time to time 
voted to answer the charge, the Commons still took care to be in 
debt, in order to render the continuance of the session the more 
necessary. 

The zeal of the Commons was particularly directed against the 
bishops and the Established Church. They introduced a bill for 
prohibiting all clergymen the exercise of any civil office, as a con- 
sequence of which the bishops were to be deprived of their seats 
in the House of Peers. But the bitter and intolerant spirit dis- 
played by the Puritans was now beginning to alienate many of 
the lords; and the bill was rejected by a large majority. Among 
other acts of regal executive power which the Commons were ev- 
ery day assuming, they issued orders for demolishing all images, 
altars, crucifixes. It was now that the zealous Sir Robert Har- 
ley, to whom the execution of these orders was committed, re- 
moved the beautiful crosses at Cheapside and Charing Cross. A 
committee was elected as a court of inquisition upon the clergy, 
and was commonly denominated the committee of scandalous min- 
isters. The proceedings of this famous committee, which continued 



408 CHARLES I. Chap. XXI. 

for several years, were cruel and arbitrary, and made great havoc 
both on the Church and the universities- They began with har- 
assing, imprisoning, and molesting the clergy, and ended with se- 
questrating and ejecting them. Charles, who was now aware of 
the uselessness of resistance, yet opposed, as long as he could, the 
bill for assembling a Parliament at least oncein three years (1641). 
By a statute passed during the reign of Edward III. it had been 
enacted that Parliaments should be held once every year, or more 
frequently if necessary ; but, as no provision had been made in 
case of failure, this statute had been dispensed with at pleasure. 
The defect was supplied by those vigilant patriots who now as- 
sumed the reins of government. It was enacted that, if the chan- 
cellor failed to issue writs by the 3d of September in every third 
year, any 12 or more of the peers should be empowered to exert 
this authority ; in default of the peers, that the sheriiFs, mayors, 
bailitfs, etc., should summon the voters ; and in their default, that 
the voters themselves should meet and proceed to the election for 
members, in the. same manner as if writs had been regularly issued 
from the crown. Nor could the Parliament, after it was assem- 
bled, be adjourned, prorogued, or dissolved without their own con- 
sent, during the space of 50 days. Nothing could be more nec- 
essary than such a statute for completing a regular plan of law 
and liberty. 

§ 13. Immediately after Strafford was sequestered from Parlia- 
ment and confined in the Tower, a joint committee of the Lords 
and Commons were appointed to investigate his case, and were 
bound to secrecy by an oath. To bestow the greater solemnity on 
this important trial, scaffolds were erected in Westminster Hall, 
where both houses sat, the one as accusers, the other as judges. 
Besides the chair of state, a close gallery was prepared for the 
king and queen, who attended during the whole trial. The arti- 
cles of impeachment against Strafford were 28 in number, and re- 
garded his conduct as president of the council of York, as deputy 
or lieutenant of Ireland, and as counselor or commander in En- 
gland. From a cumulation of charges it was endeavored to es- 
tablish a constructive one of treason. The principal articles were 
the billeting of soldiers on the Irish in order to make them sub- 
mit to his illegal demands, advising the king to employ the army 
raised in Ireland to subject England, and the taxing of the people 
of Yorkshire for the maintenance of his troops. The remaining 
charges were for hasty and imperious expressions and tyrannous 
acts toward individuals. In order to strengthen the case of the 
impeachment, Pym produced a paper, found by Sir Henry Vane in 
his father's cabinet, purporting to be notes of a debate in council 
after the dissolution of the last Parliament, in which Strafford was 



A.D. 1640, 1641. STRAFFORD'S TRIAL. 4Q9 

represented as advising the king that, having tried the affections 
of his people, he was absolved and loose from all rules of govern- 
ment, and might do what power would admit. And it was pre- 
tended that the circumstance of this paper having been seen by 
Pym, who had copied it, and by young Sir Henry Vane, was equiv- 
alent to the testimony of two witnesses, the number required by 
law in cases of treason. Strafford is allowed, on all hands, to 
have made a noble defense, which is thus characterized by White- 
lock, the chairman of the committee which conducted the impeach- 
ment : " Certainly never any man acted such a part, on such a 
theatre, with more wisdom, constancy, and eloquence, with greater 
reason, judgment, and temper, and with a better grace in all his 
words and actions, than did this great and excellent person ; and 
he moved the hearts of his auditors, some few excepted, to remorse 
and pity." 

It was evident that Strafford had gained many fiiends by the 
manly modesty of his demeanor and the eloquence of his defense. 
The result appeared doubtful if the trial proceeded in Westmin- 
ster Hall ; and some of the leaders of the popular party therefore 
resolved to adopt one of the worst precedents of the reign of 
Henry VIH., and to proceed against Strafford by bill of attainder.* 
This course, however, was opposed by Pym and Hampden, who 
still believed that they could support the charge of treason by im- 
peachment ; but these great leaders were outvoted, and the bill 
of attainder was brought into the Lower House. It is a curious 
fact that Hyde and Falkland, who were shortly afterward the 
mainstay of the Royalist party, were eager supporters of the at- 
tainder, and consequently are chiefly answerable for the death of 
Strafford.f The bill of attainder passed the Commons with only 
59 dissenting votes. A new discovery, made about this time, 
served to throw every thing into still greater flame and combustion. 
Some principal ofiicers concerted a form of a petition to the king 
and Parliament, to be subscribed by the army, in which they offer- 
ed to come up and guard the Parliament. The draught of this 
petition being conveyed to the king, he was prevailed on to coun- 
tersign it himself as a mark of his approbation. An officer named 
Goring betrayed the secret to the popular leaders. The alarm 

* The student should bear in mind the difference between an impeachment 
and a hill of attainder. In an impeachment the Commons are the accusers, 
and the Lords alone the judges. In a bill of attainder the Commons are 
the judges as well as the Lords ; it may be introduced in either House ; it 
passes through the same stages as any other bill; and when agreed to by 
both houses, it receives the assent of the crown. 

t The opposition of Hampden to Strafford's attainder, and Hyde's sup- 
port of it, have been proved for the first time by Mr. Forster (" Historical 
and Biographical Essays," i., p. 252, foil., London, 1858). 

s 



410 CHARLES I. Chap. XXI. 

may easily be imagined which this intelligence conveyed. The 
Commons voted a protestation, to be signed by the whole nation, 
declaring that the subscribers would defend their religion and lib- 
erties. About 80 peers had constantly attended Stratford's trial ; 
but such apprehensions were entertained on account of the pop- 
ular tumults, that only 45 were present when the bill of attainder 
was brought into the House. Yet of these, 19 had the courage to 
vote against it. The opinion of the judges had been taken, and was 
read to the House previously to the division. It was not very de- 
cidedly expressed, and did not state that the prisoner was guilty 
of treason, but that "they are of opinion, upon all that which 
their lordships have voted to be proved, that the Earl of Strafford 
doth deserve to undergo the pains and forfeitures of high treason 
by law." The bill was then passed (May 7, 1641). On the fol- 
lowing day the populace flocked about Whitehall, and accompa- 
nied their demand of justice with the loudest clamors and most 
open menaces. All the king's servants, consulting their own safety 
rather than their master's honor, declined interposing with their 
advice between him and his Parliament. Juxon alone, Bishop of 
London, whose courage was not inferior to his other virtues, ven- 
tured to advise him, if in his conscience he did not approve of the 
bill, by no means to assent to it. Some plans for the earl's es- 
cape were devised, but abandoned ; and Strafford, hearing of 
Charles's irresolution and anxiety, took a very extraordinary step : 
he wrote a letter, in which he entreated the king, for the sake of 
public peace, to put an end to his unfortunate, however innocent, 
life, and to quiet the tumultuous people by granting them the re- 
quest for which they were so importunate. After the most vio- 
lent anxiety and doubt, Charles at last granted a commission to 
four noblemen to give the royal assent, in his name, to the bill. 
Secretary Carleton was sent by the king to inform Strafford of 
the final resolution which necessity had extorted from him. The 
earl seemed surprised^ and, starting up, exclaimed, in the words of 
Scripture, " Put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men ; 
for in them there is no salvation." He was soon able, however, 
to collect his courage ; and he prepared himself to suffer the fatal 
sentence. Only three days' interval was allowed him. The king, 
who made a new effort in his behalf, and sent, by the hands of the 
young prince, a letter addressed to the Peers, in which he entreat- 
ed them to confer with the Commons about a mitigation of Straf- 
ford's sentence, and begged at least for some delay, was refused in 
both requests. 

Strafford, in passing from his apartment to Tower Hill, where 
the scaffold was erected, stopped under Laud's windows, with 
whom he had long lived in intimate friendship, and entreated the 



A.D.1641. EXECUTION OF STRAFFORD. 411 

assistance of his prayers in those awful moments which were ap- 
proaching. His discourse on the scaffold was full of decency and 
courage ; and with one blow a period was put to his life by the 
executioner (May 12, 1641). Thus perished, in the 49th year of 
his age, the Earl of Strafford, one of the most eminent personages 
that has appeared in England. That he was legally convicted 
may well admit of a question ; that he was an enemy of his coun- 
try can not be doubted. His aim was to establish an absolute 
monarchy by means of a military force ; a scheme to which, in his 
correspondence with Laud, he gives the significant name of the 
Thorough. Men of different tempers will estimate differently the 
severity of his sentence ; but the sentiments of the age should be 
taken into the account, and we should endeavor to place ourselves 
in the situation of those actually engaged in that arduous and vio- 
lent struggle. It is to be considered that revolutions of govern- 
ment can not be effected by the mere force of argument and rea- 
soning, and that, factions being once excited, men can neither so 
firmly regulate the tempers of others, nor their own, as to insure 
themselves against all exorbitances. Of the conduct of Charles 
there can hardly be but one opinion ; and it is certain that strong 
compunctions for his consent to Strafford's execution attended him 
during the remainder of his life. 

§ 14. On the same day that the king gave his assent to the ex- 
ecution of Strafford he likewise sanctioned a bill, which had been 
rapidly carried through both houses, that the Parliament should 
not be dissolved, prorogued, or adjourned without their own con- 
sent. A bill was also passed to abolish the courts of High Com- 
mission and Star Chamber,^ and in them to annihilate the prin- 
cipal and most dangerous article of the king's prerogative. By 
the same bill the jurisdiction of the king's council was regulated 
and its authority abridged. Several other minor reforms were 
also effected. The Parliament then adjourned to the 20th of 
October ; and a committee of both houses, a thing unprecedented, 
was appointed to sit during the recess with very ample powers. 

A small committee of both houses was appointed to attend the 
king on his journey into Scotland, in order, as was pretended, to 
see that the articles of pacification were executed, but really to be 
spies upon him, and extend still farther the ideas of parliamentary 
authority, as well as eclipse the majesty of the king. Besides the 
large pay voted to the Scots for lying in good quarters during a 
twelvemonth, the English Parliament conferred on them a present 
of £300,000 for their brotherly assistance. In the articles of 
pacification they were declared to have ever been good subjects ; 

* For the history of the Star Chamber, see Notes and Illustrations, p. 
366. 



412 CHARLES I. Chap. XXI. 

and their military expeditions were approved of, as enterprises 
calculated and intended for his majesty's honor and advantage. 
In Scotland as in England, the king was obliged to strip himself 
of his most valued prerogatives. Several of the Covenanters were 
sworn of the privy council ; and the king, while in Scotland, con- 
formed himself entirely to the Established Church, assisting with 
great gravity at the long prayers and longer sermons with which 
the Presbyterians endeavored to regale him. 

§ 15. AVhile the king was employed in pacifying the commo- 
tions in Scotland, he received intelligence of a dangerous rebellion 
which broke out in Ireland, with circumstances of the utmost 
horror, bloodshed, and devastation. Strafford had raised the army 
in Ireland from 3000 to 12,000 men, with the secret design of em- 
ploying them to assert Charles's power in England. The Parlia- 
ment insisted on their being reduced to the original number ; nor 
would they forward the king's plan of enlisting 4000 of these dis- 
banded troops in the Spanish service in Flanders, whence indeed 
they might have been easily diverted to a different object. By 
this means, however, not only was the standing army in Ireland 
greatly reduced, but a large body of discontented papists, trained 
to the use of arms, was suddenly turned loose on society. The 
old Irish remarked these false steps of the English, and resolved 
to take advantage of them. A gentleman called Eoger More, 
much celebrated among his countrymen for valor and capacity, 
formed the project of expelling the English, and engaged all the 
heads of the native Irish in the conspiracy, especially Sir Phelim 
O'Neale, the representative of the Tyrone family, and Lord Ma- 
guire. The commencement of the revolt was fixed on the ap- 
proach of winter, that there might be more difficulty in transport- 
ing forces from England. An attempt to surprise Dublin Castle 
was betrayed and failed ; but O'Neale and his confederates had 
already taken arms in Ulster. The Irish, every where intermin- 
gled with the English, needed but a hint from their leaders and 
priests to begin hostilities against a people whom they hated on 
account of their religion, and envied for their riches and prosper- 
ity. The houses, cattle, goods, of the unwary English were first 
seized. After rapacity had fully exerted itself, a universal mas- 
sacre commenced. No age, no sex, no condition was spared. But 
death was the slightest punishment inflicted by those rebels ; all 
the tortures which wanton cruelty could devise, all the lingering 
pains of body, the anguish of mind, the agonies of despair, could 
not satiate the revenge of the Irish. Amid all these enormities, 
the sacred name of Religion resounded on every side. The En- 
glish, as heretics abhorred of God and detestable to all holy men, 
were marked out by the priests for slaughter ; and, of all actions, 



A.D.164L IRISH REBELLION. 4I3 

to rid the world of these declared enemies to Catholic faith and 
piety was represented as the most meritorious. The English col- 
onies were totally annihilated in the open country of Ulster, 
whence the flames of rebellion diffused themselves in an instant 
over the other three provinces of Ireland. In all places death and 
slaughter were not uncommon, though the Irish, in these other 
provinces, pretended to act with moderation and humanity. But 
cruel and barbarous was their humanity ! Not content with ex- 
pelling the English their houses, mth despoiling them of their 
goodly manors, with wasting their cultivated fields, they stripped 
them of their very clothes, and turned them out, naked and de- 
fenseless, to all the severities of the season. The heavens them- 
selves, as if conspiring against that unhappy people, were armed 
with cold and tempest unusual to the climate, and executed what 
the merciless sword had left unfinished. The saving of Dublin 
alone preserved in Ireland the remains of the English name. The 
number of those who perished by all these cruelties is variously 
estimated at from 40,000 to 200,000. The English of the Pale, 
or ancient English planters, who were all Catholics, were prob- 
ably not at first in the secret, and pretended to blame the insur- 
rection, and to detest the barbarity with which it was accompa- 
nied. By their protestations and declarations they engaged the 
justices to supply them with arms, which they promised to em- 
ploy in defense of the government ; but in a little time the inter- 
ests of religion were found more prevalent over them than regard 
and duty to their mother country. They chose Lord Gorman- 
stone their leader ; and, joining the old Irish, rivaled them in every 
act of violence toward the English Protestants. 

§ 16. The king, to whom the Scots could grant no farther aid 
than to dispatch a small body to support the Scottish colonies in 
Ulster, sensible of his utter inability to subdue the Irish rebels, 
found himself obliged, in this exigency, to have recourse to the 
English Parliament, and depend on their assistance for supply. 
The Parliament discovered, in every vote, the same dispositions 
in which they had separated ; but the Irish rebellion had in- 
creased their animosity against the papists, and many believed, 
what the Irish rebels pleaded, that they had the king's commis- 
sion for all their acts of violence ; but, though that is altogether 
incredible, it does not seem improbable that Charles had been 
privy to the design of seizing Dublin Castle, in order to procure 
the arms deposited there, with the view of reorganizing the Irish 
army and using it against the Parliament. The Commons as- 
sumed the whole management of Irish affairs ; but, while they 
pretended the utmost zeal against the insurrection, they took no 
steps toward its suppression, but such as likewise tended to give 



414 CHARLES I. Chap. XXI. 

them the superiority in those commotions which they foresaw 
must so soon be excited in England. They levied money under 
pretense of the Irish expedition, but reserved it for purposes which 
concerned them more nearly ; they took arms from the king's 
magazines, but still kept them, with a secret intention of employ- 
ing them against himself. To vindicate their conduct, and to 
show that their distrust of the king was well founded, the leaders 
of the popular party thought proper to frame a general Remon- 
strance on the state of the nation. This memorable document 
was not addressed to the king, but was openly declared to be an 
appeal to the people. Whatever invidious, whatever suspicious, 
whatever tyrannical measure had been embraced by the king, 
from the commencement of his reign, is insisted on with merciless 
rhetoric : the unsuccessful expeditions to Cadiz and the isle of 
Rhe ; the sending of ships to France for the suppression of the 
Huguenots ; the forced loans ; the illegal confinement of men for 
not obeying illegal commands ; the violent dissolution of four Par- 
liaments ; the arbitrary government Vv^hich always succeeded ; the 
questioning, fining, and imprisoning of members for their con- 
duct in the House ; the levying of taxes without consent of the 
Commons ; the introducing of superstitious innovations into the 
Church without authority of law ; in short, every thing which 
had given offense during the course of 15 years, from the acces- 
sion of the king to the calling of the present Parliament. And 
all their grievances, they said, which amounted to no less than a 
total subversion of the Constitution, proceeded entirely from the 
formed combination of a popish faction, who had ever swayed the 
king's counsels, who had endeavored, by an uninterrupted effort, 
to introduce their superstition into England and Scotland, and 
who had now at last excited an open and bloody rebellion in Ire- 
land. But the opposition which the remonstrance met with in 
the House of Commons was great. For above 14 hours the de- 
bate was warmly managed, and the vote was at last carried by a 
small majority of 11 (Nov. 22). Some time after the remon- 
strance was ordered to be printed and published, without being 
carried up to the House of Peers for their assent and concur- 
rence.* In this memorable debate, Hyde and Falkland, who had 
previously acted with the popular party, were the chief leaders in 
opposition to the Remonstrance. 

Every measure pursued by the Commons, and still more every 
attempt made by their partisans, was full of the most inveterate 
hatred against the hierarchy, and showed a determined resolution 

* The best, and, indeed, the only full and impartial account of the Re- 
monstrance is given by Mr. Foster in his "Historical and Biographical Es- 
says," vol. i., London, 1858. 



A.D. 1642. IMPEACHMENT OF THE BISHOPS. 415 

of subverting the whole ecclesiastical establishment. The major- 
ity of the Peers, who had hitherto supported the Commons, now 
adhered to the king, though a few, as the Earl of Northumber- 
land, the Earl of Essex, and Lord Kimbolton (soon after the Earl 
of Manchester), still took the popular side. The Commons pro- 
fessed to be alarmed for their personal safety. The pulpits were 
called in aid, and resounded with the dangers which threatened 
religion, from the desperate attempts of papists and malignants. 
Multitudes flocked toward Westminster, insulted the prelates and 
such of the lords as adhered to the crown, and threw out insolent 
menaces against Charles himself. Several reduced officers and 
young gentlemen of the inns of court, during this time of disorder 
and danger, offered their service to the king. Between them and 
the populace there passed frequent skirmishes, which ended not 
without bloodshed. By way of reproach, these gentlemen gave 
the rabble the appellation of Roundheads, on account of the short- 
cropped hair which they wore ; the latter called the others Cav- 
aliers ; and thus the nation, which was before sufficiently provided 
with religious as well as civil causes of quarrel, was also supplied 
with party names, under which the factions might rally and sig- 
nalize their mutual hatred. 

The bishops, being prevented from attending Parliament by the 
dangerous insults to which they were particularly exposed, drew 
up a protestation to the king and House of Lords, in which they 
protested against all laws, votes, and resolutions, as null and in- 
valid, which should pass during the time of their constrained ab- 
sence. The opportunity was seized with joy and triumph by the 
Commons. An impeachment of high treason was immediately 
sent up against the bishops, as endeavoring to subvert the funda- 
mental laws, and to invalidate the authority of the Legislature. 
They were, on the first demand, sequestered from Parliament and 
committed to custody. 

§ 17. A few days after the king was betrayed into an indiscre- 
tion to which all the ensuing disorders and civil wars ought im- 
mediately and directly to be ascribed. This was the impeach- 
ment of Lord Kimbolton and the five members. On Jan. 3, 1642, 
Herbert, attorney general, appeared in the House of Peers, and in 
his majesty's name entered an accusation of high treason against 
Lord Kimbolton and five members of the Commons — HoUis, Sir 
Arthur Hazlerig, Hampden, Pym, and Strode. Men had not 
leisure to wonder at the indiscretion of this measure before a ser- 
geant at arms, in the king's name, demanded of the House of 
Commons the five members, and was sent back without any posi- 
tive answ^\ Messengers were employed to search for them and 
arrest them. Their trunks, chambers, and studies were sealed 



416 CHARLES I. Chap. XXI. 

and locked. The House voted all these acts of violence to be 
breaches of privilege, and commanded every one to defend the lib- 
erty of the members. The king, irritated by all this opposition, 
came next day in person to the House. He was accompanied by 
his ordinary retinue, to the number of above 200, armed as usual, 
some with halberts, some with walking-swords. The king left 
them at the door, and he himself advanced alone through the hall, 
while all the members rose to receive him. The speaker with- 
drew from his chair, and the king took possession of it. He then, 
in a short speech, demanded the accused members, who, having 
received private intelligence, had absented themselves, and he 
asked the speaker, who stood below, whether any of these persons 
were in the House. The speaker, falling on his knee, prudently 
replied, " I have, sir, neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak, in 
this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant 
I am; and I humbly ask pardon that I can not give any other 
answer to what your majesty is pleased to demand of me." The 
king then said he observed the birds were flown ; but he expected 
the House should send them to him, as they were guilty of foul 
treason, and he assured them that they should have a fair trial. 
The Commons were in the utmost disorder ; and, when the king 
was departing, some members cried aloud, so as he might hear 
them, "Privilege ! privilege!" And the House immediately ad- 
journed till next day. By this act of violence the king alienated 
many who had begun to think more favorably of him. That 
evening the accused members, to show the greater apprehension, 
removed into the city, which was their fortress. The citizens 
were the whole night in arms. 

Next morning Charles, attended only by three or four lords, 
went to Gruildhall, and made a speech to the common council con- 
taining many gracious expressions ; but he departed without re- 
ceiving the applause which he expected. In passing through the 
streets he heard the cry, " Privilege of Parliament ! privilege of 
Parliament !" resounding from all quarters. One of the popu- 
lace, more insolent than the rest, drew nigh to his coach, and threw 
in a paper on which was written, "To your tents, O Israel !" the 
words employed by the mutinous Israelites when they abandoned 
Rehoboam, their rash and ill-counseled sovereign. 

When the House of Commons met they affected the greatest 
dismay ; and, adjourning themselves for some days, ordered a com- 
mittee to sit in Merchant Tailors' Hall in the city. The commit- 
tee made an exact inquiry into all circumstances attending the 
king's entry into the House ; and an intention of offering violence 
to the Parliament, and of murdering all who should m^ke resist- 
ance, was inferred. 



A.D. 1642. THE KING LEAVES LONDON. 417 

The House again met, and, after confirming the votes of their 
committee, instantly adjourned, as if exposed to the most imminent 
perils from the violence of their enemies. On the appointed day 
the accused members were conducted by water to the House, 
The river was covered with boats and other vessels laden with 
small pieces of ordnance, and prepared for fight ; and on landing, 
the members were received by 4000 horsemen, who had come up 
from Buckinghamshire to testify their devotion to Hampden. 
When the populace^ by land and by water, passed Whitehall, they 
asked, with insulting shouts, " What has become of the king and 
his Cavaliers ? and whither are they fled f For the king, appre- 
hensive of danger from the enraged multitude, had retired to 
Hampton Court, deserted by all the world, and overwhelmed with 
grief, shame, and remorse for the fatal measures into which he had 
been hurried. His distressed situation he could no longer as- 
cribe to the rigors of destirty or the malignity of enemies ; his own 
precipitancy and indiscretion must bear the blame of whatever 
disasters should henceforth befall him. 

By the flight, or terror, or despondency of the king's party, an 
undisputed majority remained every where to their opponents ; 
and the bill against the votes of the bishops in Parliament, which 
had hitherto stopped with the Peers, now passed, and was present- 
ed for the royal assent. The king had attempted to proceed in 
his purpose of prosecuting the five members, but found himself 
obliged first to abandon it, then to pardon the members, and finally 
to offer the House any reparation for the breach of privilege which 
he had committed. Petitions of the most threatening and sedi- 
tious kind were presented to the Commons, among which were 
some signed by many thousands, from the apprentices, from the 
porters, and from decayed tradesmen. The very women were 
seized with the same rage. A brewer's wife, followed by many 
thousands of her sex, brought a petition to the House, in which 
they expressed their terror of the papists and prelates, and the 
dread of like massacres, rapes, and outrages with those which had 
been committed upon their sex in Ireland. The king's authority 
was reduced to the lowest ebb. The queen too, being secretly 
threatened with an impeachment, and finding no resource in her 
husband's protection, was preparing to retire into Holland. 

The Commons were now sensible that the sword alone could 
guard their acquired power. A large magazine of arms being 
placed in the town of Hull, they dispatched thither Sir John Ho- 
tham, a gentleman of considerable fortune in the neighborhood, 
and of an ancient family, and they gave him the authority of gov- 
ernor. They sent orders to Goring, Governor of Portsmouth, to 
obey no commands but such as he should receive from the Par- 

S2 



418 CHARLES I. Chap. XXI. 

liament. They never ceased soliciting the king till he had be- 
stowed the command of the Tower on Sir John Conyers, in whom 
alone, they said, they could repose confidence ; and after making 
a fruitless attempt, in which the Peers refused their concurrence, 
to give public warning that the people should put themselves in 
a posture of defense against the enterprises of papists and other ill- 
affected persons, they now resolved to seize at once the whole pow- 
er of the sword, and to confer it entirely on their own creatures 
and adherents by means of the militia. A bill was introduced and 
passed the two houses which restored to lieutenants of counties 
and their deputies the same powers of which the votes of the Com- 
mons had bereaved them at the beginning of this Parliament ; 
but, at the same time, the names of all the lieutenants were in- 
serted in the bill, and these consisted entirely of men in whom 
the Parliament could confide ; and for their conduct they were ac- 
countable, by the express terms of the bill, not to the king, but to 
the Parliament. 

When this demand was made, Charles was at Dover, attending 
the queen and the Princess of Orange in their embarkation. He 
at first attempted to postpone and evade the bill ; but the Com- 
mons pressed it upon him, and asserted that, unless he speedily 
complied with their demands, they should be constrained, for the 
safety of prince and people, to dispose of the militia by the author- 
ity of both houses, and were resolved to do it accordingly ; and 
while they thus menaced the king with their power, they invited 
him to fix his residence at London. Charles replied by a remon- 
strance ; and, lest violence should be used to extort his consent to 
the militia-bill, he removed by slow journeys to York, taking with 
him the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York. 

§ 18. The king here found marks of attachment beyond what he 
had before expected. From all quarters of England the prime 
nobility and gentry, either personally or by messages and letters, 
expressed their duty toward him, and exhorted him to save him- 
self and them from that ignominious slavery with which they were 
threatened. Charles, finding himself supported by a considerable 
party in the kingdom, began to speak in a firmer tone, and persist- 
ed in refusing the bill ; while the Commons proceeded to frame an 
ordinance, in which, by the authority of the two houses, without 
the king's consent, they named lieutenants for all the counties, 
and conferred on them the command of the whole military force, 
of all the guards, garrisons, and forts of the kingdom. Charles 
issued proclamations against this manifest usurpation ; and the 
Commons, inventing a distinction, hitherto unheard of, between 
the ofiice and the person of the king, proceeded to levy, in his 
name and by his authority, those very forces which they employed 
against him. 



A.D.1642. PREPARATIONS FOR A CIVIL WAR. 419 

Charles entertained hopes that, if he presented himself at Hull 
before the commencement of hostilities, Hotham, overawed by his 
presence, would admit him with his retinue, after which he might 
easily render himself master of the place ; but the governor was 
on his guard. He shut the gates and refused to receive the king, 
who desired leave to enter with 20 persons only. 

The county of York levied a guard for the king of 600 men, 
which the two houses immediately voted a breach of the trust re- 
posed in him by the people, contrary to his oath, and tending to 
a dissolution of the government. The armies, which had been 
every where raised on pretense of the service in Ireland, were 
henceforth m-ore openly enlisted by the Parliament for their own 
purposes, and the command of them was given to the Earl of Es- 
sex. In London no less than 4000 men enlisted in one day. 
Within ten days vast quantities of plate were brought to their 
treasurers. Such zeal animated the partisans of the Parliament, 
especially in the city ! The women gave up all the plate and or- 
naments of their houses, and even their silver thimbles and bodkins, 
in order to support the good cause against the malignants. On the 
other hand, the queen, by disposing of the crown jewels in Hol- 
land, had been enabled to purchase a cargo of arms and ammuni- 
tion. Part of these reached the king. 

The Parliament now sent the conditions on which they were 
willing to come to an agreement. They required that no man 
should remain in the council who was not agreeable to Parliament ; 
that no deed of the king's should have validity unless it passed the 
council, and was attested under their hand ; that all the officers 
of state and principal judges should be chosen with consent of 
Parliament, and enjoy their offices for life ; that none of the royal 
family should marry without consent of Parliament or council ; 
that the laws should be executed against Catholics ; that the votes 
of popish lords should be excluded ; that the reformation of the 
Liturgy and church government should have place according to 
advice of Parliament ; that the ordinance with regard to the mili- 
tia be submitted to ; that the justice of Parliament pass upon all 
delinquents ; that a general pardon be granted, with such excep- 
tions as should be advised by Parliament ; that the forts and cas- 
tles be disposed of by consent of Parliament ; and that no peer be 
made but with consent of both houses. War on any terms was 
esteemed by the king and all his counselors preferable to so igno- 
minious a peace. Collecting, therefore, some forces, Charles ad- 
vanced southward ; and at Nottingham he erected his royal stand- 
ard, the open signal for discord and civil war throughout the king- 
dom (Aug. 22, 1642). 



420 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. XXI. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PETITION OF RIGHT. 
3 Cak. I., 0. 1. 

The petition exhibited to his majesty by the 
Lords spiritual and temporal, and Com- 
mons, in this present Parliament assem- 
bled, concerning divers rights and liberties 
of the subjects, with the king's majesty's 
royal answer thereunto in full Parliament. 

To the king's most excellent majesty : 

Humbly show unto our sovereign lord the 
king, the lords spiritual and temporal, and 
commons, in Parliament assembled, that 
whereas it is declared and enacted by a stat- 
ute made in the time of the reign of King 
Edward I., commonly called Statutum de 
tallagio non concedeiido^ that no tallage or 
aid shall be laid or levied by the king or his 
heirs in this realm without the good-will and 
assent of the archbishops, bishops, earls, bar- 
ons, knights, burgesses, and other the free- 
men of the commonalty of this realm ; and 
by authority of Parliament holden in the 
five-and-twentieth year of the reign of King 
Edward III. , it is declared and enacted that 
from thenceforth no person should be com- 
pelled to make any loans to the king against 
his wUl, because such loans were against 
reason and the franchise of the land ; and 
by other laws of this realm it is provided that 
none should be charged by any charge or 
imposition caUed a benevolence, nor by such 
like charge; by Avhich statutes before men- 
tioned, and other the good Isxws and statutes 
of this realm, your subjects have inherited 
this freedom, that they should not be com- 
pelled to contribute to any tax, tallage, aid, 
or other like charge not set by common con- 
sent in Parliament. 

n. Yet nevertheless of late divers com- 
missions directed to sundry commissioners 
in several counties, with instructions, have 
issued, by means whereof your people have 
been in divers places assembled, and required 
to lend certain sums of money unto your 
majesty, and many of them, upon their re- 
fusal so to do, have had an oath administer- 
ed unto them not warrantable by the laws 
or statutes of this realm, and have been con- 
strained to become bound to make appear- 
ance and give utterance before your privy 
council and in other places, and others of 
them have been therefore imprisoned, con- 
fined, and sundry other ways molested and 
disquieted; and divers other charges have 
been laid and levied upon your people in sev- 
eral counties by lord lieutenants, deputy 
lieutenants, commissioners for musters, jus- 
tices of peace, and others, by command or 
direction from your majesty, or your privy 
council, against the laws and free customs 
of the realm. 

in, And whereas also by the statute call- 
ed '■'' The Great Charter of the Liberties of 
England," it is declared and enacted that no 
freeman may be taken or impx-isoned, or be 
disseised of his freehold or liberties, or his 
free customs, or be outlawed or exiled, or in 



any manner destroyed, but by the lawful 
judgment of his peers, or by the law of the 
land. 

IV. And in the eight-and-twentieth year 
of the reign of King Edward III. it was de- 
clared and enacted by authoi'ity of Parlia- 
ment that no man, of what estate or condi- 
tion that he be, should be put out of his land 
or tenements, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor 
disinherited, nor put to death, without being 
brought to answer by due process of law. 

V. Nevertheless, against the tenor of the 
said statutes, and other the good laws and 
statutes of your realm to that end provided, 
divers of your subjects have of late been 
imprisoned without any cause showed ; and 
when for their deliverance they were brought 
before your justices by your majesty's writs 
of habeas corpus^ there to undergo and re- 
ceive as the court should order, and their 
keepers commanded to certify the causes of 
theii' detainer, no cause was certified, but 
that they were detained by your majesty's 
special command, signified by the lords of 
your privy council, and yet were returned 
back to several prisons, without being 
charged with any thing to which they might 
make answer according to the law. 

VI. And whereas of late great companies 
of soldiers and mariners have been dispersed 
into divers counties of the realm, and the in- 
habitants against their wills have been com- 
pelled to receive them into their houses, and 
there to suffer them to sojourn, against the 
laws and customs of this realm, and to the 
great grievance and vexation of the people. 

VII. And whereas also, by authority of Par- 
liament, in the five-and-twentieth year of 
the reign of King Edward HI. , it is declared 
and enacted that no man should be fore- 
judged of life or limb against the form of the 
Great Charter and the law of the land ; and 
by the said Great Charter, and other the 
laws and statutes of this your realm, no man 
ought to be adjudged to death but by the 
laws established in this your realm, either 
by the customs of the same realm, or by acts 
of Parliament; and whereas no offender of 
what kind soever is exempted from the pro- 
ceedings to be used, and punishments to be 
inflicted by the laws and statutes of this 
your realm ; nevertheless, of late time divers 
commissions under your majesty's great seal 
have issued forth, by which certain persons 
have been assigned and appointed commis- 
sioners with power and authority to proceed 
within the land, according to the justice of 
martial law, against such soldiers or mari- 
ners, or other dissolute persons joining with 
them, as should commit any murder, rob- 
bery, felony, mutiny, or other outrage or 
misdemeanor whatsoever, and by such sum- 
mary course and order as is agreeable to 
martial law, and as is used in armies in time 
of war, to proceed to the trial and condemna- 
tion of such offenders, and them to cause to 
be executed and put to death according to 
the law martial. 

Vin. By pretext whereof some of your 



Chap. XXI. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



421 



majesty's subjects have been by some of the 
said commissioners put to death, "when and 
■R^here, if by the laws and statutes of the 
land they had deserved death, by the same 
laws and statutes also they might, and by 
no other ought to have been judged and ex- 
ecuted : 

IX. And also sundry grievous offenders, 
by color thereof claiming an exemption, have 
escaped the punishments due to them by the 
laws and statutes of this yoivr realm, by rea- 
son that divers of your officers and ministers 
of justice have unjustly refused or forborne 
to proceed against such offenders according 
to the same laws and statutes, upon pretense 
that the said offenders were punishable only 
by martial law, and by authority of such 
commissions as aforesaid; which commis- 
sions, and all other of like nature, are wholly 
and directly contrary to the said laws and 
statutes of this your realm. 

X. They do therefore humbly pray your 
most excellent majesty that no man hereaf- 
ter be compelled to make or yield any gift, 
loan, benevolence, tax, or such like charge, 
without common consent by act of Parlia- 
ment ; and that none be called to make an- 
swer, or to take such oath, or to give attend- 
ance, or be confined, or otherwise molested 
or disquieted concerning the same, or for re- 
fusal thereof; and that no freeman, in any 
such manner as is before mentioned, be im- 
prisoned or detained; and that your majesty 



would be pleased to remove the said soldiers 
and mariners, and that your people may not 
be-so burdened in time to come; and that 
the aforesaid commissions for proceeding by 
martial law may be revoked and annulled; 
and that hereafter no commissions of like 
nature may issue forth to any person or per- 
sons whatsoever to be executed as aforesaid, 
lest by color of them any of your majesty's 
subjects be destroyed or put to death con- 
traiy to the laws and franchise of the land. 

XI. All which they most humbly pray of 
your most excellent majesty as their rights 
and liberties, according to the laws and stat- 
utes of this realm; and that your majesty 
would also vouchsafe to declare that the 
awards, doings, and proceedings, to the prej- 
udice of your people in any of the premises, 
shall not be drawn hereafter into conse- 
quence or example; and that your majesty 
would be also graciously pleased, for the far- 
ther comfort and safety of your people, to 
declare your royal ^vill and pleasure that in 
the things aforesaid aU your officers and 
ministers shall serve you according to the 
laws and statutes of this realm, as they ten- 
der the honor of your majesty and the pros- 
perity of this kingdom. 

Qua quidem j^^titione lectci et plenius in- 
tellectd per dictum dominum regem taliter 
est resjwnsum in plena parlicmiento^ viz. 
Soit droit fait covinie est desire. 




"Oxford Cro-vra" of Charles I. 

Ol)V. : CAROLVS . D : G : mag : beit : fran : et . hiber . rex. The king mounted, to 
left. Beneath his horse a view of Oxford, with the name oxon and the letter e, the ini- 
tial of the name of the artist, Kawlins. Rev. : exvegat devs i>issipei«tvr inimici. 
Across the field eehg . peot . leg ang . liber . parl : above, v, for the value and 
below, 1644 oxon. 

CHAPTER XXIT. 

CHARLES I. CONTINUED. FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CIVIL WAR 
TO THE TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF THE KING. A.D. 1642-1649. 

§ 1. Commencement of the Civil War. State of the Kingdom. § 2. Bat- 
tle of Edge Hill. Negotiation at Oxford. § 3. Campaign of 1643. Death 
of Hampden. Siege of Gloucester. "Waller's Plot. Battle of Newbury. 
Actions in the North. § 4. Proceedings in Scotland. The solemn League 
and Covenant. Troops sent from Ireland. § 5. Parliaments at West- 
minster and Oxford. Campaign of 1644. Battle of Marston Moor. 
Second Battle of Newbury. §6. Independents and Presbyterians. Crom- 
well accuses the Earl of Manchester. The self-denying Ordinance. § 7. 
Execution of Laud. § 8. Campaign of 1645. Montrose's Victories. The 
"New Model." Battle of Naseby. Surrender of Bristol and other Places. 
§ 9. Negotiations with the Parliament. Glamorgan's Commission in Ire- 
land. The King flies to the Scottish Camp. He is delivered up by the 
Scots. § 10. Mutiny of the Army. The King seized by Joyce. § 11. 
The Army subdue the Parliament. The King flies to the Isle of Wight. 
§ 12. Cromwell restores the Discipline of the Army. Deliberations re- 
specting the King. § 13. Displeasure of the Scots. Commotions in En- 
gland. Treaty of Newport. Civil Wars. § 14. Pride's "Purge." Trial 
of the King. § 15. Execution and Character of the King. 

§ 1. When fwo names so sacred in the English Constitution as 
those of King and Parliament were placed in opposition, no won- 
der the people were divided in their choice, and were agitated with 
the most violent animosities and factions. The nobility and more 
considerable gentry, dreading a total confusion of rank from the 
fury of the populace, enlisted themselves in defense of the mon- 
arch, from whom they received, and to whom they communicated, 



A.D. 1642. COMMENCEMENT OF THE CIVIL WAR. 423 

their lustre. The city of London, on the other hand, and most 
of the great corporations, took part with the Parliament, and 
adopted with zeal those democratic principles on which the pre- 
tensions of that assembly were founded. The devotees of Pres- 
bytery became, of course, zealous partisans of the Parliament ; the 
friends of the Episcopal Church valued themselves on defending 
the rights of monarchy ; but, though the concurrence of the Church 
undoubtedly increased the king's adherents, it may safely be af- 
firmed that the high monarchical doctrines, so much inculcated by 
the clergy, had never done him any real service. The bulk of 
that generous train of nobility and gentry who now attended the 
king in his distresses breathed the spirit of liberty as well as of 
loyalty ; and in the hopes alone of his submitting to a legal and 
limited government were they willing, in his defense, to sacrifice 
their lives and fortunes ; and all those who aspired to nothing but 
an easy enjoyment of life, amid the jovial entertainment and so- 
cial intercourse with their companions, flocked to the king's stand- 
ard, where they breathed a freer air, and were exempted from that 
rigid preciseness and melancholy austerity which reigned among 
the Parliamentary party. On the whole, however, the torrent of 
general afiection ran to the Parliament. The neighboring states 
of Europe, being engaged in violent wars, little interested them- 
selves in these civil commotions ; and this island enjoyed the sin- 
gular advantage (for such it surely was) of fighting out its own 
quarrels without the interposition of foreigners. The king's con- 
dition, when he appeared at Nottingham, was not very encoura- 
ging to his party. His artillery, though far from numerous, had 
been left at York for want of horses to transport it. Besides the 
trained bands of the county, raised by Sir John Digby, the sheriff", 
he had not got together above 300 infantry. His cavalry, in which 
consisted his chief strength, exceeded not 800, and were very ill 
provided with arms. The forces of the Parliament lay at North- 
ampton, within a few days' march of him, and consisted of above 
GOOO men, well armed and well appointed. Had these troops ad- 
vanced upon him, they must soon have dissipated the small force 
which he had assembled, and perhaps forever prevented his col- 
lecting an army ; but the Earl of Essex, the Parliamentary gen- 
eral, had not yet received any orders from his masters. In this 
situation, by the unanimous desire of Charles's counselors, the 
Earl of Southampton, with Sir John Colepeper and Sir William 
Uvedale, was dispatched to London with offers of a treaty. Both 
houses replied that they could admit of no treaty with the king 
till he took down his standard and recalled his proclamations, in 
which the Parliament supposed themselves to be declared traitors. 
A second attempt at negotiation had no better success. 



424 CHARLES I. . Chap. XXII. 

The courage of the Parliament was increased both by their 
great superiority of force and by two recent events which had hap- 
pened in their favor. They had obtained possession of Ports- 
mouth, the best fortified tovm in the kingdom, through the negli- 
gence of Goring, the governor (Sept. 20) ; and the Marquis of 
Hertford, a nobleman of the greatest quality and character in the 
kingdom, who had drawn together some appearance of an army in 
Somersetshire, had been obliged to retire into Wales on the ap- 
proach of the Earl of Bedford with the Parliamentary forces. All 
the dispersed bodies of the Parliamentary army were now ordered 
to march to Northampton ; and the Earl of Essex, who had join- 
ed them, found the whole amount to 15,000 men. The king, 
sensible that he had no army that could cope with so formidable 
a force, thought it prudent to retire to Derby, and thence to 
Shrewsbury. At Wellington, a day's march from Shrewsbury, he 
made a solemn declaration before his army, in which he promised 
to maintain the Protestant religion, to observe the laws, and to 
uphold the just privileges and freedom of Parliament. On the 
appearance of commotions in England, the Princes Rupert and 
Maurice, sons of the unfortunate palatine, had offered their service 
to the king ; and the former at that time commanded a body of 
horse which had been sent to Worcester to watch the motions of 
Essex. Here Prince Rupert began the civil wars by routing a 
body of cavalry near that city. The rencounter, though in itself 
of small importance, mightily raised the reputation of the Royal- 
ists, and acquired for Prince Rupert the character of promptitude 
and courage, qualities which he eminently displayed during the 
whole course of the war. 

The king, on mustering his army, found it amount to 10,000 
men. The Earl of Lindsay, who in his youth had sought experi- 
ence of military service in the Low Countries, was general ; Prince 
Rupert commanded the horse. Sir Jacob Astley the foot. Sir Ar- 
thur Aston the dragoons, Sir John Heydon the artillery. 

§ 2. With this army the king left Shrewsbury, and directed his 
march toward the capital, with the intention of bringing on an 
action. He fell in with the Parliamentary forces at Edge Hill, 
near Kineton, in the county of Warwick (Oct. 23, 1642). Though 
the day was far advanced, the king resolved upon the attack. 
After a desperate struggle, in which great mistakes were commit- 
ted on both sides, the battle ended without either party obtaining 
any decisive advantage. All night the two armies lay under arms, 
and next morning found themselves in sight of each other. Gen- 
eral, as well as soldier, on both sides, seemed averse to renew the 
battle. Essex first drew off, and retired to Warwick. The king 
returned to his former quarters. About 1200 men are said to 



A.D. 1642, 1643. CAMPAIGN OF 1643. 425 

have fallen ; and the loss of the two armies, as far as we can judge 
by the opposite accounts, was nearly equal. Lindsay, the general, 
was mortally wounded and taken prisoner. 

The king, except the taking of Banbury a few days after, had 
few marks of victory to boast of He continued his march, and 
took possession of Oxford, the only town in his dominions which 
was altogether at his devotion. Hence he proceeded to Reading, 
of which Martin was appointed governor by the Parliament. Both 
governor and garrison were seized with panic, and fled with pre- 
cipitation to London. The Parliament, alarmed at the near ap- 
proach of the royal army, while their own forces lay at a distance, 
voted an address for a treaty, and the king named Windsor as the 
place of conference. Meanwhile Essex, advancing by hasty 
marches, had arrived at London ; but neither the presence of his 
army, nor the precarious hope of a treaty, retarded the king's ap- 
proaches. Charles attacked at Brentford three regiments quarter- 
ed there, and after a sharp action beat them from that village, and 
took about 500 prisoners (Nov. 12). The city trained-bands join- 
ed the army under Essex, which now amounted to above 24,000 
men, and was much superior to that of the king. After both ar- 
mies had faced each other for some time, Charles drew off and re- 
tired to Reading, and thence to Oxford. 

During the winter negotiations for a treaty were continued at 
Oxford. The king insisted on the re-establishment of the crown 
in its legal powers, and on the restoration of his constitutional pre- 
rogative. The Parliament required, besides other concessions, 
that the king should abolish episcopacy, and acquiesce in their set- 
tlement of the militia. But the conferences went no farther than 
the first demand on each side. The Parliament, finding that there 
was no likelihood of coming to any agreement, suddenly recalled 
their commissioners. 

§ 3. The campaign of 1643 was opened by the taking of Read- 
ing by the Earl of Essex (April 27). In the north, where Lord 
Fairfax commanded for the Parliament, and the Earl of Newcas- 
tle for the king,*the latter nobleman united in a league for Charles 
the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and 
the bishopric, took possession of York, and established the king's 
authority in all the northern provinces. In the south and west, 
Sir William Waller, who now began to distinguish himself among 
the generals of the Parliament, took Winchester, Chichester, Here- 
ford, and Tewkesbury ; but, on the other hand, all Cornwall was 
reduced by Sir Ralph Hopton to peace and to obedience under the 
king. 

Essex, finding that his army fell continually to decay after the 
siege of Reading, was resolved to remain upon the defensive ; and 



426 CHARLES I. Chap. XXII. 

the weakness of the king, and his want of all military stores, had 
also restrained the activity of the royal army. No action had hap- 
pened in that part of England, except one skirmish at Chalgrave 
Field in Bedfordshire, which of itself was of no great consequence, 
and was rendered memorable only by the death of the famous 
Hampden. He was seen riding off the field before the action was 
finished, his head hanging down, and his hands leaning upon his 
horse's neck. He was shot in the shoulder with a brace of bul- 
lets, and the bone broken ; and some days after he died, in exqui- 
site pain, of his wound (June 24) ; nor could his whole party, had 
their army met with a total overthrow, have been struck with 
greater consternation. The king himself so highly valued him^ 
that, either from generosity or policy, he intended to have sent 
him his own surgeon to assist at his cure. 

The west now became the principal scene of action. The king 
sent thither the Marquis of Hertford and Prince Maurice with a 
re-enforcement of cavalry, who, having joined the Cornish army, 
soon overran the county of Devon, and, advancing into that of 
Somerset, began to reduce it to obedience. On the other hand, 
the Parliament having supplied Sir William Waller with a com- 
plete army, dispatched him westward After some skirmishes, a 
pitched battle was fought at Lansdown, near Bath (July 5), with 
great loss on both sides, but without any decisive event ; and 
shortly after another near Devizes (July 13), in which Waller was 
completely defeated, and forced to retire to Bristol. This city 
surrendered to Prince Rupert a few days afterward (July 27) ; 
and Charles having now joined the army in the west, Gloucester 
was invested on the 10th of August. 

The rapid progress of the Royalists threatened the Parliament 
with immediate subjection ; the factions and discontents among 
themselves, in the city, and throughout the neighboring counties, 
prognosticated some dangerous division or insurrection. In the 
beginning of this summer a conspiracy had been discovered to 
oblige the Parliament to accept of reasonable conditions, and re- 
store peace to the nation. Edmund Waller, the celebrated poet, 
and a member of the House of Commons, was at the head of it, 
with Tomkins, his brother-in-law, and Chaloner, his friend. Be- 
ing seized, and tried by a court-martial, they were all three con- 
demned, and the two latter executed on gibbets erected before 
their own doors. Waller saved his life only by his abject and al- 
most frantic submission, but was fined £10,000. 

The news of the siege of Gloucester renewed the cry for peace, 
and the Parliament seemed disposed to consent to more moderate 
terms ; but the zealous Puritans redoubled their efibrts, and the 
Parliament was persuaded to make preparations for the relief of 



A.D. 1643. ACTIONS IN THE NORTH. 427 

this city. Essex, carrying with him a well-appointed army of 
14,000 men, took the road of Bedford and Leicester, and on his 
approach to Gloucester the king was obliged to raise the siege ; 
but, being deficient in cavalry, Essex would willingly have avoid- 
ed an engagement, and therefore proceeded toward London ; but 
when he reached Newbury, in Berkshire, he was surprised to find 
that the king, by hasty marches, had arrived before him. An ac- 
tion was now unavoidable, and was fought on both sides with 
desperate valor and a steady bravery (Sept. 20). The militia 
of London especially, though utterly unacquainted with action, 
equaled on this occasion what could be expected from the most 
veteran forces. While the armies were engaged with the utmost 
ardor, night put an end to the action, and left the victory unde- 
cided. Next morning Essex proceeded on his march, and reached 
London in safety. In the battle of Newbury fell, among others 
on the king's side. Lord Falkland, secretary of state. Falkland 
had at first stood foremost in all attacks on the high prerogatives 
of the crown, and displayed that masculine eloquence and un- 
daunted love of liberty which, from his intimate acquaintance 
with the sublime spirits of antiquity, he had greedily imbibed; 
but when civil convulsions proceeded to extremities, and it be- 
came requisite for him to choose his side, he embraced the de- 
fense of those limited powers which remained to monarchy, and 
which he deemed necessary for the support of the English Con- 
stitution. From the commencement of the war his natural cheer- 
fulness and vivacity became clouded ; and among his intimate 
friends, often, after a deep silence and frequent sighs, he would 
with a sad accent reiterate the word " Peace." On the morning 
of the battle he had observed, " I am weary of the times, and 
foresee much misery to my country, but believe that I shall be 
out of it ere nio-ht." The loss sustained on both sides in the bat- 
tie of Newbury, and the advanced season, obliged the armies to 
retire into winter quarters. 

In the north, during the summer, appeared two men on whom 
the event of the war finally depended, and who began about this 
time to be remarked for their valor and military conduct. These 
were Sir Thomas Fairfax, son of the lord of that name, and Oliver 
Cromwell, son of a gentleman of Huntingdon. The former gain- 
ed a considerable advantage at Wakefield over a detachment of 
Royalists ; the latter obtained a victory at Gainsborough over a 
party commanded by the gallant Cavendish, who perished in the 
action ; but both these defeats of the Royalists were more than 
sufiiciently compensated by the total rout of Lord Fairfax at 
Atherton Moor, near Bradford, and the dispersion of his army. 
After this victory the Marquis of Newcastle, with an army of 



428 CHARLES I. Chap.XXIJ. 

15,000 men, sat down before Hull, but was ultimately obliged to 
abandon the siege. Hotbam was no longer governor of this place. 
That gentleman and his son, being detected in a conspiracy to de- 
liver it to Newcastle, were arrested and sent prisoners to London, 
where, without any regard to their former services, they were ex- 
ecuted. 

§ 4. While the military enterprises were carried on with vigor 
in England, and the event became every day more doubtful, both 
parties cast their eye toward the neighboring kingdoms. The 
Parliament had recourse to Scotland, the king to Ireland. The 
Scots beheld with the utmost impatience a scene of action of 
which they could not deem themselves indifferent spectators. 
The struggle in England was the topic of every conversation 
among them ; and the famous curse of Meroz, that curse so 
solemnly denounced and reiterated against neutrality and moder- 
ation resounded from all quarters. Chaiies having refused to 
assemble a Scottish Parliament, the conservators of the peace, an 
office newly erected in Scotland, resolved to summon, in the king's 
name, but by their own authority, a convention of states, an as- 
sembly which, though it meets with less solemnity, has the same 
authority as a Parliament in raising money and levying forces. 
The English Parliament, which was at that time fallen into great 
distress by the progTCSs of the royal arms, gladly sent to Edinburgh 
commissioners with ample powers to treat of a nearer union and 
confederacy with the Scottish nation. In this negotiation the man 
chiefly trusted was Vane, who, in eloquence, address, capacity, as 
well as in art and dissimulation, was not surpassed by any one, 
even during that age so famous for active talents. By his per- 
suasion was framed at Edinburgh that Solemn League and Cov- 
enant which effaced all former protestations and vows taken in 
both kingdoms, and long maintained its credit and authority. In 
this covenant the subscribers, besides engaging mutually to defend 
one another against all opponents, bound themselves to endeavor, 
without respect of persons, the extirpation of popery and prelacy, 
superstition, heresy, schism, and profaneness; to maintain the 
rights and privileges of Parliaments, together with the king's au- 
thority ; and to discover and bring to justice all incendiaries and 
malignants. The English Parliament, having first subscribed it 
themselves, ordered it to be received by all who lived under their 
authority (Sept. 25); and the Scots, having received £100,000 
from England, and having added to their other forces the troops 
which they had recalled from Ireland, were ready about the end 
of the year to enter England, under the command of their old 
general the Earl of Leven, with an army of above 20,000 men. 

The king, foreseeing this tempest which was gathering upon 



AD. 1644. PARLIAMENTS AT WESTMINSTER AND OXFORD. 429 

]iim, cast his eye toward Ireland. The army in that country, by 
re-enforcements from England and Scotland, now amounted to 
50,000 men. The justices and council of Ireland had been en- 
gaged, chiefly by the interest and authority of Ormond, the com- 
mander-in-chief, to support the king's cause ; and a committee of 
the English House of Commons, which had been sent over to 
Ireland in order to conduct the aiFairs of that kingdom, had been 
excluded the council. Ormond now sent over to England con- 
siderable bodies of ti^oops, most of which continued in the king's 
service ; but a small part, having imbibed in Ireland a strong 
animosity against the Catholics, and hearing the king's party uni- 
versally reproached with 'popery, soon after deserted tO' the Par- 
liament. 

§ 5. The king, that he might make preparations during winter 
for the ensuing campaign, summoned to Oxford all the members 
of either House who adhered to his interests ; and endeavored to 
avail himself of the name of Parliament, so passionately cherished 
by the English nation. The Plouse of Peers was pretty full, and 
contained more members than that which sat at Westminster. 
The House of Commons amounted not to above half of the other 
House of Commons. The Parliament at Westminster having 
voted an excise on beer, wine, and other commodities, those at Ox- 
ford imitated the example, and conferred that revenue on the king. 
This impost had been hitherto unknown in England. This win- 
ter the famous Pym died, a man as much hated by one party as 
respected by the other. He had been so little studious of improv- 
ing his private fortune in those civil wars of which he had been 
one principal author, that the Parliament thought themselves 
obliged, from gratitude, to pay the debts which he had contracted. 
The military operations were carried on with vigor in several 
places, notwithstanding the severity of the season. The forces 
brought from Ireland were landed at Mostyn, in North Wales, 
and reduced Cheshire ; but Fairfax, by an unexpected attack, de- 
feated and captured a great part of them at Nantwich (Jan. 25, 
1644), and the Parliamentary party revived in those northwest 
counties of England. The invasion from Scotland was attended 
with consequences of much greater importance. The Marquis of 
Newcastle at first succeeded in keeping the Scots at bay ; but Sir 
Thomas Fairfax, returning from Cheshire with his victorious 
forces, routed Colonel Bellasis and a considerable body of troops 
at Selby, in Yorkshire. Afraid of being inclosed between two 
armies, the Marquis of Newcastle, the commander of the royal 
forces in the north, retreated ; and Leven having joined Lord 
Fairfax, they sat down before York, to which the army of the 
Royalists had retired. On the whole, the winter campaign had 



430 CHARLES I. Chap. XXII. 

been unfavorable to the king in all quarters. On the approach 
of summer, the Earl of Manchester, having taken Lincoln, united 
his army to that of Leven and Fairfax ; and York w^as nov^ close- 
ly besieged by their combined forces. That town, though vigor- 
ously defended by Newcastle, was reduced to extremity, when on 
a sudden Prince Rupert advanced to its relief with an army of 
20,000 men. The Scottish and Parliamentary generals raised 
the siege, and, drawing up on Marston Moor, purposed to give 
battle to the Royalists. Prince Rupert approached the town by 
another quarter, and, interposing the River Ouse betw^een him and 
the enemy, safely joined his forces to those of Newcastle. The 
marquis endeavored to persuade him not to hazard an engage- 
ment ; but the prince, having positive orders from the king, im- 
mediately issued orders for battle, and led out the army to Marston 
Moor (July 2). Prince Rupert, who commanded the right wing 
of the Royalists, was opposed to Cromwell, who conducted the 
choice troops of the Parliament, inured to danger, animated by 
zeal, and confirmed by the most rigid discipline. After a sharp 
combat the cavalry of the Royalists gave way, and such of the in- 
fantry as stood next them were likewise borne down and put to 
flight. Newcastle's regiment alone, resolute to conquer or to per- 
ish, obstinately kept their ground, and maintained, by their dead 
bodies, the same order in which they had at first been ranged. 
Lucas, who commanded the Royalists on the other wing, made a 
furious attack on the Parliamentary cavalry, threw them into dis- 
order, pushed them upon their own infantry, and put that whole 
wing to rout. When ready to seize on their carriages" and bag- 
gage, he perceived Cromwell, who was now returned from pursuit 
of the other wing. Both sides were not a little surprised to find 
that they must again renew the combat for that victory which 
each of them thought they had already obtained. The front of 
the battle was now exactly counterchanged, and each army occu- 
pied the ground which had been possessed by the enemy at the 
beginning of the day. This second battle was equally furious and 
desperate with the first ; but, after the utmost efforts of courage 
by both parties, victory wholly turned to the side of the Parlia- 
ment. The prince's train of artillery was taken, and his whole 
army driven off the field of battle. 

This event was in itself a mighty blow to the king, but proved 
more fatal in its consequences. The Marquis of Newcastle, either 
disgusted with the rejection of his advice, or despairing of the 
king's cause, went to Scarborough, where he found a vessel which 
carried him beyond sea. During the ensuing years, till the Res- 
toration, he lived abroad in great necessity, and saw with indif- 
ference his opulent fortune sequestered by those who assumed the 



A.D. 1644. INDEPENDENTS AND PRESBYTERIANS. 431 

government of England. Prince Rupert, with equal precipitation, 
drew oiF the remains of his army, and retired into Lancashire. 
York surrendered a few days afterward ; and Fau-fax, remaining 
in the city, established his government in that whole county. 
The town of Newcastle was taken by the Scottish army on Oc- 
tober 29. 

While these events passed in the north, the king's affairs in the 
south were conducted with more success and greater abilities. 
Ruthven, a Scotchman who had been created Earl of Brentford, 
acted under the king as general. Waller was routed by the Roy- 
alists at Cropredy Bridge, near Daventry (June 29), and pursued 
with considerable loss. Stunned and disheartened with this blow, 
his army decayed and melted away by desertion ; and the king 
thought he might safely leave it, and march westward against Es- 
sex. That general, having retreated into Cornwall, and being sur- 
rounded on all sides by the Royalists, escaped in a boat to Plym- 
outh. Balfour, with his horse, passed the king's outposts in a 
thick mist, and got safely to the garrisons of his own party ; but 
the foot, under Skippon, were obliged to surrender their arms, ar- 
tillery, baggage, and ammunition. The Parliament, however, soon 
collected another army, which they placed under the command of 
the Earl of Manchester, who gained a victory^, though not of a very 
decisive kind, over Charles at Newbury (Oct. 27), and compelled 
him to retire to Oxford. 

§ 6. During these operations contests had arisen among the 
Parliamentary generals, which were renewed in London during 
the winter season. There had long prevailed in the Parliament- 
ary party a secret distinction, which now began to discover itself 
with high contest and animosity. The Independents, who had 
at first taken shelter and concealed themselves under the wings 
of the Presbyterians, now evidently appeared a distinct party, 
and betrayed very different views and pretensions. The Inde- 
pendents rejected all ecclesiastical establishments, and would ad- 
mit of no spiritual courts, no government among pastors, no in- 
terposition of the magistrate in religious concerns, no fixed encour- 
agement annexed to any system of doctrines or opinions. Ac- 
cording to their principles, each congregation, united voluntarily 
and by spiritual ties, composed within itself a separate church, 
and exercised a jurisdiction, but one destitute of temporal sanc- 
tions, over its own pastor and its own members. Of all Chris- 
tian sects, this was the first which, during its prosperity as well 
as its adversity, always adopted the principle of toleration. Pop- 
ery and prelacy alone, whose genius seemed to tend toward super- 
stition, were treated by the Independents with rigor. The polit- 
ical system of the Independents kept pace with their religious. 



432 CHARLES I. Chap. XXII. 

They aspired to a total abolition of the monarchy, and even of the 
aristocracy, and projected an entire equality of rank and order in 
a republic quite free and independent. In consequence of this 
scheme, they were declared enemies to all proposals for peace, ex- 
cept on such terms as they knew it was impossible to obtain ; and 
they adhered to that maxim, which is in the main prudent and 
political, that whoever draws the sword against his sovereign 
should throw away the scabbard. Sir Harry Vane, Oliver Crom- 
well, Nathaniel Fiennes, and Oliver St. John, the solicitor gen- 
eral, were regarded as the leaders of the Independents. In the 
Parliament a considerable majority, and a much greater in the 
nation, were attached to the Presbyterian party ; and it was only 
by cunning and deceit at first, and afterward by military violence, 
that the Independents could entertain any hopes of success. 

Cromwell, in the public debates, accused the Earl of Manchester 
of having willfully neglected at Dennington Castle, after Charles's 
retreat from Newbury, a favorable opportunity of finishing the 
war by refusing him permission to charge the king's army in their 
retreat. Manchester, by way of recrimination, informed the Par- 
liament that at another time, Cromwell having proposed some 
scheme to which it seemed improbable that Parliament would 
agree, he insisted and said, *' My lord, if you will stick firm to 
honest men, you shall find yourself at the head of an army which 
shall give law to both king and Parliament." So full, indeed, was 
Cromwell of these republican projects, that, notwithstanding his 
habits of profound dissimulation, he could not so carefully guard 
his expressions but that sometimes his favorite notions would es- 
cape him. Cromwell was persuaded that the only mode of car- 
rying them out was by remodeling the army, but how to eiFect 
this project was the difficulty. The authority as well as merits 
of Essex were very great with the Parliament. Manchester, War- 
wick, and the other commanders had likewise great credit with 
the public ; nor were there any hopes of prevailing over them but 
by laying the plan of an oblique and artificial attack, which would 
conceal the real purpose of their antagonists. Accordingly, at the 
instance of Cromwell, a committee was chosen to frame what was 
called the " Self-denying Ordinance," by which the members of 
both houses were excluded from all civil and military employ- 
ments, except a few offices which were specified. After great de- 
bate it passed the House of Commons ; the Peers, though the 
scheme was in part leveled against their order, and though they 
even ventured once to reject it, durst not persevere in their oppo- 
sition. The ordinance, therefore, having passed both houses (April 
3, 1645), Essex, Warwick, Manchester, Denbigh, Waller, Brere- 
ton, and many others, resigned their commands, and received the 



A.D. 1644, 1645. THE SELF-DENYING ORDINANCE. 



433 



thanks of Parliament for their good services. A pension of £10,000 
a year was settled on Essex. 

It was agreed to recruit the army to 22,000 men, and Sir 
Thomas Fairfax was appointed general. It is remarkable that 
his commission did not run, like that of Essex, in the name of the 
king and Parhament, but in that of the Parliament alone ; and 
the article concerning the safety of the king's person was omitted. 
Cromwell, being a member of the lower House, should have been 
discarded with the others ; but he was saved by that political craft 
in which he was so eminent. At the time when the other officers 
resigned their commissions, care was taken that he should be sent 
into the west with a body of horse ; and shortly afterward, at the 
earnest entreaty of Fairfax, who represented his services as indis- 
pensable, his commission was renewed for a short period, and ul- 
timately for the whole campaign. Thus the Independents, though 
the minority, prevailed by art and cunning over the Presbyterians, 
and bestowed the whole military authority, in appearance, upon 
Fairfax — in reality upon Cromwell. 




Obverse of medal of Sir Thomas Fairfax, geseb . tho 

Dvx. Bust to left. 



FAIEFAS . MILES . MILIT : PAELI 



Nevertheless, a conference between the king and the Parliament 
was opened at Uxbridge, June 30, 1645. The subjects of debate 
were the three^ important articles, religion, the militia, sm^ Ireland ; 
but it was. soon found impracticable to come to any agi-eement 
with regard to any of them. In the summer of 1643, an assem- 
bly at Westminster, consisting of 121 divines and 30 laymen, had 
altered the Thirty-nine Articles, and instead of the Liturgy had 
established a new directory for worship, by which, suitably to the 
spirit of the Puritans, the utmost liberty, both in praying and 
preaching, was indulged to the public teachers. By the Solemn 
League and Covenant episcopacy was abjured as destructive of all 
true piety, and the king's commissioners were not therefore sur- 
prised to find the establishment of Presbytery and the directory 
positively demanded, together with the subscription of the Cov- 
enant both bv the kins: and kingdom ; but Charles, though willing 



4:34 CHARLES L Chap. XXIL 

to make some concessions, was not disposed to go such lengths ; 
and, as the Parliament would abate nothing, the negotiations on 
this head fell to the ground. Still less could parties now in a 
state of open warfare agree upon a militia-bill, by which the pow- 
er of the sword must necessarily have been transferred to one of 
them. 

§ 7. A little before the enactment of the Self-denying Ordi- 
nance, Archbishop Laud, the most favorite minister of the king, 
was brought to the scaffold. From the time that Laud had been 
committed, the House of Commons, engaged in enterprises of great 
moment, had found no leisure to finish his impeachment ; but they 
now resolved to gratify their vengeance in the punishment of this 
prelate. He was accused of high treason in endeavoring to sub- 
vert the fundamental laws, and of other high crimes and misde- 
meanors. After a long trial, and the examination of above 150 wit- 
nesses, whose evidence, however, the Commons had not heard, they 
found so little likelihood of obtaining a judicial sentence against 
him that they were obliged to have recourse to their legislative au- 
thority, and to pass an ordinance for taking away the life of this 
aged prelate. Notwithstanding the low condition into which the 
House of Peers was fallen, there appeared some intention of re- 
jecting this ordinance ; and the popular leaders were again obliged 
to apply to the multitude, and to extinguish, by threats of new 
tumults, the small remains of liberty possessed by the upper House. 
Seven peers alone voted in this important question ; the rest, 
either from shame or fear, took care to absent themselves. Laud, 
who had behaved during his trial with the spirit and vigor of gen- 
ius, sunk not under the horrors of his execution ; but, though he 
had usually professed himself apprehensive of a violent death, he 
found all his fears -to be dissipated before that superior courage by 
which he was animated. "No one," said he, "can be more will- 
ing to send me out of life than I am desirous to go." He quietly 
laid his head on the block, and it was severed from the body at 
one blow (Jan. 10, 1645). Sincere he undoubtedly was, and, how- 
ever misguided, actuated by pious motives in all his pursuits ; and 
it is to be regretted that he had not entertained more enlarged 
views, and embraced principles more favorable to the general hap- 
piness of society. 

§ 8. While the king's affairs declined in England, the numer- 
ous victories of the Earl of Montrose in Scotland seemed to prom- 
ise him a more prosperous issue of the quarrel. That young no- 
bleman had entirely devoted himself to the king's service, and 
with the aid of a few adherents, and a small body of troops 
brought over from Ireland, achieved on a small scale a series of 
brilliant victories over the Covenanters in the north of Scotland. 



A.D. 1645. CAMPAIGN OF 1645. 435 

Meanwliile, in England, Fairfax, or, more properly speaking, 
Cromwell, under his name, introduced at last the new model into 
the array. From the same men -new regiments and new com- 
panies were formed, different officers appointed, and the whole mil- 
itary force put into such hands as the Independents could rely on. 
At the same time a new and more exact plan of discipline was 
introduced. Never surely was a more singular army assembled. 
To the greater number of the regiments chaplains were not ap- 
pointed ; the officers assumed the spiritual duty, and united it 
with their military functions. The private soldiers, seized with 
the same spirit, employed their vacant hours in prayer, in perus- 
ing the Holy Scriptures, and in spiritual conferences,, where they 
compared the progress of their souls in grace, and mutually stim- 
tilated each other to farther advances in the great work of their 
salvation. When they were marching to battle the whole field 
resounded as well with psalms and spiritual songs adapted to the 
occasion as with the instruments of military music, and every man 
endeavored to drown the sense of present danger in the prospect 
of that crown of glory which was set before them. The forces as- 
sembled by the king at Oxford, in the west, and in other places, 
were equal, if not superior, in number to their adversaries, but 
actuated by a very different spirit. That license which had been 
introduced by want of pay had risen to a great height among 
them, and rendered them more formidable to their friends than to 
their enemies. 

The English campaign of 1645 also opened with some advant- 
age to the Royalists. In the west, the Parliamentarians, indeed, 
under Weldon succeeded in relieving Taunton, but were afterward 
shut up in that place by Granville. Farther north the king in 
person gained more distinguished successes. After compelling the 
army of the Parliament to raise the siege of Chester, he assaulted 
and took Leicester, a garrison of the Parliament's, on his march 
hack to Oxford. Meanwhile, the last town, exposed by the king's 
absence, had been invested by Fairfax ; but, alarmed at Charles's 
success, Fairfax abandoned the siege, and marched toward the 
king with an intention of offering him battle. The king was ad- 
vancing toward Oxford in order to raise the. siege, which he ap- 
prehended was now begun ; and both armies, ere they were aware, 
had advanced within six miles of each other. The boiling: ardor 
of Prince Rupert persuaded an engagement ; and at Naseby, near 
Market Harborough, in Northamptonshire, was fought, with forces 
nearly equal, a decisive and well-disputed action between the king 
and Parliament. The main body of the Royalists wfis command- 
ed by the king himself, who displayed all the conduct of a pru- 
dent general and all the valor of a stout soldier. The battle was 



436 CHARLES I. Chap. XXII, 

chiefly lost through a mistake of Prince Rupert, who, having rout- 
ed the enemy's left wing under Ireton, was so inconsiderate as to 
lose time in summoning and attacking the artillery of the enemy, 
which had been left with a good guard of infantry. Meanwhile, 
the Royalists were hard pressed by the valor and conduct of Fair- 
fax and Cromwell ; and when Rupert rejoined the king he found 
the infantry totally discomfited. Charles exhorted this body of 
cavalry not to despair, and cried aloud to them, " One charge 
more, and we recover the day." But the disadvantages under 
which they labored were too evident, and they could by no means 
be induced to renew the combat. Charles was obliged to quit the 
field, and lep,ve the victory to the enemy. The Parliament lost 
1000 men ; Charles not above 800 ; but Fairfax made 500 offi- 
cers prisoners, and 4000 private men ; took all the king's artillery 
and ammunition, and totally dissipated his infantry, so that scarce- 
ly any victory could be more complete tlian that which he obtain- 
ed. Among the other spoils was seized the king's cabinet, with 
the copies of his letters to the queen, which the Parliament after- 
ward ordered to be published. 

After the battle the king retreated with that body of horse 
which remained entire, first to Hereford, then to Abergavenny, 
and remained some time in Wales, from the vain hope of raising a 
body of infantry in those harassed and exhausted quarters. In 
the beginning of the campaign he had sent the Prince of Wales, 
then 15 years of age, to the west, with the title of general, and had 
given orders, if he were pressed by the enemy, that he should make 
his escape into a foreign country, and save one part of the royal 
family from the violence of the Parliament. Prince Rupert had 
thrown himself into Bristol with an intention of defending that 
important city, while Goring was besieging Taunton. Thither 
Fairfax directed his march, on whose approach the Royalists 
raised the siege and retired to Lamport, an open town in the 
county of Somerset. Fairfax, having beaten them from this post, 
and taken successively Bridgewater, Bath, and Sherborne, laid 
siege to Bristol. Much was expected from the reputation of 
Prince Rupert, but a poorer defense was not made by any town 
during the whole war. No sooner had the Parliamentary forces 
entered the lines by storm than the prince capitulated, and sur- 
rendered the city to Fairfax (Sept. 10). Charles, who was form- 
ing schemes and collecting forces for the relief of Bristol, was as- 
tonished at so unexpected an event, which was little less fatal to 
his cause than the defeat at Naseby. Full of indignation, he in- 
stantly recalled all Prince Rupert's commissions, and sent him a 
pass to go beyond sea. 

The king's affairs now went fast to ruin in all quarters. The 



A.D.1645. NEGOTIATIONS WITH PARLIAMENT. 437 

Scots, having made themselves masters of Carlisle after an obsti- 
nate siege, marched southward and laid siege to Hereford, but 
were obliged to raise it on the king's approach ; and this was the 
last glimpse of success which attended his arms. Having march- 
ed to the relief of Chester, which was anew besieged by the Par- 
liamentary forces, he was defeated, with the loss of 600 slain and 
1000 prisoners. The king, with the remains of his broken army, 
fled to Newark, and thence escaped to Oxford, where he shut him- 
self up during the winter season. Before the expiration of the 
winter Fairfax reduced all the west, and completely dispersed the 
king's army in that quarter, while Cromwell brought all the middle 
counties of England to obedience under the Parliament. The 
Prince of Wales, in pursuance of the king's orders, retired to 
Scilly, and thence to Jersey, whence he joined the queen at Paris. 
News too arrived that Montrose himself, after some more suc- 
cesses, was at last routed at Philip-haugh, near Selkirk, and this 
only remaining hope of the royal party finally extinguished. 

§ 9- The condition of the king during this whole winter was to 
the last degree disastrous and melancholy. The Parliament deign- 
ed not to make the least reply to several of his messages, in which 
he desired a passport for commissioners to treat of peace. At 
last, after reproaching him with the blood spilled during the war, 
they told him that they were preparing bills for him, and his pass- 
ing them would be the best pledge of his inclination toward peace ; 
in other words, he must yield at discretion. He desired a person- 
al treaty, and offered to come to London upon receiving a safe- 
conduct for himself and his attendants ; they absolutely refused 
him admittance, and issued orders for the guarding — that is, the 
seizing of his person in case he should attempt to visit them. A 
new incident which happened in Ireland served to inflame the 
minds of men. The king being desirous of concluding a final 
peace with the Irish rebels, 'and obtaining their assistance in En- 
gland, accordingly authorized Ormond, the lord lieutenant, to 
promise them an abrogation of all the penal laws enacted against 
Catholics ; but, as the Irish might probably demand farther con- 
cessions than could be openly granted them, the king privately 
gave to the Earl of Glamorgan a commission to levy men and to 
coin money, and employ the revenues of the crown for their sup- 
port, and engaged to ratify any treaty he might make, even if 
contrary to law. But the commission was purposely drawn up 
and sealed in an informal manner, in order that the kins; mio-ht 
have a pretense to disclaim it if necessary, which indeed took place. 
Glamorgan concluded a peace with the rebels, and agreed, in the 
king's name, that they should enjoy all the churches of which 
they had ever been in possession since the commencement of their 



43'8 CHARLES I. Chap. XXII. 

insuiTection on condition that they should assist the king in En- 
gland with a body of 10,000 men. The articles of the treaty 
were found among the baggage of the titular Archbishop of Tuam, 
who was killed by a sally of the garrison of Sligo, and were im- 
mediately published every where, and copies of them sent over to 
the English Parliament. The discovery of this treaty tended 
much to render abortive the king's negotiations with the Parlia- 
ment. To save appearances, Glamorgan was thrown into prison, 
but soon released. 

The king seemed to be now threatened with immediate destruc- 
tion. Fairfax was approaching with a powerful and victorious 
army, and was taking the proper measures for laying siege to Ox- 
ford, which must infallibly fall into his hands. In this desperate 
extremity, Charles began to entertain thoughts of leaving Oxford, 
and flying to the Scottish army, which at that time lay before 
Newark. He considered that the Scottish nation had been fully 
gratified in all their demands, and had no farther concessions to 
exact from him, while, on the other hand, they were disgusted 
with the English Parliament. The progress of the Independents 
gave them great alarm, and they were scandalized to hear their 
beloved Covenant spoken of every day with less regard and rev- 
erence. The king hoped, too, that in their present disposition 
the sight of their native prince flying to them in this extremity 
of distress would rouse every spark of generosity in their bosoms, 
and procure him their favor and protection. With these views 
he left Oxford in the night of April 26, 1646, accompanied by 
none but Dr. Hudson and Mr. Ashburnham, and went out of that 
gate which leads to London. He rode before a portmanteau, call- 
ing himself Ashburnham's servant, and arrived at the Scottish 
camp before Newark (May 5). The Scottish general and com- 
missioners affected great surprise on the appearance of the king ; 
and though they paid him all the exterior respect due to his dig- 
nity, they instantly set a guard upon him, under color of protec- 
tion, and made him, in reality, a prisoner. They informed the 
English Parliament of this unexpected incident, and assured them 
that they had entered into no private treaty with the king ; but, 
hearing that the Parliament laid claim to the entire disposal of 
the king's person, they thought proper to retire northward, and 
to fix their camp at Newcastle. Charles had very little reason 
to be pleased with his situation. The Scots required him to issue 
orders to Oxford, and all his other garrisons, commanding their 
surrender to the Parliament ; and the king, sensible that their re- 
sistance was to very little purpose, immediately complied. Or- 
mond, having received like orders, delivered Dublin and other 
forts into the hands of the Parliamentary officers. 



A. D. 1645-1647. THE KING DELIVERED UP BY THE SCOTS. 439 

The Parliament and the Scots laid their proposals before the 
hiuor. which were little worse than what were insisted on before 
the battle of Naseby. The power of the sword, instead of 10 
years, which the king now oiFered, was demanded for 20, together 
with a right to le\y whatever money the Parliament should think 
proper for the support of their armies. The other conditions were 
in the main the same with those which had formerly been offered 
to the king, and he was peremptorily required to give his consent 
or refusal in 10 days. The Parliament now entered into negoti- 
ations with the Scots. The Scottish commissioners resolved to 
keep the king as a pledge for those arrears which they claimed 
from England. After many discussions, it was at last agreed 
that, in lieu of all demands, they should accept of £400,000, one 
half to be paid instantly, another in two subsequent payments. 
Great pains were taken by the Scots (and the English complied 
with their pretended delicacy) to make this estimation and pay- 
ment of arrears appear a quite different transaction from that for 
the delivery of the king's person, but common sense requires that 
they should be regarded as one and the same. Thus the Scottish 
nation incurred the reproach of betraying their prince for money. 
The king, being delivered over by the Scots to the English com- 
missioners (Jan. 30, 1647), was conducted under a guard to Holm- 
by, in Northamptonshire. On his journey the whole country 
flocked to behold him, moved partly by curiosity, partly by com- 
passion and affection. The commissioners rendered his confine- 
ment at Holmby very rigorous, dismissing his ancient servants, 
and cutting off all communication with his friends or family. 
The Parliament, though earnestly applied to by the king, refused 
to allow his chaplains to attend him, because they had not taken 
the Covenant. During the time that the king remained in the 
Scottish army at Newcastle died the Earl of Essex, the discarded 
but still powerful and popular general of the Parliament. The 
Presbyterian or the moderate party among the Commons found 
themselves considerably weakened by his death, and the small re- 
mains of authority which still adhered to the House of Peers were 
in a manner wholly extinguished. 

§ 10. The dominion of the Parliament was of short duration. 
No sooner had they subdued their sovereign than their own serv- 
ants rose against them, and tumbled them from their slippery 
throne. Soon after the retreat of the Scots, the Presbyterians, 
seeing every thing reduced to obedience, began to talk of dimin- 
ishing the army ; and on pretense of easing the public burdens, 
they leveled a deadly blow at the opposite faction. They pur- 
posed to embark a strong detachment for the service of Ireland, 
and they openly declared their intention of making a great reduc- 



440 CHARLES I. Chap. XXII. 

tion of the remainder. Considerable arrears were due to the army ; 
and many of the private men, as well as the officers, had nearly 
a twelvemonth's pay still owing them ; and, as no plan was point- 
ed out by the Commons for the payment of arrears, the soldiers 
dreaded that, after they should be disbanded or embarked for Ire- 
land (a most unpopular service), their enemies, who predominated 
in the two houses, would entirely defraud them of their right, and 
oppress them with impunity. On this ground or pretense did the 
first commotions begin in the army. Combinations were formed, 
and petitions handed about ; and few could be found to enlist for 
Ireland. Their petition to Parliament bore a very imperious air ; 
in a word, they felt their power, and resolved ta be masters. The 
expedient which the Parliament now made use of was the worst 
imaginable. They sent Skippon, Cromwell, Ireton, and Fleet- 
wood, to the head-quarters at Saffron Walden, in Essex, and em- 
powered them to make offers to the army, and inquire into the 
cause of its distempers. These very generals, at the least the last 
three, were secretly the authors of all the discontents, and failed 
not to foment those disorders which they pretended to appease. 
By their suggestion, a council of the principal officers was appoint- 
ed, after the model of the House of Peers, and a more free repre- 
sentative of the army was composed by the election of two private 
men or inferior officers, under the title of adjutators, afterward 
called agitators, from each troop or company. This terrible court, 
when assembled, having first declared that they found no distem- 
pers in the army, but many grievances, under which it labored, im- 
mediately voted the offers of the Parliament unsatisfactory ; and 
they presently struck a blow which at once decided the victory in 
their favor. A party of 500 horse appeared at Holmby, conduct- 
ed by one Joyce, who had once been a tailor by profession, but 
was now advanced to the rank of a cornet, and was an active agi- 
tator in the army (June 4). Joyce came into the king's presence 
armed with pistols, and told him that he must immediately go 
along with him. "Whither?" said the king. " To the army," 
replied Joyce. Charles appointed to meet him at the door at six 
o'clock the next morning, where the troopers were drawn up ; and 
in answer to his repeated inquiries for his authority, Joyce pointed 
to the soldiers, tall, handsome, and well accoutred. " Your war- 
rant," said Charles, smiling, "is written in fair characters, legi- 
ble without spelling ;" and yielding himself up, was safely con- 
ducted to the army, who were hastening to their rendezvous at 
Triplow Heath, near Cambridge. The Parliament were throAvn 
into the utmost consternation. Fairfax himself, to whom this 
bold measure had never been communicated, was no less surprised 
at the king's arrival. The Parliamentary leaders, having discov- 



A.D. 1647. MUTINY OF THE ARMY. 441 

ered that the most active officers and agitators were entirely Crom- 
well's creatures, secretly resolved that next day, when he should 
come to the House, an accusation should be entered against him, 
and he should be sent to the Tower. Being informed of this design, 
Cromwell hastened to the camp, where he was received with ac- 
clamation, and was instantly invested with the supreme command, . 
both of general and army. Without farther deliberation, he ad- 
vanced the army upon the Parliament, and arrived in a few days 
at St. Alban's. But London still retained a strong attachment to 
Presbyterianism ; and its militia, which had by a late ordinance 
been put into hands in which the Parliament could entirely con- 
fide, was now called out, and ordered to guard the lines which 
had been drawn round the city in order to secure it against the 
king. On farther reflection, however, it was thought more pru- 
dent to submit. The declaration by which the military petition- 
ers had been voted public enemies was erased from the journal- 
book. This was the first symptom which the Parliament gave 
of submission, and the army rose every day in their demands. 
Having obtained the sequestration of eleven of the chief Presby- 
terian members, the army, in order to save appearances, removed, 
at the desire of the Parliament, to a greater distance from Lon- 
don, and fixed their head-quarters at Keading. They carried the 
kino- along; with them in all their marches, who now found himself 
in a better situation than at Holmby. All his friends had access 
to his presence ; his correspondence with the queen was not in- 
terrupted ; his chaplains were restored to him, and he was allowed 
the use of the Liturgy ; his children were once allowed to visit 
him, and they passed a few days at Caversham, where he then re- 
sided. Cromwell, as well as the leaders of all parties, paid court 
to him ; and fortune, notwithstanding all his calamities, seemed 
again to smile on him. 

§ 11. The impatience of the Londoners brought matters to a 
crisis between the Parliament and army. At the instance- of the 
latter, the Parliament had voted that the militia of London should 
be changed, the Presbyterian commissioners displaced, and the 
command restored to those who, during the course of the war, had 
constantly exercised it. A petition against this alteration was 
carried to Westminster, attended by the apprentices and seditious 
multitude, Avho besieged the door of the House of Commons, and, 
by their clamor, noise, and violence, obliged them to reverse that 
vote which they had passed so lately. No sooner was intelligence 
of this tumult conveyed to Reading than the army was put in mo- 
tion, to vindicate, they said, against the seditious citizens, the in- 
vaded privileges of Parliament. In their way to London they 
were drawn up on Hounslow Heath — a formidable body 20.000 

T2 



4i2 CHARLES I. Chap. XXrr. 

strong, and determined to pursue whatever measures their gen- 
erals should dictate to them. Here the most favorable event hap- 
pened to quicken and encourage their advance. The speakers of 
the two houses. Manchester and Lenthal, attended by eight peers 
and about sixty commoners, having secretly retired from the city, 
presented themselves, with their maces and all the ensigns of their 
dignity, and, complaining of the violence put upon them, applied 
to the army for defense and protection. They were received with 
shouts and acclamations ; respect was paid to them as to the Par- 
liament of England ; and the army, being provided with so plausi- 
ble a pretense, advanced to chastise the rebellious city, and to re- 
instate the violated Parliament. Without experiencing the least 
resistance, the army marched in triumph through the city, but 
preserved the greatest order, decency, and appearance of humility 
(Aug. 6). They conducted to Westminster the two speakers, who 
took their seats as if nothing had happened. The eleven im- 
peached members were expelled ; seven peers were impeached ; 
the mayor, one sheriff, and three aldermen sent to the Tower ; 
several citizens and officers of the militia committed to prison; 
every deed of the Parliament annulled, from the day of the tumult 
till the return of the speakers ; the lines about the city leveled ; 
the militia restored to the Independents ; and, the Parliament be- 
ing reduced to a regular formed servitude, a day was appointed 
of solemn thanksgiving for the restoration of its liberty. 

The leaders of the army, having established their dominion over 
the Parliament and city, ventured to bring the king to Hampton 
Court, and he lived for some time in that palace with an appear- 
ance of dignity and freedom. He entertained hopes that his ne- 
gotiations with the generals would be crowned with success. It 
appears that Cromwell and Ireton really desired to save the king, 
but that Charles's insincerity and duplicity at last convinced them 
that they could put no trust in his promises. Charles now took 
suddenly a resolution of withdrawing himself, and, attended only 
by three persons, he privately left Hampton Court (Nov. 11). His 
escape was not discovered till nearly an hour after, when those 
who entered his chamber found on the table some letters directed 
to the Parliament, to the general, and to the officer who had at- 
tended him. All night he traveled through the forest, and arrived 
next day at Titchfield, a seat of the Earl of Northampton's, where 
the countess dowager resided, a woman of honor to whom the king 
knew he might safely intrust his person. The king could not 
hope to remain long concealed at Titchfield. He took refuge with 
Colonel Hammond, the governor of the Isle of Wight, who was 
nephew to Dr. Hammond, the king's favorite chaplain. By Ham- 
mond he was conducted to Carisbrooke Castle, where, though re- 



A.D. 1647. DISCIPLINE OF THE ARMY RESTORED. 443 

ceived with great demonstrations of respect and duty, he was, in 
reality, a prisoner. 

§ 12. Cromwell, being now entirely master of the Parliament 
and of the king, applied himself seriously to quell those disorders 
in the army which he himself had so artfully raised. A party 
had sprung up in the army called Levelers, who were not only in 
favor of abolishing royalty and nobility, but of leveling all ranks 
of men. The saints, they said, were the salt of the earth ; an en- 
tire parity had place among the elect ; and, by the same rule that 
the apostles were exalted from the most ignoble professions, the 
meanest sentinel, if enlightened by the Spirit, was entitled to 
equal regard with the greatest commander. In order to wean the 
soldiers from these licentious maxims, Cromwell had issued or- 
ders for discontinuing the meetings of the agitators ; but the Lev- 
elers, having experienced the sweets of dominion, would not so 
easily be deprived of it. They secretly continued their meetings ; 
they asserted that their officers, as much as any part of the Church 
or state, needed reformation. But this distemper was soon cured 
by the rough but dexterous hand of Cromwell. He chose the 
opportunity of a review, that he might display the greater bold- 
ness and spread the terror the wider. He seized the ringleaders 
before their companions, held in the field a council of war, shot 
one mutineer instantly, and struck such dread into the rest that 
they presently threw down the symbols of sedition which they had 
displayed, and thenceforth returned to their wonted discipline and 
obedience. 

At the suggestion of Ireton, Cromwell then secretly called, at 
Windsor, a council of the chief officers, in order to deliberate con- 
cerning the settlement of the nation, and the future disposal of the 
king's person. In this conference, which commenced with devout 
prayers, poured forth by Cromwell himself and the other officers, 
was first opened the daring counsel of bringing the king to justice. 
Charles had offered, by a message sent from Carisbrooke Castle, 
to resign, during his own life, the power of the militia and the 
nomination to all the great offices, provided that, after his demise, 
these prerogatives should revert to the crown. At the instigation 
of the Independents and army, the Parliament neglected this offer, 
and framed four proposals, which they sent him as preliminaries : 

1. To invest the Parliament with the military power for 20 years ; 

2. To recall all his' proclamations and declarations against the 
Parliament ; 3. To annul all the acts, and void all the patents of 
peerage, which had passed the great seal since it had been carried 
from London by Lord Keeper Littleton, and to renounce for the 
future the power of making peers without consent of Parliament ; 
4. To give the two houses power to adjourn as they thought proper. 



444 CHAKtE« I Chap. XXir. 

The king having refused his consent to these proposals, it was 
voted by the Parliament that no more addresses should be made 
to him, nor any letters or messages received from him ; and that 
it should be treason for any one, without leave of the two houses, 
to have any intercourse with him (Jan. 13, 1648). By this vote 
of non-addresses (so it was called) the king was in reality de- 
throned, and the whole constitution formally overthrown ; and, it 
having been discovered that the king had attempted to escape 
from Carisbrooke Castle, Hammond, by orders from the army, re- 
moved all his servants, cut off his correspondence with his friends, 
and shut him up in close confinement. 

§ 13. The Scots, however, were much displeased with the pro- 
ceedings adopted toward the king, as well as with the contempt 
which the Independents displayed for the Covenant, which was 
profanely called in the House of Commons an almanac out of 
date. They sent commissioners to London to protest against the 
four propositions that had been offered to the king ; and when 
they accompanied the English commissioners to the Isle of Wight, 
they secretly formed a treaty with the king for arming Scotland 
in his favor. The Duke of Hamilton obtained a vote from the 
Scottish Parliament to arm 40,000 men in support of the king's 
authority, and to call over a considerable body under Monro, who 
commanded the Scottish forces in Ulster ; and, though he openly 
protested that the Covenant was the foundation of all his meas- 
ures, he secretly entered into correspondence witli the English 
Royalists, Sir Marmaduke Langdale and Sir Philip Musgrave, 
who had levied considerable forces in the north of England. 
While the Scots were making preparations for the invasion of 
England, every part of that kingdom was agitated with tumults, 
insurrections, conspiracies, discontents. The general spirit of dis- 
content had seized the fleet. Seventeen ships, lying in the mouth 
of the river, declared for the king, and, putting their admiral 
ashore, sailed over to Holland, where the Prince of Wales took 
the command of them. 

Cromwell and the military council prepared themselves with 
vigor for defense, and the revolts which had broken out in various 
parts of England were soon either checked or subdued. A new 
fleet was manned and sent out, under the command of Warwick, 
to oppose the revolted ships. But, while the forces were employ- 
ed in all quarters, the Parliament regained its liberty, and the 
Presbyterian party recovered the ascendant which it had formerly 
lost. The vote of non-addresses was repealed ; and commission- 
ers (five peers and ten commoners) were sent to Newport, in the 
Isle of Wight, in order to treat with the king (Sept. 18). When 
Charles presented himself to this company, a great and sensible 



A.D. 1648. INVASION OF THE SCOTS. 



445 



r 



alteration was remarked in his aspect. The moment his servants 
had been removed, he had allowed his beard and hair to grow, 
and to hang disheveled and neglected. His hair had become al- 
most entirely gray ; and his friends, perhaps even his enemies, be- 
held with compassion that "gray and discrowTied head," as he 
himself terms it in a copy of verses, which the truth of the senti- 
ment, rather than any elegance of expression, renders very pa- 
thetic. As these negotiations produced no result, it is unneces- 
sary to enter into particulars. Eehgion was the chief obstacle ; 
and so great was the bigotry on both sides, that they were willing 
to sacrifice the greatest civil interests rather than relinquish the 
most minute of their theological contentions. The treaty was 
spun out to such a length that the invasions and insurrections 
were every where subdued, and the army had leisure to execute 
their violent and sanguinary purpose. 

Hamilton, having entered England with a numerous though un- 
disciplined army, durst not unite his forces v>ith those of Langdale, 
because the English Royalists had refused to take the Covenant ; 
and the Scottish Presbyterians, though engaged for the king, re- 
fused ta join them on any other terms. Cromwell, though his 
forces were not half so numerous as those of the allies, attacked 
Langdale by surprise, near Preston, in Lancashire. Hamilton was 
next attacked, put to rout, and pursued to Uttoxeter, where he 
surrendered himself prisoner (Aug. 20). Cromwell followed his 
advantage, and, marching into Scotland with a considerable body, 
joined Argjde, who was also in arms ; and having suppressed the 
moderate Presbyterians, he placed the power entirely in the hands 
of the violent party. The ecclesiastical authority, exalted above 
the civil, exercised the severest vengeance on all who had a share 
in Hamilton's engagement, as it was called. Never in this island 
was known a more severe and arbitrary government than was 
generally exercised by the patrons of liberty in both kingdoms. 
The capture of Colchester by Fairfax (Aug. 28), and the barba- 
rous execution of Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle, who had 
bravely defended it, terminated the last struggle for the king. 

§ 14. The catastrophe was now approaching. A remonstrance 
was drawn by the council of general officers and sent to the Par- 
liament. They complained of the treaty with the king, demand- 
ed his punishment for the blood spilled during the war, and re- 
quired a dissolution of the present Parliament. The foremost 
men in this measure were Colonel Ludlow and Ireton. Fairfax 
disapproved of it, but had not the courage to oppose it. The Par- 
liament lost not courage, notwithstanding the danger with which 
they were so nearly menaced. Hollis, the present leader of the 
Presbyterians, was a man of unconquerable intrepidity, and many 



446 CHARLES I. Chap. XXII. 

others of that party seconded his magnanimous spirit. It was 
proposed by them that the generals and principal officers should, 
for their disobedience and usurpations, be proclaimed traitors by 
the Parliament. But the Parliament was dealing with men who 
would not be frightened by words, nor retarded by any scrupulous 
delicacy. The generals, under the name of Fairfax (for he still 
allowed them to employ his name), marched the army to London, 
and surrounded the Parliament with their hostile armaments. 
The Parliament nevertheless proceeded to close their treaty with 
the king ; and, after a violent debate of three days, it was carried, 
by a majority of 129 against 83, in the House of Commons, that 
the king's concessions were a foundation for the houses to proceed 
upon in the settlement of the kingdom. Next day (Dec. 5), when 
the Commons were to meet. Colonel Pride, formerly a drayman, 
had environed the House with two regiments ; and, directed by 
Lord Grey of Groby, he seized in the passage 52 members of the 
« Presbyterian party, and sent them to a low room which passed by 
the appellation of hell, whence they were afterward carried to sev- 
eral inns. Above 160 members more were excluded ; and none 
were allowed to enter but the most determined of the Independ- 
ents, and these exceeded not the number of 50 or 60. This in- 
vasion of the Parliament commonly passed under the name of 
Colonel Pride's Purge. Cromwell was at this time on his way 
from Scotland. The remains of the Parliament (often called the 
Mump) instantly reversed the former vote, and declared the king's 
concessions unsatisfactory ; they renewed their former vote of 
non-addresses, and they committed to prison several leaders of 
the Presbyterians. 

These sudden and violent revolutions held the whole nation in 
terror and astonishment. To quiet the minds of men, the gener- 
als, in the name of the army, published a declaration in which 
they expressed their resolution of supporting law and justice ; and 
the council of officers took into consideration a scheme called the 
agreement of the people, being the plan of a republic, to be substi- 
tuted in the place of that government which they had so violently 
pulled in pieces. To effect this, nothing remained but the public 
trial and execution of their sovereign. In the House of Com- 
mons a committee was appointed to bring in a charge against the 
king. On their report a vote passed, declaring it treason in a 
king to levy war against his Parliament, and appointing a High 
Court of Justice to try Charles for this newly-invented treason. 
The House of Peers, which assembled to the number of sixteen, 
without one dissenting voice, and almost without deliberation, 
instantly rejected the vote of the lower House, and adjourned 
themselves for ten days, hoping that this delay would be able to 



% 



r 



A.D. 1648, 1G49. TRIAL OF THE KING. 447 

retard the furious career of the Commons ; but the Commons were 
not to be stopped by so small an obstacle. Having declared that 
the people are the origin of all just power, that the Commons of En- 
gland are the supreme authority of the nation, and that whatever 
is enacted by them hath the force of law, without the consent of 
king or House of Peers, the ordinance for the trial of Charles 
Stuart, King of England (so they called him), was again read, and 
unanimously assented to (Jan. 6, 1649) ; after which Colonel Har- 
rison, the most furious entliusiast in the army, was sent Avith a 
strong party to conduct the king to London. He had been trans- 
ferred from Carisbrooke to Hurst Castle, on the coast of Hamp- 
shire, on Nov. 30, and was conducted to St. James's, Dec. 22. 
From thence he was transferred to Windsor Castle, and was con- 
ducted to Whitehall on Jan. 19. 

The high court of justice. assembled in Westminster Hall on 
Jan. 20. It consisted of 133 persons, as named by the Commons, 
but there scarcely ever sat above 70. Cromwell, Ireton, Harri- 
son, and the chief officers of the army were members, together 
with some of the lower Plouse, and some citizens of London. The 
judges were at first appointed in the number ; but as they had 
affirmed that it was contrary to law to try the king for treason, 
their names, as well as those of some peers, were struck out. Brad- 
shaw, a lawyer, was chosen president. Cook was appointed so- 
licitor for the people of England. Li calling over the court, when 
the crier pronounced the name of Fairfax, which had been insert- 
ed in the number, a voice came from one of the spectators, and 
cried, '' He has more wit than to be here." When the charge 
was read against the king, " In the name of the people of En- 
gland," the same voice exclaimed, "Not a tenth part of them." 
Axtell, the officer who guarded the court, giving orders to fire 
into the box whence these insolent speeches came, it was discov- 
ered that Lady Fairfax was there, and that it was she who had 
had the courage to utter them. 

The pomp, the dignity, the ceremony of this transaction, cor- 
responded to the greatest conception that is suggested in the an- 
nals of human kind — the delegates of a great people sitting in 
judgment upon their supreme magistrate, and trying him for his 
misgovernment and breach of trust. The solicitor, in the name 
of the Commons, represented that Charles Stuart, being admitted 
King of England, and intrusted with a limited power, yet, never- 
theless, from a wicked desig-n to erect an unlimited and tyran- 
nical government, had traitorously and maliciously levied war 
against the present Parliament, and the people whom they repre- 
sented, and was therefore impeached as a tyrant, traitor, murder- 
er, and a public and implacable enemy to the Commonwealth. 



448 ' CHARLES I. . Chap. XXII. 

The king was then called on for his answer. Though long de- 
tained a prisoner, and now produced as a criminal, Charles sus- 
tained, by his magnanimous courage, the majesty of a monarch. 
With great temper and dignity he declined to submit himself to 
the jurisdiction of the court, on the ground that he was their na- 
tive hereditary king ; nor was the whole authority of the state, 
though free and united, entitled to try him, who derived his dig- 
nity from the Supreme Majesty of Heaven. Three times was he 
produced before the court, and as often declined their jurisdiction. 
On the fourth, the judges having examined some witnesses, by 
whom it was proved that the king had appeared in arms against 
the forces commissioned by the Parliament, they pronounced sen- 
tence against him. He seemed very, anxious at this time to be 
admitted to a conference with the two houses, and it was sup- 
posed that he intended to resign the crown to his son, but the 
court refused compliance. 

It is confessed that the king's behavior during this last scene 
of his life does honor to his memory, and that in all appearances 
before his judges he never forgot his part, either as a prince or as 
a man. The soldiers, instigated by their superiors, were brought, 
though with difficulty, to cry aloud for justice. "Poor souls!" 
said the king to one of his atteadants, " for a little money they 
would do as much against their commanders." One soldier, 
seized by contagious sympathy, having demanded from Heaven a 
blessing on oppressed and fallen majesty, his officer, overhearing 
the prayer, beat him to the ground in the king's presence. "The 
punishment, methinks, exceeds the offense." This was the reflec- 
tion which Charles formed on that occasion. 

The Scots protested against the proceedings ; the Dutch in- 
terceded in the king's behalf; the Prince of Wales sent a blank 
sheet of paper, subscribed with his name and sealed with his arms, 
on which his father's judges might write what conditions they 
pleased as the price of his life. Solicitations were found fruitless 
with men whose resolutions were fixed and irrevocable. 

§ 15. Three days were allowed the king between his sentence 
and his execution. This interval he passed with great tranquil- 
lity, chiefly in reading and devotion. All his family that remain- 
ed in England were allowed access to him. It consisted only of 
the Princess Elizabeth and of Prince Henry, afterward Duke of 
Gloucester, for the Duke of York had made his escape. Thfe 
palace of Whitehall was destined for the execution ; for it was 
intended, by choosing his own palace, to display more evidently 
the triumph of popular justice over royal majesty. The scaffold 
was erected in front of the central window of the banqueting-hall ; 
and when Charles stepped out of the vi^indow upon the scaffold, 



% 



A.D. 1.649. EXECUTION AND CHARACTER OF CHARLES. 449 

he found it so surrounded with soldiers that he could not expect 
to be heard by any of the people : he addressed, therefore, his 
discourse to the few persons who were about him ; justified his 
own innocence in the late fatal wars, though he acknowledged the 
equity of his execution in the eyes of his Maker ; and observed 
that an unjust sentence, which he had suffered to take effect, was 
now punished by an unjust sentence upon himself. When he was 
preparing himself for the block, Bishop Juxon, who had been al- 
lowed to attend him, called to him, " There is, sir, but one stage 
more, which, though turbulent and troublesome, is yet a very short 
one. Consider, it will soon carry you a great way ; it will carry 
you from earth to heaven ; and there you shall find to your great 
joy, the prize to which you hasten, a crown of glory." " I go," 
replied the king,, "from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown, 
where no disturbance can have place." At one blow was his 
head severed from his body. A man in a vizor performed the 
office of executioner ; another, in a like disguise, held up to the 
spectators the head streaming with blood, and cried aloud, " This 
is the head of a traitor!" (Jan. 30, 1649). 

Charles was of a comely presence ; of a sweet, but melancholy, 
aspect. His face was regular, handsome, and well-complexioned ; 
his body strong, healthy, and justly proportioned ; and being of a 
middle stature, he was capable of enduring the greatest fatigues. 
He excelled in horsemanship and other exercises, and possessed 
all the exterior as well as many of the essential qualities which 
form an accomplished prince. The greatest blemish in his char- 
acter was a want of sincerity : "a fault," says Mr. Hallam {Const. 
Hist, ii., 229), " that appeared in all parts of his life, and from 
which no one who has paid the subject any attention will pretend 
to exculpate him." 

In a few days the Commons passed votes to abolish the House 
of Peers and the monarchy, and they ordered a new great seal to 
be engraved, on which their house was represented, with this 
legend, on the first tear of freedom, by god's blessing, re- 
stored, 1648. The forms of all public business were changed 
from the king's name to that of the keepers of the liberties of 
England. And it was declared high treason to proclaim, or any 
otherwise acknowledge, Charles Stuart, commonly called Prince 
of Wales. The Duke of Hamilton, as Earl of Cambridge in En- 
gland, Lord Capel, and the Earl of Holland, Avere condemned and 
executed for treason. 



^ 



450 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. XXII. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1625. 



1626. 
1627. 

1628. 



1637. 

1638. 
1639. 
1G40. 



Accession of Charles I. and marriage 
with Henrietta of France. 

First Parliament. 

Second Parliament. 

Buckingham's expedition to the Isle 
of Rhe. 

Third Parliament. 

Petition of Right. 

Buckingham assassinated by Felton. 

Trial of Hampden for refusing to pay- 
ship-money. 

The Covenant established in Scotland. 

War with the Scots. 

Fourth Parliament, after 11 years' ces- 
sation. Meets April 13, dissolved j 
May 5. 

The Scots invade England. Battle of ! 
Newburn. | 

Meeting of the Long Parliament, Nov. 3. 1 



A.r). 
1640. 
1641. 



1642. 



1643. 
1644. 
1645. 

164T. 

1648. 

1649. 



Impeachment of Strafford. 

Triennial act. Attainder and execu- 
tion of Strafford. The Star Chamber 
and High Commission Court abolish- 
ed. Irish rebellion. The "-Remon- 
strance." 

Accusations of Lord Kimbolton and 
the five members. The king sets up 
his standard at Nottingham. 

Battle of Edge Hill. 

Hampden killed at Chalgrave Field. 

Battle of Marston Moor. 

Archbishop Laud executed. 

Battle of Naseb}^ 

The king given up by the Scots. 

Colonel Pride "-purges" the House of 
Commons. 

Trial and execution of the king. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



ICON BASILIKE. 

Shortly after the execution of Charles I. 
appeared a work entitled '•'• Icon Basilike 
(,elKu)v /3aa-i\iKi], kingly imnge)^ or a Portrait- 
ure of His Sacred Majesty in his Solitude 
and Sufferings," which made a great im- 
pression on the public, and is said by Lord 
Shaftesbuiy [Characteristics^ L, 193) to have 
contributed in no small degree to obtain for 
Charles the titles of saint and martyr. It 
consists of meditations or soliloquies on the 
king's calamities, and was generally believed 
at the time to be the composition of Charles 
himself. Hence it met with a great sale, 
and in the middle of last century it was com- 
puted that 47 editions, or 48,500 copies, had 
been issued (Jos. Ames, in London Magazine 
for 1756). In 1649, Milton was commission- 
ed by the Parliament to answer it, which he 
did in a treatise called *■' Iconoclastes" {eko- 
voK\d(nr]^^ the image breaker). In this piece 
Milton treats the '•'- Icon Basilike" as a gen- 
uine work, though in the preface he inti- 
mates a doubt respecting its authorship. 
Charles appears, at all events, to have seen 
the work in manuscript when a prisoner in 
Carisbrooke Castle, and to have revised some 
passages of it with his own hand; but the 
revised copy is not that which has been 
printed. It is now pretty generally allowed 



that the "-Icon" is not the work of King 
Charles, but of Dr. Gauden, a clergyman of 
Bocking, and author of a Life of Hooker. 
Lord Anglesey left a memorandum in his 
handwriting that he Avas told in 1675, both 
by Charles II. and by the Duke of York, that 
the work was not written by their father 
(Wagstaff's Vindication of King Charlei^-^ 
p. 3). Burnet was also told by James, in 
1673, that the book was the composition of 
Dr. Gauden (JFbrfcs, vol. i., p. 76). It is re- 
markable, too, that Lord Clarendon, in his 
long and labored panegyric of King Charles, 
says not a word about this production ; and 
it would seem, from a passage in his corre- 
spondence, that he Avas aware it was not 
genuine. After the Restoration, Dr. Gau- 
den made known at court his claims to the 
authorship of the book, and received as the 
price of his secrecy, first the bishopric of Ex- 
eter, and afterward that of Worcester. Nev- 
ertheless, Dr. C. Wordsworth has undertaken 
to vindicate the authorship of King Charles, 
in a work published in 1824, entitled. Who 
vrote Eikon Basilike f Those who desire to 
enter more fully into this subject of literary 
controversy are referred to that work, and 
to Harris, Life of Charles L, ii., 124; Lin- 
gard. Hist, of England^ viii., app. R. R. R. ; 
Hallam's Constitutional History, ii., 230. 



% 




Pattern for a crown of the Protector Oliver Cromwell. Otav. : olivae . d . g . e . r . 
ANG . SCO . HiB &c PEO. Bust of Frotcctor to left. Rev. : pax . qvjeeitve . bello. 
Crowned shield with arms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the coat of Cromwell 
in an escutcheon of pretense ; above, 1653. 



r 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE COMMONWEALTH. 1649-1660. 

§ 1. State of England, Scotland, and Ireland. § 2. Cromwell's Campaign 
in Ireland. § 3. Charles II. in Scotland. Cromwell's Campaign in 
Scotland. Battle of Dunbar. § 4. Charles crowned at Scone. He ad- 
vances into England. Battle of Worcester. Flight and Escape of Charles. 
§ 5. Settlement of the Commonwealth. § 6. Dutch War. Blake and 
Van Tromp. § 7. Cromwell expels the Parliament. § 8. Barebone's 
Parliament. Cromwell Protector. §9. Defeat of the Dutch and Peace 
with Holland. § 10. Cromwell's Administration. His first Parliament. 
Royalist Insurrection. War Avith Spain. § 11- Blake's naval Exploits. 
Jamaica conquered. Death of Blake, §12. Cromwell's vigorous Gov- 
ernment. His Character. § 13. His second Parliament. He refuses 
the Crown. The "humble Petition and Advice." §14. Dunkirk taken. 
Discontents and Insurrections. § 15. Cromwell's Sickness, Death, and 
Character. § 16. Richard Cromwell Protector. His Deposition. § 17. 
Long Parliament restored and expelled. Committee of Safety. § 18. 
General Monk declares for the Parliament. The Parliament restored. 
Monk enters London, Long Parliament dissolved. § 19. A new Par- 
liament. The Restoration. 

§ 1. The death of the king was followed by a dissolution of all 
authority, both civil and ecclesiastical. Every man had framed 
the model of a republic ; every man had adjusted his own system 
of religion. The Millenarians, or Fifth Monarchy men, required 
that government itself should be abolished, and all human powers 
be laid in the dust, in order to pave the way for the dominion of 
Christ, whose second coming they suddenly expected. One party 
declaimed against tithes and a hireling priesthood ; another in- 
veighed against the law and its professors. The Koyalists, con- 
sisting of the nobles and more considerable gentry, were inflamed 



452 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. XXHI. 

with the highest resentment and indignation against those ignoble 
adversaries who had reduced them to subjection. The Presby- 
terians, whose credit at first supported the arms of the Parlia- 
ment, were enraged to find that, by the treachery or superior cun- 
ninsf of their associates, the fruits of all their successful labors 

rr-^ 

were ravished from them. The young king, poor and neglected, 
living sometimes in Holland, sometimes in France, sometimes in 
Jersey, comforted himself amid his present distresses with the 
hopes of better fortune. 

The only solid support of the Republican independent faction 
was an army of nearly 50,000 men. But this army, formidable 
from its discipline and courage as well as its numbers, was act- 
uated by a spirit that rendered it dangerous to the assembly which 
had assumed the command over it. Cromwell alone was able to 
guide and direct all these unsettled humors. But, though he re- 
tained for a time all orders of men under a seeming obedience to 
the Parliament, he was secretly paving the way to his own unlim- 
ited authority. 

The Parliament began gradually to assume more the air of a 
legal power. They admitted a few of the excluded and absent 
members, but on condition that they should sign an approbation 
of whatever had been done in their absence with regard to the 
king's trial. They issued some writs for new elections in places 
where they hoped to have interest enough to bring in their own 
friends and dependents. They named an executive council of 
state, 38 in number ; and as soon as they should have settled the 
nation, they professed their intention of restoring the power to the 
people, from whom they acknowledged they had entirely derived 
it. 

The situation alone of Scotland and Ireland gave any imme- 
diate disquietude to the new republic. After the successive de- 
feats of Montrose and Hamilton, and the ruin of their parties, the 
whole authority in Scotland fell into the hands of Argyle and the 
rigid Churchmen. Though invited by the English Parliament to 
model their government into a republican form, they resolved still 
to adhere to monarchy, which, by the express terms of their cov- 
enant, they had engaged to defend. After the execution, there- 
fore, of the king, they immediately proclaimed his son and suc- 
cessor Charles II. (Feb. 5),"but upon condition of his strict ob- 
servance of the Covenant. The aiFairs of Ireland demanded more 
immediate attention. When Charles I. was a prisoner among the 
Scots, he sent orders to Ormond, if he could not defend himself, 
rather to submit to the English than the Irish rebels ; and ac- 
cordingly, the lord lieutenant, being reduced to extremities, deliv- 
ered up Dublin, Drogheda, Dundalk, and other garrisons, to 



A.D. 1649. AFFAIRS IN IRELAND. 453 

Colonel Jones, who took possession of them in the name of the 
English Parliament. Ormoncl himself went over to England, and 
after some time joined the queen and the Prince of \Yales in 
France. Meanwhile, the Irish Catholics, disgusted with the in- 
discretion and insolence of Rinuccini, the papal nuncio, and dread- 
ing the power of the English Parliament, saw no resource or safety 
but in giving support to the declining authority of the king. The 
Earl of Clanricarde secretly formed a combination among the 
Catholics ; he attacked the nuncio, whom he chased out of the 
island ; and he sent to Paris a deputation, inviting the lord lieu- 
tenant to return and take possession of his government. 

Ormond, on his arrival in Ireland, had at first to contend with 
many difficulties. But in the distractions which attended the fi- 
nal struggle in England, the Pepublican faction totally neglected 
Ireland, and allowed Jones, and the forces in Dublin, to remain in 
the utmost weakness and necessity. The lord lieutenant, havmg 
at last assembled an army of 16,000 men, advanced upon the Par- 
liamentary garrisons. Dundalk, Drogheda, and several other 
towns surrendered or were taken. Dublin was threatened with 
a siege ; and the affairs of the lieutenant appeared in so prosper- 
ous a condition, that the young king entertained thoughts of com- 
ing in person into Ireland. 

When the English commonwealth was brought to some toler- 
able settlement, men began to cast their eyes toward the neigh- 
boring island. After the execution of the king, Cromwell him- 
self began to aspire to a command where so much glory, he saw, 
might be won, and so much authority acquired ; and he was ap- 
pointed by the Parliament lord lieutenant and general of Ireland. 

§ 2. The new lieutenant immediately applied himselfl, with his 
wonted vigilance, to make preparations for his expedition. He 
sent a re-enforcement of 4000 men to Colonel Jones, who unex- 
pectedly attacked Ormond near Dublin; chased. his army off the 
field ; seized all their tents, baggage, ammunition ; and returned 
victorious to Dublin, after killing 1000 men, and taking above 
2000 prisoners (Aug. 2). This loss, which threw some blemish 
on the military character of Ormond, was irreparable to the royal 
cause. Cromwell soon after arrived with fresh forces in Dublin, 
where he was welcomed with shouts and rejoicings (Aug. 18). He 
hastened to Drogheda, which, though well fortified, was taken by 
assault, Cromwell himself, along with Ireton, leading on his men. 
A cruel slaughter was made of the garrison, orders having been 
issued to give no quarter (Sept. 12). Cromwell pretended to re- 
taliate, by this severe execution, the cruelty of the Irish massacre ; 
but he well knew that almost the whole garrison was English ; 
and his justice was only a barbarous policy, in order to terrify all 



454 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. XXHL 

other garrisons from resistance. His policy, however, had the de- 
sired effect. Wexford was taken, and the same severity exercised 
as at Drogheda. Every town before which Cromwell presented 
himself now opened its gates without resistance. Next spring, 
having received a re-enforcement from England, he made himself 
master of Kilkenny and Clonmel, the only places where he met 
with any vigorous resistance. Ormond soon after left the island, 
and delegated his authority to Clanricarde, who found affairs so 
desperate as to admit of no remedy. The Irish were glad to em- 
brace banishment as a refuge. Above 40,000 men passed into 
foreign service; and Cromwell, well pleased to free the island 
from enemies who never could be cordially reconciled to the En- 
glish, gave them full liberty and leisure for their embarkation. 

§3. While Cromwell proceeded with such uninterrupted suc- 
cess in Ireland, which in the space of nine months he had almost 
entirely subdued, fortune was preparing for him a new scene of 
victory and triumph in Scotland. Charles, by the advice of his 
friends, who thought it ridiculous to refuse a kingdom merely from 
regard to Episcopacy, had been induced to accept the crown of 
Scotland on the terms offered by the commissioners of the Cove- 
nanters. But what chiefly determined him to comply was the 
account brought him of the fate of Montrose, which blasted all his 
hopes of recovering his inheritance by force. That gallant but 
unfortunate nobleman, having received some assistance from a few 
of the northern powers, had landed in the Orkneys with about 
500 men, most of them Germans. .He armed several of the in- 
habitants of the Orkneys, and carried them over wdth him to 
Caithness, but was disappointed in his hopes that affection to the 
king's service, and the fame of his former exploits, would make 
the Highlanders flock to his standard. Strahan, one of the gen- 
erals of the Covenanters, fell unexpectedly on Montrose, who had 
no horse to bring him intelligence. The Royalists v/ere put to 
flight, all of them either killed or taken prisoners, and Montrose 
himself, having put on the disguise of a peasant, was perfidiously 
delivered into the hands of his enemies by a friend to whom he 
had intrusted his person. In this disguise he was carried to Edin- 
burgh, amid the insults of his enemies, when he was tried and con- 
demned by the Parliament, and hanged with every circumstance 
of ignominy and cruelty (May 21, 1650). 

The king, after the defeat of Montrose, assured the Scotch Par- 
liament that he had forbidden his enterprise, though there can be 
no doubt that he had sanctioned it. He then set sail for Scot- 
land, but before he was permitted to land he was required to sign 
the Covenant ; and many sermons and lectures were made him, 
exhorting him to persevere in that holy confederacy. He soon 



A.D. 1649, 1650. CAMPAIGN IN SCOTLAND. ' 455 

found that lie was considered as a mere pageant of state, and that 
the few remains of royalty which he possessed served only to draw 
on him the greater indignities. He was constrained by the Cove- 
nanters to issue a declaration, wherein he desired to be deeply 
humbled and afflicted in spirit because of his father's opposing the 
Covenant and shedding the blood of God*s people throughout his 
dominions ; lamented the idolatry of his mother, and the tolera- 
tion of it in his father's house ; and professed that he would have 
no enemies but the enemies of the Covenant. Still, the Cove- 
nanters and the clergy were diffident of his sincerity ; and he 
found his authority entirely annihilated, as well as his character 
degraded. He was consulted in ^o public measure ; and his fa- 
vor was sufficient to discredit any pretender to office or advance- 
ment. 

As soon as the English Parliament found that the treaty be- 
tween the king and the Scots would probably terminate in an ac- 
commodation, they made preparations for a war, which, they saw, 
would in the end prove inevitable. Cromwell, having broken the 
force and courage of the Irish, was sent for, and he left the com- 
mand of Ireland to Ireton. It was expected that Fairfax, who 
still retained^the name of general, would continue to act against 
Scotland. But he entertained insurmountable scruples against 
invading the Scots, whom he considered as united to England by 
the sacred bands of the Covenant ; and he accordingly resigned 
his commission, which was bestowed on Cromwell, who was de- 
clared captain general of all the forces in England. Cromwell 
crossed the Tweed on July 16, and entered Scotland with an army 
of 16,000 men. Lesley, the Scotch general, intrenched himself 
in a fortified camp between Edinburgh and Leith, and took care 
to remove every thing from the country which could serve for the 
subsistence of the English army. Cromwell, having advanced to 
the Scottish camp, and vainly endeavored to bring Lesley to a 
battle, began to be in want of provisions, which reached him only 
by sea. He therefore retired to Dunbar. Lesley followed him, 
and he encamped on Down Hill, which overlooked that town. 
I'here lay many difficult passes between Dunbar and Berwick, 
and of these Lesley had taken possession. The English general 
was reduced to extremities. He had even embraced a resolution 
of sending by sea all his foot and artillery to England, and of 
breaking through, at all hazards, with his cavalry. The madness 
of the Scottish ecclesiastics saved him from this loss and dishonor. 
Night and day the ministers had been wrestling with the Lord in 
prayer, as they termed it, and they fancied that the sectarian and 
heretical army, together with Agag, meaning Cromwell, was de- 
livered into their hands. Upon the faith of these visions, thev 



456 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap-XXIII. 

forced their general, in spite of his remonstrances, to descend into 
the plain, with a view of attacking the English in their retreat. 
Cromwell, looking through a glass, saw the enemy's camp in mo- 
tion, and foretold, without the help of revelations, that the Lord 
had delivered them into his hands. He gave orders immediately 
for an attack (Sept. 3). The Scots, though double in number to 
the English, were soon put to flight, and pursued with great 
slaughter. No victory could be more complete. About 3000 of 
the enemy were slain, and 9000 taken prisoners. Cromwell pur- 
sued his advantage, and took possession of Edinburgh and Leith. 
The remnant of the Scottish army fled to Stirling. The approach 
of the winter season, and an ague which seized Cromwell, kept 
him from pushing the victory any farther. 

§ 4. The defeat of the Scots was regarded by the king as a for- 
tunate event, as the vanquished were now obliged to give him 
more authority, and apply to him for support. He was crowned 
at Scone Jan. 1, 1651, with great pomp and solemnity. But, 
amid all this appearance of respect, Charles remained in the 
hands of the most rigid Covenanters, and was little better than a 
prisoner. As soon as the season would permit, the Scottish army 
was assembled under Hamilton and Lesley, and the king was al- 
lowed to join the camp before Stirling. Cromwell, having failed 
to bring the Scottish generals to an engagement, crossed the frith, 
and took Perth, the seat of government. 

Charles now embraced a resolution worthy of a young prince 
contending for empire. Having the way open, he resolved im- 
mediately to march into England, and persuaded most of the gen- 
erals to enter into the same views. But Argyle obtained per- 
mission to retire to his own home. The army, to the number of 
14,000 men, rose from their camp, and advanced by great jour- 
neys toward the south. Cromwell was surprised at this move- 
ment of the royal army ; but he quicklyr repaired his oversight by 
his vigilance and activity, and, leaving Monk with 7000 men to 
complete the reduction of Scotland, he followed the king with all 
the expedition possible. 

Charles found himself disappointed in his expectations of in- 
creasing his army. The Scots, terrified at the prospect of so haz- 
ardous an enterprise, fell off in great numbers. The English 
Presbyterians and Royalists, having no warning given them of 
the king's approach, were not prepared to join him. When he 
arrived at Worcester he found that his forces, extremely harassed 
by a hasty and fatiguing march, were not more numerous than 
when he rose from his camp at Stirling. With an army of about 
30,000 men, Cromwell fell upon Worcester, and, attacking it on 
all sides, after a desperate resistance of four or five hours, broke 



A.D. 1G51. FLIGHT AND ESCAPE OF CHARLES. 457 

in upon the disordered Royalists (Sept. 3). The streets of the 
city were strewed with dead. The whole Scottish army was 
either killed or taken prisoners. The country people, inflamed 
with national antipathy, put to death the few that escaped from 
the field of battle. 

The king left Worcester at six o'clock in the afternoon, and, 
without halting, traveled about 26 miles, in company with 50 or 
60 of his friends. To provide for his safety, he thought it best to 
separate himself from his companions, and he left them without 
communicating his intentions to any of them. By the Earl of 
Derby's directions, he went to Boscobel, a lone house in the bor- 
ders of Staffordshire, inhabited by one Penderell, a farmer. To 
this man Charles intrusted himself The man had dignity of 
sentiments much above his condition ; and, though death was de- 
nounced against all who concealed the king, and a great reward 
promised to any one who should betray him, he professed and 
maintained unshaken fidelity.* He took the assistance of his four 
brothers, equally honorable with himself, and, having clothed the 
king in a garb like their own, they led him into the neighboring 
wood, put a bill into his hand, and pretended to employ them- 
selves in cutting fagots. Some nights he lay upon straw in the 
house, and fed on such homely fare as it afforded. For a better 
concealment, he mounted upon an oak, where he sheltered him- 
self among the leaves and branches for twenty-four hours. He 
saw several soldiers pass by. All of them were intent in search 
of the king, and some expressed, in his hearing, their earnest 
wishes of seizing him. This tree was afterward denominated the 
Royal Oak, and for many years was regarded by the neighborhood 
with great veneration. Charles passed through many other ad- 
ventures, assumed different disguises, in every step was exposed 
to imminent perils, and received daily proofs of uncorruptedfideU 
ity and attachment. The sagacity of a smith, who remarked that 
his horse's shoes had been made in the north, not in the west, as 
he pretended, once detected him, and he narrowly escaped. At 
Shoreham, in Sussex, a vessel was at last found, in which he 
embarked, and, after 41 days' concealment, he arrived safely at 
Fecamp, in Normandy (Oct. 17). No fewer than 40 men and 
women, had, at different times, been privy to his concealment 
and escape. 

§ 5. Notwithstanding the late wars and bloodshed, and the 
present factions, the power of England had never, in any period, 
appeared so formidable to the neighboring kingdoms as it did at 
this time, in the hands of the Commonwealth. The power of 

* Two of the descendants of this family still receive pensions for their 
services on this occasion. 

u 



458 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. XXHI. 

peace and war was lodged in the same hands with the power of 
imposing taxes ; a numerous and well-disci|)Hned army was on 
foot; and excellent officers were formed in every branch of service. 
The confusion into which all things had been thrown had given 
opportunity to men of low stations to break through their obscu- 
rity, and to raise themselves by their courage to commands which 
they were well qualified to exercise, but to which their birth could 
never have entitled them, Blake, a man of great courage and a 
generous disposition, who had defended Lyme and Taunton with 
unshaken obstinacy against the late king, was made an admiral ; 
and though he had hitherto been accustomed only to land-service, 
into which, too, he had not entered till past fifty years of age, he 
soon raised the naval glory of the nation to a greater height than 
it had ever attained in any former period. A fleet was put under 
his command, with which he chased into the Tagus Prince Rupert, 
to whom the king had intrusted that squadron which had deserted 
to him. The King of Portugal having refused Blake admittance, 
and aided Prince Rupert in making his escape, the English ad- 
miral made prize of twenty Portuguese ships richly laden ; and 
he threatened still farther vengeance. The King of Portugal, 
dreading so dangerous a foe to his newly-acquired dominion, 
made all possible submission to the haughty republic, and was at 
last admitted to negotiate the renewal of his alliance with En- 
gland. 

All the settlements in America, except New England, which 
had been planted entirely by the Puritans, adhered to the royal 
party, even after the settlement of the republic, but were soon 
subdued. With equal ease were Jersey, Guernsey, Scilly, and 
the Isle of Man brought under subjection to the republic ; and 
the sea, which had been much infested by privateers from these 
islands, was rendered safe to English commerce. The Countess 
of Derby defended the Isle of Man, and with great reluctance 
yielded to the necessity of surrendering to the enemy. Ireton, 
the new deputy of Ireland, at the head of an army 30,000 strong, 
prosecuted the work of subduing the revolted Irish ; and he de- 
feated them in many rencounters, which, though of themselves of 
no great moment, proved fatal to their declining cause. He died 
of the plague at Limerick, after he had captured that town by a 
vigorous siege. The command of the army in Ireland devolved 
on Lieutenant General Ludlow. The civil government of the 
island was intrusted to Commissioners. 

The successes which attended Monk in Scotland were no less 
decisive. After taking Stirling Castle (whence the n^ional rec- 
ords and regalia were conveyed to London), and gaining other ad- 
vantages, he carried Dundee- by assault ; and, following the ex- 



A. D. 1651. DUTCH WAR. ' 459 

ample and instructions of Cromwell, put all the inhabitants to 
the sword, in order to strike a general terror into the kingdom. 
Warned by this example, Aberdeen, St. Andrew's, Inverness, and 
other towns and forti^, yielded, of their own accord, to the enemy. 
ArgA'le made his submissions to the English Commonwealth ; and 
Scotland, which had hitherto, by means of its situation, poverty, 
and valor, maintained its independence, was reduced to total sub- 
jection. The English Parliament sent Sir Harry Yane, St. John, 
and other Commissioners to settle that kingdom. 

§ 6. By the total reduction and pacification of the British do- 
minions, the Parliament had leisure to look abroad, and to exert 
their vigor in foreign enterprises. The Dutch were the first that 
felt the weight of their arms. After the death (in 1650) of Wil- 
liam, Prince of Orange, who had married an English princess, and 
whose policy had been favorable to the royal cause, the Parlia- 
ment thought that the time had arrived for cementing a closer 
confederacy with the Dutch Eepublican party, which had now 
gained the ascendant. St. John, chief justice, who was sent over 
to the Hague, had entertained the idea of forming a kind of coa- 
lition between the two republics ; but the States offered only to 
renew the former alliances with England ; and the haughty St. 
John, disgusted with this disappointment, as Avell as incensed at 
many affronts which had been offered him with impunity by the 
retainers of the palatine and Orange families, and indeed by the 
populace in general, returned into England, and, by his influence 
over Cromwell, determined the Parliament to change the pur- 
posed alliance into a furious war against the United Provinces. 
To cover these hostile intentions, the Parliament embraced such 
measures as they ktiew would give disgust to the States. They 
framed the famous Act of Navigation, which prohibited all nations 
from importing into England in their bottoms any commodity 
which was not the growth and manufacture of their own country. 
By this law the Dutch were principally affected, because they sub- 
sisted chiefly by being the general carriers and factors of Europe. 
Letters of reprisal were granted to several merchants, who com- 
plained of injuries, and above 80 Dutch ships were made prizes. 
Tromp, an admiral of gi^eat renown, with a fleet of 42 sail, being 
forced by stress of weather, as he alleged, to take shelter in the 
road of Dover, there met with Blake, who commanded an English 
fleet much inferior in number. Who was the aggressor in the 
action which ensued between these two admirals, both of them 
men of such prompt and fiery dispositions, it is not easy to de- 
termine. Blake, though his squadron consisted of only 15 ves- 
sels, re-enforced, after the battle began, by eight under Captain 
Bourne, maintained the fight with bravery for five hours, and sunk 



460 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. XXHI. 

one ship of tHe enemy, and took another (May 19, 1652). Night 
parted the combatants, and the Dutch fleet retired toward the 
coast of Holland. The Dutch dispatched their Pensionary Paw 
to conciliate matters ; but the imperious Parhament would heark- 
en to no explanations or remonstrances. They demanded that, 
without any farther delay or inquiry, reparation should be made 
for all the damages which the English had sustained ; and when 
this demand was not complied with, they dispatched orders for 
commencing war against the United Provinces (July 8). Several 
naval engagements followed. Sir George Ayscue, though he com- 
manded only 40 ships, engaged, near Plymouth, the famous De 
Ruyter, who had under him 40 ships of war, with 30 merchant- 
men (Aug. 16). Night parted them in the greatest heat of the 
action. De Ruyter next day sailed oif with his convoy. The 
English fleet had been so shattered in the fight that it was not 
able to pursue. Near the coast of Kent, Blake, seconded by 
Bourne and Penn, met a Dutch squadron nearly equal in num- 
bers, commanded by De Witt and De Ruyter (Sept. 28). A bat- 
tle was fought, much to the disadvantage of the Dutch. Their 
rear admiral was boarded and taken. Two other vessels were 
sunk, and one blown up. The Dutch next day made sail toward 
Holland. On Nov. 28-, Tromp, seconded by De Ruyter, met, near 
the Goodwins, with Blake, whose fleet was inferior to the Dutch, 
but who had resolved not to decline the combat. In this action 
the Dutch had the advantage, an^ Blake himself was wounded. 
After this victory, Tromp, in a bravado, fixed a broom to his main- 
mast, as if he were resolved to sweep the sea entirely of all English 
vessels. 

Great preparations were made in England in order to wipe off 
this disgrace. A gallant fleet of 80 sail was fitted out. Blake 
commanded, and under him Monk, who had been sent for from 
Scotland. When the English lay off Portland (Feb. 18, 1653), 
they descried, near break of day, a Dutch fleet of 76 vessels sail- 
ing up the Channel, along with a convoy of 300 merchantmen. 
Tromp, and under him De Ruyter, commanded the Dutch. This 
battle was the most furious that had yet been fought between 
these warlike and rival nations. Three days was the combat con- 
tinued with the utmost rage and obstinacy ; and Blake, who was 
victor, gained not more honor than Tromp, who was vanquished. 
The Dutch admiral made a skillful retreat, and saved all the mer- 
chant ships except 30. He lost, however, 11 ships of war, had 
2000 men slain, and near 1500 taken prisoners. The English, 
though many of their ships were extremely shattered, had but one 
sunk. Their slain were not much inferior in number to those of 
the enemy. 



AD. 1652, 1653. THE PARLIAMENT EXPELLED. 461 

§ 7. Meanwhile, a domestic revolution was preparing. Crom- 
well saw that the Parliament entertained a jealousy of his power 
and ambition, and were resolved to bring him to a subordination 
under their authority. Without scruple or delay he resolved to 
prevent them. He summoned a general council of officers, in 
which it was presently voted to frame a remonstrance to the Par- 
liament. After complaining of the arrears due to the army, they 
desired the Parliament to reflect how many years they had sat, 
and that it was now full time for them to give place to others. 
They therefore desired them to summon a new Parliament, and 
establish that free and equal government which they had so long 
promised to the people. The Parliament took this remonstrance 
in ill part, and much altercation ensued. At last Cromwell, being 
informed that they had come to a resolution not to dissolve them- 
selves, but to fill up the House by new elections, immediately 
hastened to the House, and carried a body of 300 soldiers along 
with him. Some of them he placed at the door, some in the lob- 
by, some on the stairs. He first addressed himself to his friend 
St. John, and told him that he had come with a purpose of doing 
what grieved him to the very soul, and what he had earnestly, 
with tears, besought the Lord not to impose upon him ; but there 
was a necessity, in order to the glory of God and good of the na- 
tion. He then sat down for some time and heard the debate. He 
beckoned Harrison, and told liim that he now judged the Parlia- 
ment ripe for a dissolution. " Sir," said Harrison, " the work is 
very great and dangerous ; I desire you seriously to consider be- 
fore you engage in it." "You say well," replied the general^ 
and thereupon sat still about a quarter of an hour. When the 
question was ready to be put, he said again to Harrison, " This is 
the time : I must do it." And suddenly starting up, he loaded 
the Parliament with the vilest reproaches for their tyranny, am- 
bition, oppression, and robbery of the public. Then stamping 
with his foot, which was a signal for the soldiers to enter, "For 
shame !" said he to the Parliament; "get you gone; give place 
to honester men ; to those who will more faithfully discharge their 
trust. You are no longer a Parliament ; I tell you, you are no 
longer a Parliament. The Lord has done with you : he has chosen 
other instruments for carrying on his work." Sir Harry Vane ex- 
claiming against this proceeding, he cried with a loud voice, " O 
Sir Harry Vane ! Sir Harry Vane ! The Lord deliver me from 
Sir Harry Vane !" Taking hold of Martin by the cloak, " Thou 
art a whoremaster," said he. To another, "Thou art an adul- 
terer." To a third, " Thou art a drunkard and a glutton ;" "and 
thou an extortioner," to a fourth. He commanded a soldier to 
seize the mace. " What shall we do with this bawble ? Here, 



462 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. XXIII. 

take it away. It is you," said he, addressing himself to the House, 
" that have forced me upon this. I have sought the Lord night 
and day, that he would rather slay me than put me upon this 
work." Having commanded the soldiers to clear the hall, he 
himself went out the last, and, ordering the doors to be locked, 
departed to his lodgings in Whitehall (April 20, 1653). 

The indignation entertained by the people against such a man- 
ifest usurpation was not so violent as might naturally be ex- 
pected. Congratulatory addresses, the first of the kind, were 
made to Cromwell by the fleet, by the army, even by many of 
the chief corporations and counties of England, but especially by 
the several congregations of saints dispersed throughout the king- 
dom. 

§ 8. Cromwell, however, thought it requisite to establish some- 
thing which might bear the face of a Commonwealth ; and, with- 
out any more ceremony, by the advice of his council of officers, he 
sent summonses to 128 persons of different towns and counties of 
England, to five of Scotland, to six of Ireland. He pretended, by 
his sole act and deed, to devolve upon these the whole authority 
of the state. This legislative power they were to exercise during 
15 months, and they were afterward to choose the same number 
of persons who might succeed them in that high and important 
office. In this assembly, which voted themselves a Parliament 
(July 4), were many persons of the rank of gentlemen ; but the 
greater part were Fifth Monarchy men. Anabaptists, and Inde- 
pendents. They began with seeking God by prayer. They con- 
templated some extraordinary schemes of legislation, but had not 
leisure to finish any, except that which established the legal sol- 
emnization of marriage by the civil magistrate alone. Among 
the fanatics of the House there was an active member, much noted 
for his long prayers, sermons, and harangues. He was a leather- 
seller in London : his name. Praise- God Barehone. This ridic- 
ulous name struck the fancy of the people, and they commonly 
affixed to this assembly the appellation of Barebone's Parliament. 
Another name for it was "the Little Parliament." 

Cromwell, finding this assembly not so obsequious as he ex- 
pected, resolved to bring it to a close. Accordingly, on Dec. 13, 
Sydenham, an Independent, suddenly proposed that the Parlia- 
ment should, by a formal deed or assignment, resign its power into 
the hands of Cromwell. Rouse, the speaker, who was one of 
Sydenham's party, forthwith left the chair, followed by several 
members, and the few who remained in the House were ejected by 
Colonel White, with a party of soldiers. Cromwell at first re- 
fused the offer ; but the resignation of their powers being signed 
by the majority of the House, he accepted the trust, and a deed 



A.D. 1653, 1654. 



CROMWELL PROTECTOR. 



463 



was drawn np, called the ynstrument of Government, which received 
the approval of the council of officers. By this instrument Crom- 
well received the title of " His Highness the Lord Protector," and 
a council was appointed of not more than 21, nor less than 13 
persons, who were to enjoy their office during life or good be- 
havior. The Protector was bound to summon a Parliament ev- 
ery three years, and allow them to sit five months without ad- 
journment, prorogation, or dissolution. The bills which they 
passed were to be presented to the Protector for his assent ; but 
if within twenty days it were not obtained, they were to become 
laws by the authority alone of Parliament. A standing army for 
Great Britain and Ireland was established of 20,000 foot and 
10,000 horse, and funds were assigned for their support. The 
Protector was to enjoy his office during life, and on his death the 
place was immediately to be supplied by the council. 

§ 9. In spite of the distracted scenes which the civil government 
exhibited in England, the military force was exerted with vigor, 
conduct, and unamimity, and never did the kingdom appear more 
formidable to all foreign nations. The English fleet gained sev- 
eral victories over the Dutch, in the last of which, Yan Tromp, 
while gallantly animating his men, was shot through the heart 
with a musket ball (July 31, 1653). Monk and Penn commanded 





Medal given for service in the action -(vitli the Dutch, .July 31, 1653. Obv. : a naval battle : 
above, foe emi>-e>'t service rs' saving y teivmph eieeed ix fight \vh y dvch in iyit 
1653. Rev. : arms of the three kingdoms suspended on an anchor. 

in this engagement, Blake being ill on shore. The States, over- 
whelmed with the expense of the war, terrified by their losses, and 
mortified by their defeats, were extremely desirous of an accom- 
modation with an enemy whom they found, by experience, too 
powerful for them; and a peace was at last signed by Cromwell 
(April 5, 1654). A defensive league was made between the two 
republics : the honor of the flag was yielded to the English. 



464 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. XXIH, 

§ 10. The new Parliament, summoned by the Protector, met on 
Sept. 4, 1654. The elections had been conducted agreeably to the 
Instrument of Government, in a method favorable to liberty. All 
the small boroughs, places the most exposed to influence and cor- 
ruption, had been deprived of the franchise. Of 400 members 
which represented England, 270 were chosen by the counties. 
The rest were elected by London and the more considerable cor- 
porations. The lower populace too, so easily guided or deceived, 
were excluded from the elections. An estate of £200 value was 
necessary to entitle any one to a vote. Thirty members were re- 
turned from Scotland ; as many from Ireland. 

Cromwell soon found that he did not possess the confidence of 
this Parliament. Having heard the Protector's speech, three 
hours long, and having chosen Lenthal for their speaker, they im- 
mediately entered into a discussion of the pretended instrument of 
government, and of that authority which Cromwell, by the title of 
Protector, had assumed over the nation. The greatest liberty was 
used in arraigning this new dignity ; and even the personal char- 
acter and conduct of Cromwell escaped not without censure. The 
Protector, surprised and enraged at this refractory spirit, sent for 
them to the painted chamber, with an air of great authority in- 
veighed against their conduct, and told them that nothing could be 
more absurd than for them to dispute his title, since the same in- 
strument of government which made them a Parliament had in- 
vested him with the Protectorship. He forbade them to dispute 
the fundamentals of the new Constitution, among which the chief 
was the government of the nation by a single person and a Par- 
liament; he obliged the members to sign an engagement not to 
propose or consent to any alteration ; and he placed guards at the 
door of the House, who allowed none but subscribers to enter. 
Most of the members, after some hesitation, submitted to this 
condition, but retained the same refractory spirit which they had 
discovered in their first debates. Cromwell, therefore, dismissed 
them in a tedious, confused, and angry harangue, on January 31, 
1655. 

The discontent discovered by this Parliament encouraged the 
Royalists to attempt an insurrection, which, however, was soon put 
down, and served only to strengthen Cromwell's government. He 
issued an edict, with the consent of his council, for exacting the 
tenth penny from the Royalists, in order, as he pretended, to make 
them pay the expenses to which their mutinous disposition con- 
tinually exposed the public. To raise this imposition, which 
commonly passed by the name of decimation, the Protector insti- 
tuted 11 major generals, and divided the whole kingdom of En- 
gland into so many military jurisdictions. These men, assisted 



A.D. 1054,1655. WAR WITH SPAIN. 405 

by commissioners, had power to subject whom they pleased to 
decimation, to levy all the taxes imposed by the Protector and 
his council, and to imprison any person who should be exposed 
to their jealousy or suspicion ; nor was there any appeal from 
them but to the Protector himself and his council. In short, they 
acted as if absolute masters of the property and person of every 
subject. 

Meanwhile, the resentment displayed by the English Parlia- 
ment at the protection afforded by France to Charles induced that 
court to change its measures. Anne of Austria had become re- 
gent of France in the mmority of her son Louis XIY., and Car- 
dinal Mazarin had succeeded Eichelieu in the ministry. Charles 
was treated by them with such affected indifference that he thought 
it more decent to withdraw, and prevent the indignity of being de- 
sired to leave the kingdom. He went first to Spa, thence he retired 
to Cologne, where he lived two years on a small pension paid him 
by the court of France, and on some contributions sent him by his 
friends in England. 

The French ministry deemed it still more necessary to pay def- 
erence to the Protector when he assumed the reins of government. 
They were now at war with Spain, and wished to defeat the in- 
trigues of that court, which, being reduced to greater distress 
than the French monarchy, had been still more forward in their 
advances to the prosperous Parliament and Protector. Cromwell 
resolved for several reasons to unite his arms to those of France. 
The extensive empu^e and yet extreme weakness of Spain in the 
West Indies, the vigorous courage and great naval power of En- 
gland, made him hope that he might, by some gainful conquest, 
render forever illustrious that dominion which he had assumed 
over his country. Should he fail of these durable acquisitions, 
the Indian treasures, which must every year cross the ocean to 
reach Spain, were, he thought, a sure prey to the English navy, 
and would support his military force, without his laying new bur- 
dens on the discontented people. These motives of policy were 
probably seconded by his religious principles ; and as the Span- 
iards were more bigoted papists than the French, and had refused 
to mitigate on Cromwell's solicitation the rigors of the Inquisition, 
he hoped that a holy and meritorious war with such idolaters 
could not fail of protection from Heaven. 

§ 11. Actuated by these motives, the Protector equipped two 
considerable squadrons, one of which, consisting of 30 capital ships, 
was sent into the Mediterranean under Blake, whose fame was now 
spread over Europe. Blake sailed to Algiers, and compelled the 
dey to restrain his piratical subjects from farther violences on the 
English. He then presented himself before Tunis, where, incensed 

U 2 



4(56 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. XXHI. 

by the insolence of the dey, he destroyed the castles of Porto Fa- 
rino and Goletta, sent a numerous detachment of sailors in their 
long-boats into the harbor, and burned every ship which lay there. 
This bold action filled all that part of the world with the renown 
of English valor. 

The other squadron was not equally successful. It was com- 
manded by Penn, and carried on board 4000 men, under the com- 
mand of Venables. An attack upon St. Domingo was repulsed 
with loss and disgrace ; but Jamaica surrendered to them without 
a blow. Penn and Venables returned to England, and were both 
of them sent to the Tower by the Protector, who, though com- 
monly master of his fiery temper, was thrown into a violent passion 
at this disappointment. He had, hoM^ever, made a conquest of 
greater importance than he was himself at that time aware of; 
and Jamaica has ever since remained in the hands of the English, 

As soon as the news of this expedition, which was an unwar- 
rantable violation of treaty, arrived in Europe, the Spaniards de- 
clared war against England, and seized all the ships and goods of 
English merchants of which they could make themselves masters. 
Blake, to whom Montague was now joined in command, prepared 
himself for hostilities against the Spaniards, and lay some time off 
Cadiz in expectation of intercepting the treasure-fleet, but was at 
last obliged, for want of water, to make sail toward Portugal. 
Captain Stayner, however, whom he had left on the coast with a 
squadron of 7 vessels, took two ships, valued at nearly two mil- 
lions of pieces of eight (Sept. 1656). 

The next action against the Spaniards was more honorable, 
though less profitable to the nation. Blake pursued a Spanish 
fleet of 16 ships to the Canaries, where he found them in the Bay 
of Santa Cruz, defended by a strong castle and seven forts. Blake 
was rather animated than daunted with this appearance. The 
wind seconded his courage, and, blowing full into the bay, in a 
moment brought him among the thickest of his enemies. After a 
resistance of four hours, the Spaniards yielded to English valor, 
and abandoned their ships, which were set on fire, and consumed 
with all their treasure. The wind, suddenly shifting, carried the 
English out of the bay, where they left the Spaniards in astonish- 
ment at the happy temerity of their audacious visitors (April 20, 
1657). This was the last and greatest action of the gallant Blake. 
He was consumed with a dropsy and scurvy, and hastened home, 
that he might yield up his breath in his native country, but ex- 
pired within sight of land. Never man, so zealous for a faction, 
was so much respected and esteemed even by the opposite parties. 
He was by principle an inflexible Republican ; and the late usurp- 
ations, amid all the trust and caresses which he received from the 



A.D. 1656, 1657. CROMWELL'S VIGOROUS GOVERNMENT. 4^7 

ruling powers, were thought to be very little grateful to him. "It 
is^ still our duty," he said to the seamen, " to fight for our coun- 
try, into what hands soever the government might fall." The Pro- 
tector ordered him a pompous funeral at the public charge ; but the 
tears of his countrymen were the most honorable panegyric on his 
memory. 

§ 12. The conduct of the Protector in foreign affairs was full 
of vigor and enterprise, and drew a consideration to his country 
which, since the reign of Elizabeth, it seemed -totally to have lost. 
It was his boast that he would render the name of an Englishman 
as much feared and revered as ever was that of a Roman ; and as 
his countrymen found some reality in these pretensions, their na- 
tional vanity, being gratified, made them bear with more patience 
all the indignities and calamities under which they labored. And 
the Protestant zeal which animated the Presbyterians and Inde- 
pendents was highly gratified by the haughty manner in which the 
Protector so successfully supported the Vaudois, or persecuted 
Protestants of Savoy, against whom the duke had commenced a 
furious persecution. 

The general behavior and deportment of Cromwell, who had 
lieen raised from a private station, and who had passed most of 
his youth in the country, was such as might befit the greatest 
monarch. He maintained a dignity without either affectation or 
ostentation, and supported with all strangers that high idea with 
which his great exploits and prodigious fortune had impressed 
them. Among his ancient friends he could relax himself; and by 
trifling and amusement, jesting and making verses, he feared not 
exposing himself to their most familiar approaches. Great regu- 
larity, however, and even austerity of manners, were always main- 
tained in his court ; and he was careful never by any liberties 
to give offense to the most rigid of the godly. Some state was 
upheld, but with little expense, and without any splendor. The 
nobility, though courted by him, kept at a distance, and disdained 
to intermix with those mean persons who were the instruments 
of his government. 

Cromwell had reduced Scotland and Ireland to a total subjec- 
tion, and he treated them entirely as conquered provinces. The 
civil administration of Scotland was placed in a council, consist- 
ing mostly of English. Justice was administered by seven judges, 
four of whom were English. A long line of forts and garrisons 
was maintained throughout the kingdom, and an army of 10,000 
men kept every thing in peace and obedience. The Protector's 
administration of Ireland was still more severe and violent. The 
government of that island was first intrusted to Fleetwood, who 
had married Ireton's widow ; then to Henry Cromwell, second 



468 THE COMMONWEALTH. . Chap. XXHI. 

son of the Protector, a young man of an amiable, mild disposition, 
and not destitute of vigor and capacity. 

§ 13. In summoning a new Parliament in 1656, Cromwell used 
every art in order to influence the elections, and fill the House 
with his own creatures ; yet, notwithstanding all these precautions, 
he still found that the majority would not be favorable to him. 
Accordingly, on their assembling (Sept. 17), he set guards at the 
door, who permitted none to enter but such as produced a warrant 
from his council ; and the council rejected about 100, who either 
refused a recognition of the Protector's government, or were on 
other accounts obnoxious to him. These protested against so egre- 
gious a violence, subversive of all liberty ; but every application 
for redress was neglected both by the council and the Parliament. 
The majority of the Parliament, by means of these arts and vio- 
lences, was friendly to the Protector, who now began to aspire to 
the crown ; and, in order to pave the way to this advancement, 
he resolved to sacrifice his major generals, whom he knew to be 
extremely odious to the nation. Colonel Jephson was employed 
to sound the inclinations of the House on the subject ; and the re- 
sult appearing favorable, a motion in form was made by Alderman 
Pack, one of the city members, for investing the Protector with 
the dignity of king. This motion at first excited great disorder, 
and divided the whole House into parties. The chief opposition 
came from the usual adherents of the Protector, the major gener- 
als, and such officers as depended on them ; and particularly Lam- 
bert, a man of deep intrigue, and of great interest in the army, who 
had long entertained the ambition of succeeding Cromwell in the 
Protectorship. But the bill, which was entitled An Humble Peti- 
tion and Advice, was voted by a considerable majority, and a com- 
mittee was appointed to reason with the Protector, and to over- 
come those scruples which he pretended against accepting so lib- 
eral an offer. The conference lasted several days. The difficulty 
consisted not in persuading Cromwell, whose inclination, as well 
as judgment, was entirely on the side of the committee. The op- 
position which Cromwell most dreaded was that which he met 
with in his own family, and from men who, by interest as well as 
inclination, were the most devoted to him. Fleetwood had mar- 
ried his daughter ; Desborough his sister ; yet these men, actuated 
by principle alone, could by no persuasion, artifice, or entreaty, 
be induced to consent that their friend and patron should be in- 
vested with regal dignity. Colonel Pride procured a petition 
against the office of king, signed by a majority of the officers who 
were in London and the neighborhood ; and some sudden mutiny 
in the army was justly dreaded. Cromwell, after the agony and 
perplexity of long doubt, was at last obliged to refuse that crown 



A.D. 165T, 1G58. ^^ PETITION AND ADVICE." 459 

which the representatives o£ the nation, in the most solemn man- 
ner, had tendered to him (May 8, 1657). The provisions, how- 
ever, of ihQ Humble Petition and Advice were retained as the basis 
of the Republican establishment, instead of the former Instrument 
of Government. By the new deed the Protector had the power of 
nominating his successor; he had a perpetual revenue assigned 
him ; and he had authority to name another House, who should 
enjoy their seats during life, and exercise some functions of the 
former House of Peers. Cromwell, as if his power had just 
commenced from this popular consent, was anew inaugurated 
in Westminster Hall, after the most solemn and most pompous 
manner. 

Eiehard, eldest son of the Protector, was now brought to court, 
introduced into public business, and thenceforth regarded by many 
as his heir in the Protectorship. Cromwell had two daughters 
unmarried : one of them he now gave in marriage to the grand- 
son and heir of his great friend the Earl of Warwick, with whom 
he had, in every fortune, preserved an uninterrupted intimacy 
and good correspondence. The other he married to the Viscount 
Fauconberg, of a family formerly devoted to the royal party. The 
Parliament assembled again on Jan. 20, 1658, consisting, as in 
the times of monarchy, of two Houses. Cromwell had sent writs 
to his House of Peers, which consisted of 60 members. They 
were composed of five or six ancient peers, of several gentlemen 
of fortune and distinction, and of some officers who had risen 
from the meanest stations. None of the ancient peers, however, 
though summoned by writ, would deign to accept of a seat which 
they must share with such companions as were assigned them. 
But Cromwell soon found that, by bringing so great a number of 
his friends and adherents into the other House, he had lost the 
majority among the national representatives ; and, dreading com- 
binations between them and the malcontents in the army, he 
dissolved the Parliament with expressions of great displeasure 
(Feb. 4). 

§ 14. Cromwell still pursued his schemes of conquest and do- 
minion on the Continent ; and he sent over into Flanders 6000 
men under Reynolds, who joined the French army commanded 
by Turenne. In 1658 siege was laid to Dunkirk; and when the 
Spanish army advanced to relieve it the combined armies of 
France and England marched out of their trenches, and fought 
the battle of the Dunes, where the Spaniards were totally de- 
feated. The valor of the English was much remarked on this 
occasion (June 4). Dunkirk, being soon after surrendered, was 
by agreement delivered to Cromwell. This acquisition was re- 
garded by the Protector as the means only of obtaining, in con- 



470 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. XXHI. 

cert with the French court, the final conquest and partition of the 
Low Countries. 

But the situation in which Cromwell stood at home kept him 
in perpetual uneasiness and inquietude. His military enterprises 
had exhausted his revenue, and involved him in considerable 
debt. The Royalists, he heard, had renewed their conspiracies 
for a general insurrection. Ormond had come over to England, 
and Lord Fairfax, Sir William Waller, and many heads of the 
Presbyterians, had secretly entered into the engagement. Even 
the army was infected with the general spirit of discontent, and 
some sudden and dangerous eruption was every moment to be 
dreaded from it. This conspiracy, however, was discovered, and 
promptly suppressed. Ormond was obliged to fly, and he deemed 
himself fortunate to have escaped so vigilant an administration. 
Great numbers were thrown into prison. A high court of justice 
was anew erected for the trial of those criminals whose guilt was 
most apparent, as the Protector could not as yet trust to an un- 
biased jury. Sir Henry Slingsby and Dr. Hewitt were condemn- 
ed and beheaded. 

The conspiracy of the Millenarians in the army struck Cromwell 
with still greater apprehensions, and he lived in the continual dread 
of assassination. . The death of Mrs. Claypole, his favorite daugh- 
ter, a lady endued with many humane virtues and amiable ac- 
complishments, depressed his anxious mind, and poisoned all his 
enjoyments. All composure of mind was now forever fled from 
the Protector. He never moved a step without strong guards at- 
tending him ; he wore armor under his clothes, and farther se- 
cured himself by offensive weapons, a sword, falchion, and pistols, 
which he always carried about him. He returned from no place 
by the direct road, or by the same way which he went. Every 
journey he performed with hurry and precipitation. Seldom he 
slept above three nights together in the same chamber ; and he nev- 
er let it be known beforehand what chamber he intended to choose. 

§ 15. Cromwell's body also, from the contagion of his anxious 
mind, began to be affected, and his health seemed sensibly to 
decline. He was seized with a slow fever, which changed into a 
tertian ague. For the space of a week no dangerous symptoms 
appeared, and in the intervals of the fits he was able to walk 
abroad. At length the symptoms began to wear a more fatal 
aspect, and the physicians were obliged to break silence, and to 
declare that the Protector could not survive the next fit with which 
he Avas threatened. The council was alarmed. A deputation 
was sent to know his will with regard to his successor. His 
senses were gone, and he could not now express his intentions. 
They asked him whether he did not mean that his eldest son, 



A.D. 1658. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF CROMWELL. 471 

Kicliard, should succeed hlni in the Protectorship. A simple af- 
firmative was, or seemed to be, extorted from him. Soon after, 
on the od of September (1658), the very day on which he had 
gained the victories of Dunbar and Worcester, and which he had 
always considered as the most fortunate for him, he expired. 
A violent tempest, which immediately succeeded his death, served 
as a, subject of discourse to the vulgar, his partisans and his ene- 
mies endeavoring by forced inferences to interpret it as a con- 
firmation of their particular prejudices. 

The administration of Cromwell, though it discovers great abili- 
ties, was conducted without any plan either of liberty or arbitrary 
power ; perhaps his difficult situation admitted of neither. The 
great principle of his foreign policy was alliance with the Protest- 
ant states, and the support of Protestantism throughout Europe. 
If we survey his moral character with that indulgence which is 
due to the blindness and infirmities of the human species, we shall 
not be inclined to load his memory with such violent reproaches 
as those which his enemies usually throw upon it. The murder 
of the king, the most atrocious of all his actions, was to him cov- 
ered under a mighty cloud of republican and religious illusions ; 
and it is not impossible but he might believe it, as many others 
did, the most meritorious action that he could perform. His sub- 
sequent usurpation was the effect of necessity, as well as of ambi- 
tion ; nor is it easy to see how the various factions could at that 
lime have been restrained without a mixture of military and ar- 
bitrary authority. His private deportment, as a son, a husband, 
a father, a friend, merits the highest praise. 

Cromwell was in the sixtieth year of his age when he died. 
He was of a robust frame of body, and of a manly, though not of 
an agreeable aspect. He left only two sons, Richard and Henry ; 
and three daughters — one married to general Fleetwood, another 
to Lord Fauconberg, a third to Lord Rich. His father died when 
he was very young. His mother lived till after he was Protector, 
and, contrary to her orders, he buried her with great pomp in 
Westminster Abbey. To educate her numerous family she had 
been obliged to set up a brewery at Huntingdon, which she man- 
aged to good advantage. Hence Cromwell, in the invectives of 
that age, is often stigmatized with the name of the brewer. She 
was of a good family, of the name of Stuart, remotely allied, as 
is by some supposed, to the royal family. 

§ 16. When that potent hand was removed which conducted 
the government, every one expected a sudden dissolution of the 
unwieldy and ill-jointed fabric. Cromwell's eldest son, Richard, 
a young man of no experience, educated in the country, possessed 
only the virtues of private life, which in his situation were so 



472: THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. XXIII. 

many vices ; indolence, incapacity, irresolution, attended his facil- 
ity and good-nature. The council, however, recognized the suc- 
cession of Richard. Fleetwood, in whose favor it was supposed 
Cromwell had formerly made a will, renounced all claim or pre^ 
tension to the Protectorship. Henry, Richard's brother, who gov- 
erned Ireland with popularity, insured him the obedience of that 
kingdom. Monk, whose authority was well established in Scot- 
land, being much attached to the family of Cromwell, immediately 
proclaimed the new Protector. The army and the fleet acknowl- 
edged his title ; and above ninety addresses, from the counties 
and most considerable corporations, congratulated him on his ac- 
cession, in all the terms of dutiful allegiance. A new Parliament 
(Jan. 29, 1659) proceeded to examine the HmnhU Petition and Ad- 
vice; and, after great opposition and many vehement debates, it 
was at length, with much difficulty, carried by the court party to 
confirm it. On the other hand, the most considerable officers of 
the army, and even Fleetwood, brother-in-law to the Protector, 
were entering into cabals against him ; and the whole Republican 
party in the army, which was still considerable, united themselves 
to that general. Above all, the intrigues of Lambert inflamed 
all those dangerous humors, and threatened the nation with some 
great convulsion. Richard, who possessed neither resolution nor 
penetration, was prevailed to give an unguarded consent for call- 
ing a general council of officers, who proposed that the whole mili- 
tary power should be intrusted to some person in whom they might 
all confide. 

The Parliament, no less alarmed than the Protector at the mili- 
tary^ cabals, voted that there should be no meeting or general 
council of officers, except with the Protector's consent, or by his 
orders. This vote brought affairs immediately to a rupture. The 
officers hastened to Richard and demanded of him the dissolution 
of the Parliament. Desborough threatened him if he should re- 
fuse compliance. The Protector wanted the resolution to deny, 
and possessed little ability to resist. The Parliament was dis- 
solved ; and by the same act the Protector was, by every one, con- 
sidered as effectually dethroned (April 22). Soon after he signed 
his demission in form. Henry, the deputy of Ireland, though he 
possessed more vigor and capacity than his brother Richard, quiet- 
ly resigned his command, and retired to England. Thus fell sud- 
denly, and from an enormous height, but by a rare fortune without 
any hurt or injury, the family of the Cromwells. Richard, after 
the restoration, traveled abroad some years, and on his return to 
England lived a peaceful and quiet life, and died in extreme old 
age at the latter end of Queen Anne's reign (1712). Henry re- 
tired into Cambridgeshire, where he died in 1674. 



A.D. 1659. LONG PARLIAMENT RESTORED. 473 

§ 17. The council of officers, now possessed of supreme author- 
ity, resolved, after much debate, on restoring the Long Parliament. 
Its numbers were small, little exceeding 70 members ; but, being 
all of them men of violent ambition, some of them men of expe- 
rience and capacity, they were resolved, since they enjoyed the ti- 
tle of the supreme authority, not to act a subordinate part to those 
who acknowledged themselves their servants. They voted that 
all commissions should be received from the speaker, and be as- 
signed by him in the name of the House. These precautions gave 
frreat disgust to the general officers, and their discontent would 
immediately have broken out in some resolution fatal to the Par- 
liament had it not been checked by the apprehensions of danger 
from the common enemy. 

The dominion of the pretended Parliament had ever been to the 
last degree odious to the Presbyterians as well as to the Koyalists. 
A secret reconciliation, therefore, was made between the rival 
parties, and it was agreed that, burpng former enmities in oblivion, 
all effiDrts should be used for the overthrow of the Rump Par- 
liament, as it was called. In many counties a resolution was 
taken to rise in arms ; but the plans of the Royalists were betray- 
ed, and the only project which ever took effect was that of Sir 
George Booth for the seizing of Chester. He was, however, soon 
routed and taken prisoner by Lambert, and the Parliament had 
no farther occupation than to fill all the jails with their open or 
secret enemies. This success hastened the ruin of the Parliament. 
Alarmed at the proceedings of Lambert and his faction, they voted 
that they would have no more general officers. Thereupon Lam- 
bert and the other officers expelled the Parliament (Oct. 23), and 
elected a committee of 23 persons, whom they invested with sov- 
ereign authority, under the name of a Committee of Safety. 
Throughout the three kingdoms there prevailed nothing but the 
melancholy fears, to the nobility and gentry, of a bloody massacre 
and extermination ; to the rest of the people, of perpetual servitude 
beneath the military ; while the condition of Charles seemed to- 
tally desperate. But amid all these gloomy prospects, fortune, 
by a surprising revolution, was paving the way for the king to 
mount in peace and triumph the throne of his ancestors. 

§ 18. General Monk, as we have seen, held the supreme military 
command in Scotland. After the army had expelled the Parlia- 
ment, Monk protested against the violence, and resolved, as he pre- 
tended, to vindicate their invaded privileges. Deeper designs, 
either in the kingr's favor or his own, were from the beo-innino- 
suspected to be the motive of his actions. How early he enter- 
tained designs for the king's restoration we know not with certain- 
ty. It is likely that as soon as Richard was deposed he foresaw 



474 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. XXHI. 

that, without such an expedient, it would be impossible ever to 
bring the nation to a regular settlement. But his conduct was 
full of dissimulation, and no less was requisite for eiFecting the 
difficult work which he had undertaken. All the officers in his 
army of whom he entertained any suspicion he immediately cash- 
iered ; and, hearing that Lambert was marching northward with 
a large army, he amused the committee with offers of negotiation. 
Meanwhile these military sovereigns found themselves surround- 
ed on all hands with inextricable difficulties. While Lambert's 
forces Avere assembling at Newcastle, Hazlerig and Morley took 
possession of Portsmouth, and declared for the Parliament. The 
city assumed a kind of separate government, and assumed the su- 
preme authority within itself. Admiral Lawson, with his squad- 
ron, came into the river, and declared for the Parliament. Ha- 
zelrig and Morley, hearing of this important event, left Portsmouth 
and advanced toward London. The regiments near that city, be- 
ing solicited by their old officers, who had been cashiered by the 
committee of safety, revolted again to the Parliament. Lenthal, 
the speaker, being invited by the officers, again assumed authority 
and summoned together the Parliament, which twice before had 
been expelled with so much reproach and ignominy (Dec. 26). 
Monk now advanced into England with his army. In all counties 
through which he passed the gentry flocked to him with addresses, 
expressing their earnest desire that he would be instrumental in 
restoring the nation to peace and tranquillity. He entered Lon- 
don without opposition (Feb. 3, 1660), was introduced to the 
House, and thanks were given him by Lenthal for the eminent 
services which he had done his country. Monk's conduct was at 
first ambiguous. He appeared ready to obey all the commands 
of the Parliament, and marched into the city to seize several lead- 
ing citizens who had refused obedience to the commands of the 
House ; but two days afterward he wrote a letter to the Parlia- 
ment, requiring them, in the name of the citizens, soldiers, and 
whole commonwealth, to issue writs within a week for the filling 
of their Plouse, and to fix the time for their own dissolution and 
the assembling of a new Parliament. The excluded members, 
upon the general's invitation, M^ent to the House, and immediately 
appeared to be the majority ; most of the Independents left the 
place. The restored members renewed the general's commission, 
and enlarged his powers ; and, after passing some other measures 
for the present composure of the kingdom, they dissolved them- 
selves, and issued writs for the immediate assembling of a new 
Parliament. A council of state was established, consisting of men 
of character and moderation, who conferred on Montague, a Roy- 
alist, in conjunction with Monk, the command of the fleet, and se- 



A.D.1C60. LONG PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED. 475 

cured the naval as well as military force in hands favorable to the 
public settlement. Notwithstanding all these steps, Monk still 
maintained the appearance of zeal for a commonwealth, and had 
hitherto allowed no channel of correspondence between himself 
and the king to be opened ; but he now sent a verbal message by 
Sir John Grenville, assuring the king of his services, giving advice 
for his conduct, and exhorting him instantly to leave the Spanish 
territories and retire into Holland. He was apprehensive lest 
Spain might detain him as a pledge for the recovery of Dunkirk 
and Jamaica. Charles, who was at Brussels, followed these di- 
rections, and very narrowly escaped to Breda. Had he protract- 
ed his journey a few hours, he had certainly, under pretense of 
honor and respect, been arrested by the Spaniards. 

§ 19. The elections for the new Parliament went every where 
in favor of the king's party. The Presbyterians and the Royal- 
ists, being united, formed the voice of the nation, which, without 
noise, but with infinite ardor, called for the king's restoration. 
When the Parliament met (April 25) — which, from its not being 
regularly summoned, was called the Convention Parliament — they 
chose Sir Harbottle Grimstone speaker. On the 27th of April a 
motion for the restoration of the king was made by Colonel King 
and Mr. Finch. On the 1st of May Monk gave directions to An- 
nesley, president of the council, to inform them that one Sir John 
Grenville, a servant, of the king's, had been sent over by his maj- 
esty, and was now at the door with a- letter to the Commons. The 
loudest acclamations were excited by this intelligence. Grenville 
was called in ; the letter, with a declaration, greedily read ; with- 
out one moment's delay, and without a contradictory vote, a com- 
mittee was appointed to prepare an answer ; and, in order to 
spread the same satisfaction throughout the kingdom, it was voted 
that the letter and declaration should immediately be published. 
It offered a general amnesty, without any exceptions but such as 
should afterward be made by Parliament; it promised liberty of 
conscience ; it submitted to the arbitration of the same assembly 
the inquiiy into all grants, purchases, and alienations ; and it as- 
sured the soldiers of all their arrears, and promised them, for the 
future, the same pay which they then enjoyed. Such was the 
celebrated declaration from Breda. 

The Lords, perceiving the spirit by which the kingdom, as well 
as the Commons, was animated, had hastened to reinstate them- 
selves in their ancient authority, and' to take tlieir share in the 
settlement of the nation. Soon afterward the two Houses attend- 
ed, while the king was proclaimed with great solemnity, in Palace 
Yard, at Whitehall, and at Temple Bar (May 8, 1660). A com- 
mittee of Lords and Commons was then dispatched to invite his 



476. 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 



Chap. XXHI. 



majesty to return and take possession of the government. Charles 
embarked at ScheveUng on board a fleet commanded by the Duke 
of York. At Dover he was met by Monk, whom he cordially 
embraced. The king entered London on the 29th of May, which 
was also his birthday. The fond imaginations of men interpreted 
as a happy omen the concurrence of two such joyful periods. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMAEKABLE EVENTS. 



1649. Charles II. proclaimed at Edml)urgli. 
" England declared a commonwealtli. 

" Cromwell's victories in Ireland. 

1650. Charles 11. lands in Scotland. 

"• Cromwell invades Scotland and gains 
the battle of Dunbar. 

1651. Charles II. crowned at Scone. He in- 

vades England, is defeated at Wor- 
cester, and escapes to France. 

1652. War with Holland. Several actions 

between Blake and Van Tromp and 
De Ruyter. 

1653. Long Parliament expelled. Crom- 

well's first Parliament (Barebone's 
Parliament). 
" CromAvell made Protector. 



A.T*. 

1653. Defeat of the Dutch. Death of Van 
Tromp. 

1655. Peace with Holland. Cromwell's sec- 

ond Parliament, 
" Naval expeditions of Blake. War with 
Spain. Capture of Jamaica. 

1656. Cromwell's thu'd Parliament. 
165T. Cromwell refuses the crown. 

1658. Dunkirk taken. Death of Cromwell. 

His son Richard declared Protector. 

1659. Committee of safety. Richard Cromt- 

well resigns the Protectorate. 

1660. General Monk enters London. Con- 

vention Parliament. Restoration of 
Charles n. 




Medal of Charles II. and Catherine, probably relating to the queen's dowry. Obv, : cab- 
OLTJS . ET . CATHAEiNA . EEX . ET . REGTNA. Busts of king and quBBn to right. Rev. : 

DIFFVSVS • IN . OEBE . EBITAJTNVS . 1670. A globe. 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 

CHARLES II. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE PEACE OF NIMEGUEN. 

A.D. 1660-1678. 

§ 1. Character of Charles II. The Ministry. Act of Indemnity. Trial 
of the Eegicides. Disbanding of the Army. § 2. Chancellor Clarendon. 
Prelacy restored. Affairs of Scotland^^'§ 3. Conference at the Savoy. 
Act of Uniformity. § 4. Charles mames Catherine of Portugal. Trial 
and Execution of Vane. § 5. Presbyterian Clergy ejected. Dunkirk 
sold. Declaration of Indulgence. § 6. Triennial Act repealed. War 
with Holland. Naval Victory. Plague of London. Five-mile Act. 
§ 7. Great Sea-fight. Fire of London. Disgi-ace at Chatham. Peace, 
of Breda. § 8. Fall of Clarendon. § 9. The Cabal. The triple Alli- 
ance. Secret Treaty of Dover. § 10. Blood's Crimes. The Duke of 
York declares himself a Papist. § 11. The Bankers' Funds in the Ex- 
chequer seized. "War with Holland. Battle of SouthwoM Bay. Suc- 
cesses of Louis XIV. Massacre of the De Witts. Prince of Orange 
Stadtholder. § 12. The Test Act. Peace with Holland. § 13. Earl of 
Danby Prime Minister. His Policy. Parliamentary Struggles. § 14. 
The Continental War. Marriage of the Prince of Orange and Princess 
Mary. Peace of Nimeguen. 

§ 1. Charles II., when he ascended the throne of his ances- 
tors, was thirty years of age. He possessed a vigorous constitu- 
tion, a fine shape, a manly figure, a graceful air ; and, though his 
features were harsh, yet w^as his countenance in the main lively 
and engaging. To a ready wit and quick comprehension he 
united a just understanding and a general observation both of 
men and things. The easiest manners, the most unafiected po- 
liteness, the most engaging gayety accompanied his conversation 
and address. Accustomed during his exile to live among; his 
courtiers rather like a companion than a monarch, he retained, 



478 CHARLES II. Chap. XXIV. 

even while on the throne, that open affability which was capa- 
ble of reconciling the most determined Kepublicans to his royal 
dignity. 

Into his council were admitted the most eminent men of the 
.nation, witliout regard to former distinctions : the Presbyterians, 
equally with the Royalists, shared this honor. The Earl of Man- 
chester was appointed lord chamberlain, and Lord Say privy seal : 
Calamy and Baxter, Presbyterian clergymen, were even made 
chaplains to the king. Admiral Montague, created Earl of Sand- 
wich,* was entitled, from his recent services, to great favor, and 
he obtained it. Monk, created Duke of Albemarle,! had perform- 
ed such signal services that, according to a vulgar and malignant 
observation, he ought rather to have expected hatred and ingrati- 
tude ; yet was he ever treated by the king with great marks of 
distinction. But the king's principal ministers and favorites were 
chosen among his ancient friends and supporters. Sir Edward 
Hyde, created Earl of Clarendon, was chancellor and prime minis- 
ter ; the Marquis, created Duke, of Ormond, was steward of the 
household ; the Earl of Southampton, high treasurer; Sir Edward 
Nicholas, secretary of state. Agreeable to the present prosperity 
of public affairs was the universal joy and festivity diffused through- 
out the nation. The melancholy austerity of the Puritans fell into 
discredit, together with their principles. The Eoyalists, who had 
ever affected a contrary disposition, found in their recent success 
new motives for mirth and gayety ; and it now belonged to them 
to give repute and fashion to their manners. 

One of the king's first acts was to grant a general pardon and 
indemnity; but he issued a proclamation declaring that such of 
the late king's judges as did not yield themselves prisoners with- 
in fourteen days should receive no pardon. Nineteen surrendered 
themselves ; some were taken in their flight ; others escaped be- 
yond sea. Those who had an immediate hand in the late king's 
death were excepted in the act of indemnity ; even Cromwell, 
Ireton, Bradshaw, and others now dead, were attainted, and their 
estates forfeited. Vane and Lambert, though none of the regi- 
cides, were also excepted. All who had sat in any illegal high 
court of justice were disabled from bearing offices. 

The Parliament voted that the settled revenue of the crown, for 
all charges, should be £1,200,000 a year, a sum greater than any 
English monarch had ever before enjoyed. They abolished the 
feudal tenure of knights' service and its incidents, as marriage, re- 

* He was the ancestor of the present Earl of Sandwich. 

f This title became extinct upon the death of the second duke in 1668. 
The present Earl of Albemarle is a descendant of Keppel, created Earl of 
Albemarle in 1G96. 



A. D. 1660. AFFAIRS OF SCOTLAND. 479 

lief, and wardship (see p. 131, 132), and also purveyance, and in 
lieu thereof settled upon the king an hereditary excise duty.* In- 
deed, it would have been impossible to restore these onerous bur- 
dens after their disuse during the time of the Commonwealth. 
Tonnage and poundage were granted to the king during life. 

During the recess of Parliament the object which chiefly inter- 
ested the public was the trial and condemnation of the regicides. 
They were arraigned before 34 commissioners appointed for the 
purpose. vSix of the late king's judges, Harrison, Scot, Carew, 
Clement, Jones, and Scroope, were executed. Axtel, who had 
guarded the high court of justice; Hacker, who commanded on 
the day of the king's execution ; Cook, the solicitor for the peo- 
ple of England ; and Hugh Peters, the fanatical preacher — all 
these were tried and condemned, and suffered with the king's 
judges. On the anniversary of Charles I.'s execution, the bodies 
of Cromwell, Ireton, and Bpadshaw were disinterred, hanged on the 
gallows at Tyburn, then decapitated, and the heads fixed on West- 
minster Hall. 

After a recess of nearly two months the Parliament met ; and 
having dispatched the necessary business, the king, in a speech 
full of the most gracious expressions, thought proper to dissolve 
them (Dec. 29, 1660). By the advice of Clarendon the army was 
disbanded. No more troops were retained than a few guards and 
garrisons, about 1000 horse and 4000 foot. This was the first 
appearance, under the monarchy, of a regular standing army in 
this island. 

§ 2. Clarendon was now nearly allied to the royal family, his 
daughter, Ann Hyde, having been married to the Duke of York 
soon after the restoration. By his advice prelacy was restored. 
[N^ine bishops still remained alive, and these w^ere immediately 
restored to their sees ; all the ejected clergy recovered their liv- 
ings ; the Liturgy was again admitted into the churches ; but, at 
the same time, a declaration, containing a promise of some reforms, 
was issued, in order to give contentment to the Presbyterians, and 
preserve an air of moderation and neutrality. 

Affairs in Scotland hastened with still quicker steps than those 
in England toward a settlement and a compliance with the king. 
The lords of articles were restored, with some other branches of 
prerogative ; and royal authority, fortified with more plausible 
claims and pretenses, was in its full extent re-established in that 
kingdom. The prelacy likewise, by the abrogating of every stat- 
ute enacted in favor of Presbytery, was thereby tacitly restored. 

* The principal excise duties were upon liquors and beer. Tea was also 
an excisable article, but did not yield much to the revenue in the reign of 
Charles II. 



480 CHARLES II. Chap. XXIV. 

Charles, though he had no such attachment to prelacy as had in- 
fluenced his father and grandfather, had suffered such indignities 
from the Scottish Presbyterians that he ever after bore them a 
hearty aversion. He said to Lauderdale that Presbyterianism, he 
thought, was not a religion for a gentleman, and he could not con- 
sent to its farther continuance in Scotland. Sharp, who had been 
commissioned by the Presbyterians in Scotland to manage their 
interest with the king, was persuaded to abandon that party, and, 
a,s a reward for his compliance, was created Archbishop of St. 
Andrew's. Charles had not promised to Scotland any such in- 
demnity as he had insured to England by the declaration of Bre- 
da ; and as some examples, after such a bloody and triumphant 
rebellion, seemed necessary, the Marquis of Argyle, and one G-uth- 
ry, a preacher, were pitched on as the victims. Two acts of in- 
demnity (one passed by the late king in 1641, another by the pres- 
ent in 1651) formed, it was thought, invincible obstacles to the 
punishment of Argyle, and nothing remained- but to try him for 
his compliance with the usurpation, a crime common to him 
with the whole nation. Some letters of his to Monk were pro- 
duced, which could not, by any equitable construction, imply 
the crime of treason. The Parliament, however, scrupled not 
to pass sentence upon him, and he died with great constancy and 
courage. 

§ 3. Meanwhile, in England prelacy and Presbytery struggled 
for the superiority, and the hopes and fears of both parties kept 
tliem in agitation. A conference was held in the Savoy (April 
15 — July 25, 1661) between 12 bishops and 12 leaders among 
the Presbyterian ministers, with an intention, at least on pretense, 
of bringing about an accommodation between the parties ; but 
they separated more inflamed than ever, and more confirmed in 
their several prejudices. The temper of the new Parliament, 
which assembled in May, 1661, hastened the decision of the ques- 
tion. Not more than 56 members of the Presbyterian party had 
obtained seats in the lower House, and these were not able either 
to oppose or retard the measures of the majority. The Covenant, 
together with the act for erecting the high court of justice, that 
for subscribing the engagement, and that for declaring England a 
commonwealth, was ordered to be burnt by the hands of the hang- 
man. The bishops were restored to their seats in Parliament. A 
few months afterward the Parliament formally renounced the 
power of the sword, and acknowledged that neither one house, nor 
both houses, independent of the king, were possessed of any mil- 
itary authority. The preamble to this statute went so far as to 
renounce all rigl^t even of defensive arms against the king. The 
Corporation Act passed in this session compelled all corporate 



A.D. 1660-1662. MARRIAGE OF THE KING, 481 

officers to receive the sacrament according to the rites of the 
Church of England, to renounce the Covenant, and to take the 
oath of Non-resistance* 

In the following year (1662) the Act of TJNiFORivnTT was 
passed. By this act it was required that every clergyman should 
be re-ordained, if he had not before received episcopal ordination ; 
should declare his assent to every thing contained in the Book of 
Common Prayer ; should take the oath of canonical obedience ; 
should abjure the Solemn League and Covenant ; and should re- 
nounce the principle of taking arms, on any pretense whatsoever, 
against the king. This act, which received the royal assent on 
May 19, and was to come into operation on St. Bartholomew's 
day (Aug. 24), reinstated the Church in the same condition in 
which it stood before the commencement of the civil wars ; and 
as the old persecuting laws of Elizabeth still subsisted in their 
full rigor, and new clauses of a like nature were now enacted, all 
the king's promises of toleration and indulgence to tender con- 
sciences were thereby eluded and broken. | The Church party 
added insult to injury. The Puritans objected to saints' days and 
to apocryphal lessons ; the Church party added St. Barnabas to 
the calendar, and inserted among the daily lessons the apocryphal 
story of Bel and the Dragon. 

§ 4. On the king's restoration advances were made by Portugal 
for the renewal of the alliance which the Protector had made with 
that country ; and, in order to bind the friendship closer, an offer 
was made of the Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza, and 
a portion of £500,000, together with two fortresses, Tangiers in 
Africa, and Bombay in the East Indies ; and thus was concluded 
(May 21, 1662) the inauspicious marriage with Catherine, a 
princess of virtue, but who was never able, either by the graces 
of her person or humor, to make herself agreeable to the king. 
They were married in a private room at Portsmouth, according 
to the Roman Catholic rites. The attention of the public was 
much engaged at this time by the trial of two distinguished crim- 
inals, Lambert and Vane. These men, though none of the late 
king's judges, had been excepted from the general indemnity, and 
committed to prison. The indictment of Vane did not compre- 
hend any of his actions during the war between the king and 
Parliament : it extended only to his behavior after the late king's 
death, as member of the council of state, and secretary of the 
navy, where fidelity to the trust reposed in him required his op- 
position to monarchy. Vane wanted neither courage nor capacity 
to avail himself of this advantage. He pleaded the famous statute 

* For farther details, see Notes and Illustrations (A). 
t For farther details, see Notes and Illustrations (B). 

X 



482 CHARLES II. Chap. XXIV. 

of Henry VII., in which it was enacted that no man should ever 
be questioned for his obedience to the king de facto ; urged that, 
whether the established government were a monarchy or a com- 
monwealth, the reason of the thing was still the same ; and main- 
tained that the Commons were the root, the foundation of all 
lawful authority. But this bold defense only hastened his de- 
struction. Vane's courage deserted him not upon his condemna- 
tion. Lest pity for a courageous sufferer should make impression 
on the populace, drummers were placed under the scaffold, whose 
noise, as he began to launch out in reflections on the government, 
drowned his voice (June 14). By this execution Charles shame- 
fully violated his promise to the last Parliament. Lambert, though 
also condemned, was reprieved at the bar ; and the judges declared 
that, if Vane's behavior had been equally dutiful and submissive, 
he would have experienced like lenity in the king. Lambert sur- 
vived his condemnation nearly thirty years. He was confined to 
the Isle of Guernsey, where he amused himself with painting and 
botany. He died a Roman Catholic. 

§ 5. The fatal St. Bartholomew approached (Aug. 24), the 
day when the clergy were obliged, by the late law, either to re- 
linquish their livings or to sign the articles required of them. 
About 2000 of the clergy in one day relinquished their cures, 
and, to the astonishment of the court, sacrificed their interest to 
their religious tenets. Bishoprics were offered to Calamy, Bax- 
ter, and Reynolds, leaders among the Presbyterians ; the last only 
could be prevailed on to accept. Deanejies and other preferments 
were refused by many. 

The king, during his exile, had imbibed strong prejudices in 
favor of the Catholic religion, and, according to the most proba- 
ble accounts, had already been secretly reconciled in form to the 
Church of Rome. His brother, the Duke of York, had zealously 
adopted all the principles of Catholicism, though he had not yet 
made an open declaration of his belief. The two brothers saw 
with pleasure so numerous and popular a body of the clergy refuse 
conformity, and it was hoped that, under shelter of their name, 
the small and hated sect of the Catholics might meet with favor 
and protection. Under pretense of mitigating the rigors of the 
Act of Uniformity, a declaration was issued on the 26th of De- 
cember, 1663, in which the king mentioned the promises of liber- 
ty of conscience contained in the declaration of Breda ; and he 
notified that, with a view to carry them out, he should make it 
his special care to incline the Parliament to concur with him in 
making some such act for that purpose as might enable him to 
exercise, with a more universal satisfaction, that power of dis- 
pensing with the penalties of the law which he conceived to be 



A.D. 1662-1664. TRIENNIAL ACT REPEALED. 483 

inherent in him.* The declared intention of easing the Dissenters, 
and the secret purpose of favoring the Catholics, were, however, 
equally disagreeable to the Parliament ; and the king did not think 
proper, after a remonstrance which they made, to insist any farther 
at present on the project of indulgence. 

Notwithstanding the supplies voted to Charles, his treasury was 
still very empty and very much indebted. The forces sent over 
to Portugal, and the fleets maintained in order to defend it, had 
already cost the king nearly double the money which had been 
paid as the queen's portion. The time fixed for payment of his 
sister's portion to the Duke of Orleans was approaching. Tan- 
giers was become an additional burden to the crown, and Dun- 
kirk cost £120,000 a year. Clarendon advised the accepting of 
a sum of money in lieu of a place which he thought the king, 
from the narrow state of his revenue, was no longer able to re- 
tain, and a bargain was at length concluded with France for 
£400,000. The artillery and stores were valued at a fifth of the 
sum. The impolicy of this sale consisted principally in its having 
been made to France. 

§ 6. At the instance of the king, the Parliament, next session 
(March, 1664), repealed the Triennial Act ; and, in lieu of all the 
securities formerly provided, satisfied themselves with a general 
clause, " that Parliaments should not be interrupted above three 
years at the most." Before the end of Charles's reign the nation 
had occasion to feel veiy sensibly the effects of this repeal. By 
the Act of Uniformity, every clergyman who should officiate with- 
out being properly qualified was punishable by fine and imprison- 
ment ; but this security was not thought sufficient for the Church, 
and the Coxv^enticle Act was accordingly passed, by which it 
was enacted that, wherever five persons above those of the same 
household should assemble in a religious congregation, every one 
of them was liable, for the first offense, to be imprisoned three 
months, or pay £5 ; for the second, to be imprisoned six months, 
or pay £10 ; and for the third, to be transported seven years, or 
pay £100. The Commons likewise presented an address to the 
king, complaining of the wrongs offered to the English trade by 
the Dutch, and promising to assist the king with their lives and 
fortunes in asserting the rights of his crown against all opposition 

* The Dispensing and Suspending Powers, as they are called, were claim- 
ed both by Charles II. and James II. The Dispensing Power consisted in 
the exemption of particular persons, nnder special circumstances, from the 
operation of penal laws ; the Suspending Power in nullifying the entire op- 
eration of any statute or any number of statutes. (For details, see Amos» 
"The English Constitution in the Eeign of Charles II.," p. 19, seqq.) 
Charles II. made a second attempt in 1672 to suspend the penal laws 
against Nonconformists. See below, p. 493. 



484 



CHARLES II. 



Chap. XXIV. 




Medal of James, Duke of York, q^fterward James II., commemorating the naval victory 

over the Dutch, June 3, 1665. 

Obverse : iacobvs . dvx . ebok . et . alban . dom . magn . admieallvs . angli^ . &c. 

Bust to the right. 

whatsoever. This was the first open step toward the Dutch war. 
The rivalship of commerce had produced among the English a vio- 
lent enmity against the neighboring republic. The English mer- 
chants had the mortification to find that all attempts to extend 
their trade were still turned by the vigilance of their rivals to 
their loss and dishonor, and their indignation increased when they 
considered the superior naval power of England. The Duke of 
York was eagerly in favor of the war with Holland. He desired 
an opportunity of distinguishing himself, and was at the head of a 
new African company, the trade of which was checked by the 
settlements of the Dutch. The king yielded to the wishes of his 
brother and the nation ; and, after various acts of hostility, Parlia- 
ment was called upon in the autumn to redeem the promise they 
had made to the king. They cheerfully responded to the appeal, 
and voted two millions and a half, the largest supply that had 
ever yet been given to a king of England. This tax was imposed 
alike on the clergy and laity. Hitherto the clergy had taxed 
themselves in convocation, which had usually sat at the same 
time as the Parliament. By reason of ecclesiastical preferments 



A.D. 1664,1665. 



WAR WITH HOLLAND. 



485 




Heverse : nec minor in teeeis. A naval engagement : in front the admii'al' s sliip ; be- 
neath, 3 ivNii, 1665. 

which he could bestow, the king's influence over the Church was 
more considerable than over the laity, so that the subsidies grant- 
ed by the convocation were commonly greater than those which 
were voted by Parliament. The Church, therefore, was not dis- 
pleased to depart tacitly from the right of taxing herself, and al- 
low the Commons to lay impositions on ecclesiastical revenues as 
on the rest of the kingdom. 

War was declared against Holland, Feb. 22, 1665. The En- 
glish fleet, consisting of 98 sail, was commanded by the Duke of 
York, and under him by Prince Rupert and the Earl of Sandwich. 
Opdam was admiral of the Dutch navy, of nearly equal force. A 
battle was fought off the coast of SuiFolk. In the heat of action, 
when engaged in close fight with the Duke of York, Opdam's ship 
blew up. This accident much discouraged the Dutch, who fled 
toward their own coast. The vanquished had 19 ships sunk and 
taken ; the victors lost only one. In this war the method of 
fighting in line was first introduced into naval tactics by the Duke 
of York. The French monarch, alarmed lest the English should 
establish an uncontrollable dominion over the sea and over com- 
merce, resolved to support the Dutch in that unequal contest in 



486 CHARLES II. Chap. XXIY. 

which they were engaged. The King of Denmark also declared 
war against England. 

In this year the plague broke out in London with great vio- 
lence. In July the weekly deaths were 1100, in September they 
increased to 10,000 a week ; and not less than 100,000 persons 
were computed to have perished in the course of the year. In 
consequence of the plague the king summoned the Parliament at 
Oxford, who voted him £1,250,000, to be levied in two years by 
monthly assessments. By the influence of the Church the Five- 
mile Act was passed, by which it was enacted that any dissent- 
ing teacher who had not subscribed the declaration required by 
the Act of Uniformity, and also had not taken and subscribed a 
specified oath of non-resistance, should not, except in traveling, 
come within five miles of any corporate town, or of any place where 
he had formerly preached. The penalty was a fine of £40, and 
six months' imprisonment. By ejecting the non-conforming clergy 
from their churches, and prohibiting all separate congregations, 
they had been rendered incapable of gaining any livelihood by 
their spiritual profession ; and now, under color of removing them 
from places where their influence might be dangerous, an expe- 
dient was fallen upon to deprive them of all means of subsistence. 

§ 7. After France had declared war England was evidently 
over-matched in force. Louis had given orders to the Duke of 
Beaufort, his admiral, to sail from Toulon, and the French squad- 
ron, under his command, consisting of above 40 sail, was now com- 
monly supposed to be entering the Channel. The Duke of Albe- 
marle and Prince Rupert commanded the English fleet, which 
exceeded not 74 sail. Albemarle detached Prince Rupert with 
20 ships in order to oppose the Duke of Beaufort. It had been 
reported that the Dutch fleet was not ready for sea; but Albe- 
marle, to his great surprise, descried off the North Foreland the 
Dutch fleet of more than 80 sail, under De Ruyter and Tromp, 
son of the famous admiral. Nevertheless, he gave orders to at- 
tack. The battle that ensued is one of the most memorable that 
we read of in story, whether we consider its long duration or the 
desperate courage with which it was fought (June 1-4, 1666). 
Albemarle made here some atonement by his valor for the rash- 
ness of the attempt. On the first day darkness parted the com- 
batants before any decided result had been achieved. On the sec- 
ond day 16 fresh ships joined the Dutch fleet during the action; 
and the English were so shattered that their fighting ships were 
reduced to 28, and they found themselves obliged to retreat to- 
ward their own coast. Next morning the English were compelled 
to continue their retreat. About 2 o'clock the Dutch had come 
up and were ready to renew the fight, when a new fleet was de- 



A. D. 1665, 1666. THE GREAT FIRE 437 

scried from the south, crowding all sail to reach the scene' of ac- 
tion. It was Prince Rupert's fleet ; and Albemarle, who had 
received intelligence of the prince's approach, bent his course to- 
ward him. Unhappily, the Prince Eoval, a ship of 100 guns, the 
largest in the fleet, ran on the Galloper Sands, and was obliged to 
strike. Next morning the battle began afresh, with more equal 
force than ever, and with ec^ual valor. After long cannonading, 
the fleets came to a close combat, which was continued with great 
violence till parted by a mist. The English retired first into 
their harbors, and it is somewhat uncertain who obtained the vic- 
tory. It was the conjunction alone of the French that could give 
a decisive superiority to the Dutch. In order to facilitate this 
conjunction, De Ruyter, haviug repaired his fleet, posted himself 
at the mouth of the Thames. The English, under Prince Rupert 
and Albemarle, were not long in coming to the attack (July 25). 
The numbers of each fleet amounted to about 80 sail ; and the 
valor and experience of the commanders, as well as of the seamen, 
rendered the engagement fierce and obstinate. The battle ended 
in the defeat of the Dutch ; and De Ruyter, full of indignation at 
yielding the superiority to the enemy, frequently exclaimed, " My 
God ! what a wretch am I ! Among so many thousand bullets, 
is there not one to put an end to my miserable life ?" All that 
night and next day the English pressed upon the rear of the Dutch, 
and it was chiefly by the redoubled efforts of De Ruyter that the 
latter saved themselves in their harbors. The English now rode 
incontestable masters of the sea, and insulted the Dutch in their 
harbors. 

During this war a calamity happened in London which threw 
the people into great consternation. A fire, breaking out in a 
baker's house near the bridge, spread itself on all sides with such 
rapidity that no efforts could extinguish it till it had laid in ashes 
a considerable part of the city. Three days and nights did the 
fire advance (Sept. 2-5), and it was only by the blowing up of 
houses that it was at last extinguished. The king and duke used 
their utmost endeavors to stop the progi'ess of the flames, but all 
their inilustry was unsuccessful. About 400 streets and 13,000 
houses were reduced to ashes. The causes of this calamity were 
evident. The narrow streets of London, the houses built entirely 
of wood, the dry season, and a violent east wind which blew — 
these were so many concurring circumstances which rendered it 
easy to assign the reason of the destruction that ensued. But the 
people were not satisfied with this obvious account. As the pa- 
pists were the chief objects of public detestation, the rumor which 
threw the guilt on them was favorably received by the people. 
No proof, however, or even presumption, after the strictest in- 



488 CHARLES If. Chap. XXIV. 

quiry by a committee of Parliament, ever appeared to authorize 
such a calumny ; yet, in order to give countenance to the popular 
prejudice, the inscription engraved by authority on the monument 
ascribed this calamity to that hated sect. The fire proved^ in the 
issue beneficial both to the city and the kingdom. Care was taken 
to make the streets wider and more regular than before, and Lon- 
don became much more healthy. The plague, which used to break 
out with great fury twice or thrice every century, and, indeed, 
was always lurking in some corner or other of the city, has scarce- 
ly ever appeared since that calamity. 

The fruitless and destructive nature of the war, combined with 
the plague and fire, disposed the English cabinet to make advances 
for a peace. Conferences were opened at Breda ; and Charles, 
anxious to save the last supply which the Parliament had voted 
him, neglected to prepare a fleet. De Witt, who governed the 
Dutch republic at this time, saw that it was a favorable oppor- 
tunity of striking a blow which might at once restore to the Dutch 
the honor lost during the war, and severely revenge those injuries 
which he ascribed to the wanton ambition and injustice of the 
English. Accordingly, he protracted the negotiations at Breda, 
and hastened the naval preparations. The Dutch fleet appeared 
in the Thames under the command ofDeRuyter. Sheernesswas 
soon taken. Having the advantage of a spring-tide and an east- 
erly wind, the Dutch pressed on and broke the chain which had 
been drawn across the Medway, though fortified by some ships 
which had been there sunk by orders of the Duke of Albemarle. 
They burned three ships which lay to guard the chain ; and after 
damaging several vessels, advanced to Chatham, where they burned 
several ships (June 12). The Dutch fell down the Medway with- 
out receiving any considerable damage ; and it was apprehended 
that they might next tide sail up the Thames, and extend their 
hostilities even to London Bridge. Nine ships were sunk at Wool- 
wich, four at Blackwall ; platforms were raised in many places, 
furnished with artillery; the train-bands were called out; and 
every place was in a violent agitation. The Dutch sailed next to 
Portsmouth, where they made a fruitless attempt ; they met with 
no better success at Plymouth ; they insulted Harwich ; they sail- 
ed again up the Thames as far as Tilbury, where they were re- 
pulsed. The whole coast was in alarm; and, had the French 
thought proper at this time to join the Dutch fleet and to invade 
England, consequences the most fatal might justly have been ap- 
prehended. But Louis had no intention to push the victory to 
such extremities ; his interest required that a balance should be 
kept between the two maritime powers, not that an uncontrolled 
superiority should be given to either. 



A.D. 1666, 1667. THE " CABAL" MINISTRY. 489 

The English government made no attempt to revenge this na- 
tional disgrace, and a treaty of peace with the Dutch was signed 
at Breda on July 10, 1667. The acquisition of New York was 
the chief advantage which the English reaped from a war in which 
the national character of bravery had shone out with lustre, but 
where the misconduct of the government, especially in the conclu- 
sion, liad been no less apparent. 

§ 8. To appease the people by some sacrifice seemed requisite 
before the meeting of Parliament, and the prejudices of the nation 
pointed out the victim. The sale of Dunkirk, the bad payment 
of the seamen, the disgrace at Chatham, the unsuccessful conclu- 
sion of the war — all these misfortunes were charged on Clarendon, 
the chancellor, who, though he had ever opposed the rupture with 
Holland, thought it still his duty to justify what he could not pre- 
vent. The king himself, who had always more revered than loved 
the chancellor, was now totally estranged from him. He found 
in Clarendon, it is said, obstacles to his pleasures as well as to his 
ambition. The great seal was taken from Clarendon, and given 
to Sir Orlando Bridgeman, by the title of lord keeper. But the fall 
of the chancellor was not sufficient to gratify the malice of his ene- 
mies : his total ruin was resolved on. The Duke of York in vain 
exerted his interest in behalf of his father-in-law. When the 
Parliament met, an impeachment against him was opened in the 
House of Commons by Mr. Seymour. Many of the articles we 
know to be either false or frivolous ; but some could not be dis- 
proved, and show him unfit to govern a free country. Clarendon, 
by command of Charles, retired to the Continent. At Calais he 
addressed to the House of Lords a defense of his conduct. The 
Lords transmitted this paper to the Commons under the appella- 
tion of a libel, and by a vote of both houses it was condemned to 
be burned by the hands of the hangman. The Parliament next 
proceeded to exert their legislative power against Clarendon, and 
passed an act of banishment, wdiich received the royal assent. He 
survived his banishment six years, living first at Montpellier and 
afterward at Rouen ; and he employed his leisure chiefly in reduc- 
ing to order the History of the Civil Wars, for which he had before 
collected materials : a w^ork of great eloquence, but deficient in 
veracity. 

§ 9. The ministry formed after the dismissal of Clarendon wast^ 
called the " Cabal," and is usually said to have derived its name ^' 
from the initial letters of the names of its five principal members : 
Sir Thomas Clifford, afterward Lord Clifford ; Lord Ashley, after- 
ward Earl of Shaftesbury ; the Duke of Buckingham ; Lord Ar- 
lington, previously Sir Henry Bennett ; and the Earl of Lauder 
dale. But this was not the origin of the name, since the word 

X2 





490 CHARLES II. Chap. XXIV. 

cabal was used at that period to signify any secret committee, and 
is equivalent to the cabinet of the present day. These ministers, 
who have earned a disgraceful notoriety in English history, and 
who sold their country to the French monarch, commenced their 
career by a public measure which gained them and the king the 
favor and approbation of the nation. The ignominious close of 
the Dutch war, the fall of Clarendon, and the discontents of Par- 
liament convinced them of the necessity of concihating popular 
feehng, and the policy which they now adopted equally surprised 
and delighted the public. 

Louis XIV., who now filled the throne of France, surpassed all 
contemporary monarchs, as in grandeur, so likewise in fame and 
glory. His ambition, regulated by prudence, not by justice, care- 
fully provided every means of conquest ; and, before he put him- 
self in motion, he seemed to have absolutely insured success. . The 
sudden decline and almost total fall of the Spanish monarchy 
opened an inviting field to so enterprising a prince. Setting up a 
claim to the Spanish Netherlands in right of his wife, Louis in- 
vaded the country with a powerful army ; Lisle, Courtray, and 
several other cities were immediately taken, and it was visible 
that no force in the Netherlands was able to stop or retard the 
progress of the French arms. Sir William Temple, the British 
resident at Brussels, urged upon his government the importance 
of forming a league with Holland in order to save the Nether- 
lands, and received instructions to go secretly to the Hague, and 
enter into negotiations with the States. He found in De Witt, 
then the chief minister of the republic, a man of generous and en- 
larged sentiments ; and in five days' time an alliance was formed 
between England and Holland to check the ambitious schemes of 
Louis. This league was joined by Sweden, and hence is known 
by the name of the Triple Alliance (Jan. 13, 1668). Louis was 
obliged to give way ; the plenipotentiaries of all the powers met 
shortly afterward at Aix-la-Chapelle, and a treaty was concluded 
upon the terms agreed upon by Temple and De Witt, by which it 
was arranged that Spain should resign to France all the towns 
conquered by the French in the last campaign, but should be guar- 
anteed in the possession of the rest of Flanders. 

But the triple alliance, though so popular in England, had al- 
ways been disliked by Charles. The English king wished to be- 
come independent of Parliament, and saw no other means of 
accomplishing his object except by making himself dependent upon 
France, and obtaining money and military aid from the French 
king. Accordingly, soon after the conclusion of the triple alli- 
ance, Charles began to make overtures to Louis, offering to aban- 
don the alliance and join the French in making war upon the 



AD. 1667-1670 BLOOD'S CRIMES. 49I 

Dutch, provided he obtamed from the French court sufficient sup- 
plies of money to enable him to dispense with the Parliament. 
The negotiations were chiefly carried on by the Duchess of Or- 
leans, the sister of Charles, by whose means a secret treaty be- 
tween England and France was signed at Dover on May 22, 
1 1670. By this shameful treaty Charles engaged to make a public 
'profession of the Roman Catholic religion, and to assist Louis in 
; subjugating Holland, and in maintaining the rights of the house 
of Bourbon to the Spanish monarchy. Louis, in return, agreed to 
pay Charles 3,000,000 of livres a year for the support of the fleet 
so long as the war lasted, and to aid him with an army of 6000 
men in case of an insurrection in England. It was arranged, 
however, that Charles should delay, for the present, making the 
public profession of Catholicism ; and Clifford and Arlington 
Avere the only two members of the " Cabal" intrusted with the 
secret. 

Louis, who well knew Charles's character, resolved to bind him 
by the ties of pleasure. The Duchess of Orleans brought with 
her to England a young lady of the name of QuerouaiUe, whom 
the king carried to London, and soon after created Duchess of 
Portsmouth. He was extremely attached to her during the whole 
course of his life, and she proved a great means of supporting his 
connections with her native country. 

The Parliament had no suspicions of the king's treachery and 
perfidy ; and, accordingly, when they met in the autumn of this 
year (1670), they voted him considerable supplies upon the repre- 
sentation of the ministers. As soon as the supplies had been 
voted Parliament was prorogued, and the king and his ministers 
set to work to carry into effect their nefarious compact with 
Louis. 

It was in this session that the Second Conventicle Act was 
passed, the first having been temporary. In the same year, how- 
ever, an important provision was gained for the liberty of the sub- 
ject by the decision of the Court of Common Pleas in the case of 
Bushell, that juries are not liable to be fined for their verdicts.* 

§ 10. About this time Blood made himself memorable by his 
daring and his crimes. He was a disbanded officer of the Pro- 
tector's, and had been attainted for a conspiracy for raising an in- 
surrection in Ireland. The daring villain meditated revenge upon 
Ormond, the lord lieutenant. Having by artifice drawn off the 
duke's footmen, he attacked his coach in the nighttime as it drove 
along St. James's Street in London, and made himself master of 
his person. He might here have finished the crime had he not 
meditated refinements in his vengeance ; he was resolved to hang 
* See Notes and Illustrations (C). 



492 CHARLES n. Chap XXIV. 

the duke at Tyburn, and for that purpose bound him, and mount- 
ed hhn on horseback behind one of his companions. They were 
advanced a good way into the fields, when the duke, making ef- 
forts for his liberty, threw himself to the ground, and brought 
down with him the assassin to whom he was fastened. They 
were struggling together in the mire, when Ormond's servants, 
whom the alarm had reached, came and saved him. Blood and 
his companions, firing their pistols in a hurry at the duke, rode 
off, and saved themselves by means of the darkness (Dec. 6, 1670). 
Buckingham was at first, with some appearances of reason, sus- 
pected to be the author of this attempt ; and Ossory, Ormond's 
son, told him, in the king's presence, that, if his father came to a 
violent end, he would pistol him, though he stood behind the king's 
chair. A little after. Blood nearly succeeded in carrying off the 
crown and regalia from the Tower. He had bound and wounded 
Edwards, the keeper of the jewel-ofiice, and had got out of the 
Tower with his prey, but was overtaken and seized, with some of 
his associates (May 9, 1671). One of them was known to have 
been concerned in the attempt upon Ormond, and Blood was im- 
mediately concluded to be the ringleader. When questioned, he 
frankly avowed the enterprise, but refused to tell his accomplices. 
" The fear of death," he said, " should never engage him either 
to deny guilt or betray a friend." All these extraordinary cir- 
cumstances made him the general subject of conversation ; and 
the king was moved by an idle curiosity to see and speak with a 
person so noted for his courage and his crimes. Blood might now 
esteem himself secure of pardon, and he wanted not address to im- 
prove the opportunity. He told Charles that he had been en- 
gaged with others in a design to kill him with a carabine above 
Battersea, where his majesty often went to bathe ; that when he 
had taken his stand among the reeds, full of these bloody resolu- 
tions, he found his heart checked with an awe of majesty ; and 
he not only relented himself, but diverted his associates from their 
purpose ; and he warned the king of the danger which might at- 
tend his execution, saying that his associates had bound them- 
selves by the strictest oaths to revenge the death of any of the 
confederacy, and that no precaution or power could secure any 
one from the effects of their desperate resolutions. Whether these 
considerations excited fear or admiration in the king, they con- 
firmed his resolution of granting a pardon to Blood. But, not 
content with pardoning him, he granted him an estate of £500 a 
year in Ireland, and he encouraged his attendance about his per- 
son. Another incident happened this year which infused a gen- 
eral displeasure, and still greater apprehensions, into all men. 
The Duchess of York died, and in her last sickness she made open 



AD. 1670-1672. WAR WITH HOLLAND. 493 

profession of the Roman religion, and finished her life in that com- 
munion. This put an end to that thin disguise which the duke 
had hitherto worn, and he now openly declared his conversion to 
the Churcli of Rome. 

§11. Meanwhile, the English cabinet, by insults and contume- 
lies, endeavored to draw on a war with the Dutch. Temple was 
declared to be no longer embassador to the States ; and Down- 
ing, whom the Dutch regarded as the inveterate enemy of their 
republic, was sent over in his stead. But, before declaring war, 
it was necessary to raise a large sum of money. The supplies 
lately voted by the Commons were nearly exhausted, and neither 
Charles nor his ministers ventured as yet upon levying money 
without consent of Parliament. In this difficulty either Clifford 
or Ashley suggested the shameful expedient of seizing all the 
money which the bankers had intrusted to the Exchequer. It 
had been usual for the bankers to lend large sums of money to the 
government upon the security of the taxes, and they were repaid 
with interest as the latter came in. There were now about 
£1,300,000 thus advanced to the Exchequer ; and it was sudden- 
ly announced that the government did not intend to repay the 
principal, but only the interest, to the depositors (Jan. 2, 1672). 
A general confusion, and the ruin of many, followed this open 
violation of public credit. The bankers stopped payment ; the 
merchants could not meet their bills ; distrust took place every 
where, with a stagnation of commerce, by which the public was 
universally affected. About the same time Charles adopted other 
arbitrary and unconstitutional measures, though some of them 
were not objectionable in themselves. Of these the most important 
was a proclamation, which he issued by virtue of his supreme 
power in ecclesiastical matters, suspending the penal laws enacted 
against all nonconformists or recusants whatsoever, and granting 
to the Protestant Dissenters the public exercise of their religion, 
to the Catholics the exercise of it in private houses. 

England and France declared war against Holland, March 17, 
1672. The Dutch fleet, under the command of De Ruyter, sailed 
against the combined English and French fleets, which lay in 
Southwold Bay, on the coast of Suffolk. The English fleet was 
commanded by the Duke of York. A desperate action ensued. 
The French kept aloof; but both the English and Dutch fleets 
suffered severely. The Earl of Sandwich, who led the English 
van, was killed. The fight continued till night, when the Dutch 
retired (May 28). On land Louis at first carried every thing be- 
fore him. He crossed the Rhine at the head of an irresistible 
army ; city after city opened their gates to him, and three of the 
United Provinces were overrun by his arms. The small army of 



494 CHARLES II. Chap. XXIV. 

the republic was commanded by William, Prince of Orange (after- 
ward William III. of England), then in the 22d year of his age* 
He gave strong indications of thbse great qualities by which his 
life was afterward so much distinguished. Unable to stem the 
torrent, he retired into the province of Holland, where he expect- 
ed, from the natural strength of the country, since all human art 
and courage failed, to be able to make some resistance. Amster- 
dam alone seemed to retain some courage ; and the sluices being- 
opened, the neighboring country, without regard to the damage 
sustained, was laid under water. All the provinces followed the 
example, and scrupled not, in this extremity, to restore to the sea 
those fertile fields which with great art and expense had been won 
from it. In these unfortunate circumstances, the Dutch, with the 
exception of Amsterdam, were prepared to make enormous sacri- 
fices ; and embassadors were dispatched to implore the pity of 
the two combined monarchs. The terms proposed by each were 
of the hardest and most insolent nature ; and when both were 
united they appeared absolutely intolerable, and reduced the 
Dutch, who saw no means of defense, to the utmost despair. 
What extremely augmented their distress were the violent factions 
with which they continued to be every where agitated. De Witt 
still persevered in opposing the repeal of the perpetual edict by 
which the Prince of Orange was excluded from the stadtholder- 
ship, and from all share in the civil administration. The people 
rose in insurrection at Dort, and by force constrained their burgo- 
masters to sign the repeal so much demanded. This proved a 
signal for a general revolt throughout all the provinces. At Am- 
sterdam, the Hague, Middlebourg, Rotterdam, the people flew to 
arms, and, trampling under foot the authority of their magistrates, 
obliged them to submit to the Prince of Orange. This movement 
was followed by the massacre of the brothers De Witt by the pop- 
ulace (Aug. 4), who exercised on the dead bodies of those virtuous 
citizens indignities too shocking to be recited. But the republic, 
now firmly united under one leader, began to collect the remains 
of its pristine vigor. William, worthy of that heroic family from 
which he sprang, adopted sentiments becoming the head of a brave 
and free people. Those intolerable conditions demanded by their 
insolent enemies he exhorted the States to reject with scorn, and 
by his advice they put an end to negotiations which served only 
to break the courage of their fellow-citizens and delay the assist- 
ance of their allies. The spirit of the young prince infused itself 

* His father had been stadtholder of the provinces, but npon his death in 
1650, a few days before the birth of his son, the dignity remained in abey- 
ance. Great jealousy was felt of the young prince, and the chief opponent 
of his party was De Witt, the grand pensionary of the province of Holland. 



A.D. 1672, 1673. THE PRINCE OF ORANGE. 495 

into his hearers. Those who lately entertained thoughts of yield- 
ing their necks to subjection were now bravely determined to re- 
sist the haughty victor, and to defend those last remains of their 
native soil, of which neither the irruptions of Louis nor the inun- 
dation of waters had as yet bereaved them. Should even the ground 
fail them on which they might combat, they were still resolved not 
to yield the generous strife, but, flying to their settlements in the 
Indies, erect a new empire in those remote regions. The com- 
bined princes, finding at last some appearance of opposition, bent 
all their efforts to seduce the Prince of Orange, on whose valor 
and conduct the fate of the commonwealth entirely depended ; 
but all these proposals were generously rejected. When Buck- 
inoham urged the inevitable destruction which huno; over the 
United Provinces, and asked him whether he did not see that the 
commonwealth was ruined, " There is one certain means," replied 
the prince, " by which I can be sure never to see my country's ruin 
— I will die in the last ditch." Louis, finding that his enemies 
gathered courage behind their inundations, and that no farther 
success was likely for the present to attend his arms, retired to 
Versailles. 

§ 12. In February, 1673, the English Parliament met after pro- . 
rogations continued for nearly two years. It was evident how 
much the king dreaded their assembling ; and the discontents uni- 
versally excited by the bold measures entered into, both in foreign 
and domestic administration, had given but too just foundation for 
his apprehensions. Though unwilling to come to a violent 
breach with the king, the Parliament would not express the least 
approbation of the war. And they gave him the prospect of a 
supply, only that they might have permission to proceed peace- 
ably in the redress of the other grievances of which they had such 
reason to complain. Of these, none were more alarming, both on 
account of the secret views from which it proceeded, and the con- 
sequences which might attend it, than the Declaration of Indul- 
gence. A remonstrance was immediately framed against that ex- 
ercise of prerogative. It is evident that Charles was now come 
to that delicate crisis which he ought at first to have foreseen 
when he embraced those desperate counsels, and his resolutions, 
in such an event, ought long ago to have been entirely fixed and 
determined. Besides his usual guards, he had an army encamped 
at Blackheath, under the command of Marshal Schomberg, a for- 
eigner ; and his ally, the French king, he might expect would sec- 
ond him, if force became requisite for restraining his discontented 
subjects. But the king was startled when he approached so dan- 
gerous a precipice as that which lay before him ; and, after taking 
the opinion of the House of Peers, who advised him to comply 



496 CHARLES II. Chap, XXIV. 

with the Commons, he sent for the declaration, and with his own 
hands broke the seals. But the Parliament, though satisfied with 
the king's compliance, had not lost all those apprehensions to 
which the measures of the court had given so much foundation. 
A law was passed, known as the Test Act, which continued in 
force till the reign of George IV.* By this act all persons hold- 
ing any public office were compelled to take the oaths of allegiance 
and supremacy, to receive the sacrament in the Established 
Church, and to abjure all belief in the doctrine of tran substantia- 
tion. In consequence of this act, the Duke of York resigned all 
his commands, and was succeeded in the command of the fleet by 
Prince Rupert. He fought several battles with the Dutch this 
summer, but the victory was generally doubtful. The French al- 
liance, and the war against Holland, became more and more un- 
popular, and when the Parliament met in the autumn they dis- 
covered great symptoms of ill-humor. They expressed great in- 
dignation at the marriage of the Duke of York with a princess of 
the house of Modena, then in close alliance with France. They 
voted the standing army a grievance, and declared that they would 
grant no more supplies unless it appeared that the Dutch were 
so obstinate as to refuse all reasonable conditions of peace. To 
cut short these disagreeable attacks, the king prorogued the Par- 
liament amid scenes of great confusion (Nov. 4). 

The " Cabal" ministry was now at an end. Lord Shaftesbury, 
foreseeing the coming storm, had deserted the court, and become 
the chief leader of the opposition. Directly after the prorogation 
he was dismissed from the office of chancellor, to which he had 
been elevated in the preceding year. The great seal was given 
to Sir Heneage Finch, afterward Earl of Nottingham. The test 
had incapacitated Clifibrd, and the white staff was conferred on 
Sir Thomas Osborne, soon after created Earl of Danby,t a minis- 
ter of abilities, who had risen by his parliamentary talents. The* 
kino;'s necessities soon obliged him aoain to assemble the Parlia 
ment (1674), and by some popular acts he paved the way for the 
session. But all his efforts were in vain. The disgust of the 
Commons was fixed in foundations too deep to be easily removed. 
They made an attack on the remaining members of the Cabal, to 
whose pernicious counsels they imputed all their present griev- 
ances. The king plainly saw that he could expect no supply from 
the Commons for carrying on a war so odious to them, and that 
he must defer to a more convenient time the execution of his se- 

* For farther particulars, see Notes and Illustrations (A). 

t He was created by William III. Marquess of Carmarthen in 1689, 
and Duke of Leeds in 1694, and from him the present duke is lineally de- 
scended. 



AD. 1673-1675. PEACE BETWEEN FRANCE AND HOLLAND. 497 

cret treaty with Louis. He therefore concluded a separate treaty 
with the Dutch (Feb. 9, 1674). The honor of the flag was yield- 
ed to the English ; all possessions were restored to the same con- 
dition as before the war ; and the States agi^eed to pay to the king 
nearly £300,000. Charles, though obliged to make a separate 
peace, still kept up connections with the French monarch. He 
apologized for deserting his ally by representing to him all the 
real, undissembled difficulties under which he labored,- and Louis 
admitted the validity of his excuses. 

§ 13. Considerable alterations were about this time made in the 
English ministry. Buckingham was dismissed, who had long, by 
his wit and entertaining humor, possessed the king's favor : he 
now became, like Shaftesbury, a leader of the opposition. The 
Earl of Danby, the lord treasurer, obtained the chief direction of 
public affairs. He was a man of honor, and a declared enemy to 
the French alliance ; but he never possessed authority enough to 
overcome the prepossessions which the king retained toward it, 
and Charles continued to draw annual supplies from the French 
court. But, while Danby scorned the idea of making the king ab- 
solute by the assistance of a foreign court, he had the highest no- 
tions of the king's prerogative, and endeavored to augment the 
power of the crown. Accordingly, in 1675, he caused a bill to 
be introduced into the House of Lords, by which all members of 
either house, and all who possessed any office, were required to 
swear that it was not lawful, upon any pretense whatever, to take 
arms against the king ; that they abhorred the traitorous position 
of taking arms by his authority against his person ; and that they 
would not at any time endeavor to alter the Protestant religion, 
or the established government either in Church or state. Great 
opposition was made to this bill ; during 17 days the debates were 
carried on with much zeal, and it was carried only by two voices 
in the House of Peers. The Parliament was prorogued before its 
discussion by the House of Commons. 

Meantime the war continued on the Continent. The Prince of 
Orange, supported by the emperor and the German states, contin- 
ued manfully the struggle against Louis. The Earl of Danby and 
the nation urged Charles to join the Dutch, and put an effectual 
curb upon the ambition of the French monarch ; but when Charles 
seemed disposed to yield to the wishes of his minister and his sub- 
jects, and began to levy troops, the Commons took the alarm and 
opposed the levy. Such was the distrust of the king, that the 
Commons, though anxious for a war with France, feared to intrust 
their sovereign with troops, lest he should employ them against 
their own liberties. Nor was their distrust unfounded ; for at the 
very time that he pledged his royal word to the Commons to car- 
ry on war against France with the supplies which he begged of 



498 



CHARLES II. 



Chap. XXIY. 



them, he had signed a secret treaty with France, and had obtain - 
ed a pension on the promise of his neutrality ; a fact which ren- 
ders his royal ivord, solemnly given to his subjects, one of the most 
dishonorable and most scandalous acts that ever proceeded from 
a throne. But Charles was distrusted by Louis as well as by his 
own subjects. The French embassador entered into secret nego- 
tiations with the popular party ; bribed even some of the popular 
leaders to resist the war against France, and gave them proofs of 
the king's treachery. Charles, however, was sincerely anxious 
for peace ; for he was sensible that, so long as the war continued 
abroad, he should never enjoy peace at home. As a means to this 
end, he was persuaded by the Earl of Danby and Sir William Tem- 
ple to entertain proposals for marrying the Princess Mary, the 
elder daughter of the Duke of York, to the Prince of Orange, who 
came over to England at the close of the campaign of 1677. The 
marriage was celebrated on Nov. 4, and gave general satisfaction ; 
but it occasioned no alteration in the policy of Charles, except 
that he exerted himself more vigorously in arranging the terms 
of a peace. In the following year (1678) peace was signed at 
Nimeguen between France and Holland. Louis resigned the city 
of Maestricht to the Dutch, but retained possession of Franche- 
Comte, together with Valenciennes, Cambray, and other towns in 
the Low Countries. The French king thus obtained considerable 
accession of territory at the expense of Spain. The King of Spain 
and the emperor were indignant at this treaty, but were obliged 
to accept of the terms prescribed to them. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS- 



A. TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS. 

The Corporation Act was passed in 1661. 
In it a religious test was combined with a 
political test. All corporate officers were re- 
(jnired to have taken the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper, "■ according to the rites of the 
Church of England," within one year before 
their elections, and, upon being elected, to 
take the oaths of allegiance and of suprema- 
cy, and the following oath: '■'•I, A. B., do 
declare and believe that it is not lawful, 
upon any pretense whatsoever, to take arms 
against the king, and that I do abhor that 
traitorous position of taking arms by his au- 
thority against his person, or against those 
tliat are commissioned by him;" besides 
subscribing a declaration against the Solemn 
League and Covenant. The Corporation 
Oath of non-r em stance was abolished, not 
indeed at the Revolution, though it most 
pi'obably became a dead letter at that epoch, 
but at the accession of the house of Bruns- 
wick, by the "•Act for quieting and estab-, 
lishing Corporations." (5 Geo. I., c. 6, s. 2.) 

The Test Act was passed in 1673, with the 
object of preventing political power being 
placed in the hands of papists. The title of 



the Act is, "• An Act for preventing dangers 
Avhich may happen from Popish Recusants." 
Under the provisions of the act, all persons 
holding any office or place of trust, civil or 
military, or admitted of the king's or Duke 
of York's household, were to receive the sac- 
rament according to the usage of the Church 
of England, and to make and subscribe the 
following declaration: "I, A. B., do declare 
that I believe there is not any transuhstnn- 
tiation in the sacrament of tlie Lord's Sup- 
per, or in the elements of bread and wine, at 
or after the consecration thereof by any per- 
son whatsoever." The Dissenters entertain- 
ed such fears of the papists that they active- 
ly supported the passing of this act, though 
it included them not less than papists, by 
reason of the requisition of taking the sacra- 
ment according to the rites of the Church of 
England. 

The Parliamentar^j Test was imposed in 
the year 16T8, five years after the first test. 
In this interval, the alarm in the counti'y of 
the designs of papists had been greatly in- 
creased by the discovery of the supposed 
Popish Plot. The title of the act is ''An 
Act for the more effectual preserving the 
King's person and government, by disabling 



Chap. XXiV. 



iSOTES AND ILLUSTEATIONS. 



499 



Papists from sitting in either House of Par- 1 
liaraent." Under the provisions of the act, | 
"•No peer or member of the House of Com- i 
mons shall sit or vote without taking the 
oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and a 
declaration repudiating the doctrine of tran- 
substantiation, the adoration of the Virgin, 
and the sacrifice of the Mass. Peers and 
members offending are to be deemed and 
adjudged Poinsh Recusant/i convict^ and are 
to forfeit £500," besides suffering numerous 
disabilities. These acts were repealed in the 
reign of Geo. IV. The preceding account is 
, abridged from Amos, '•'• The English Consti- 
' tution in the reign of Charles H.," p. 135, seq. 

B. THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 

This act is entitled '■'•An Act for Uniform- 
ity of Public Prayers, and administration of 
Sacraments and other rites and ceremonies; 
and for establishing the form of making, or- 
daining, and consecrating bishops, priests, 
and deacons in the Churclr of England." In 
treating of the act, it will be convenient to 
notice, I., those persecuting clauses which 
have been repealed; and, H., those clauses 
touching assent and consent to the Book of 
Common Prayer and episcopal ordination, 
which continue in force in the present day. 

I. By the 34th section, all former statutes 
relating to the unifonnity of prayer and ad- 
ministration of the sacraments were re-en- 
acted. The Act of Unifonnity in force pre- 
viously to the statute of Charles H. was the 
1st of Elizabeth, c. 2, which incorporates, by 
reference, penal clauses in the earlier Uni- 
formity Act of 5th and 6th Edward VI., c. 1, 
which, again, incoi-porates by reference sim- 
ilar clauses in the Uniformity Act of the 2d 
and 3d Edward ^X, c. 1. These obscure ref- 
erences will be found to include "■ the declar- 
ing or speaking any thing in the derogation, 
depraving, or despising of the Book of Com- 
mon Prayer, or of any thing therein contain- 
ed, or any part thereof," the punishment of 
which, for the third offense, is forfeiture of 
goods and chattels and imprisonment for 
life. Among other clauses included, by ref- 
erence^ in the Uniformity Act of Charles H., 
are the compelling attendance at parish 
churches, and the offense of whoever shall 
" willingly and wittingly hear or be present 
at any other manner or foiTU of Common 
Prayer than is mentioned and set forth in 
the Book of Common Prayer," provisions 
which have been repealed by statutes of Vic- 
toria (7 & 8 Vict., c. 102 ; 9 (fe 10 Vict., c. 59), 

By the 14th section of the act, it is enacted 
"that no person shall presume to adviinista- 
fhe holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper be- 
fore such time as he shall be ordained priest, 
according to the foi-m and manner in and by 
the said book prescribed, unless he have for- 
merly been made priest by episcopal ordina- 
tion, upon pain to forfeit for the said offense 
the sum of £100." The £100 penalty was 
repealed by the Toleration Act of WUliam 
and jMaiy. 

The 9th section of the act contained the 
following declaration : '•'• I, A. B., do declare 
that it is not lawful, on any pretense what- 
soever, to take arms against the king; and 



that I do abhor that traitorous position of 
taking arms by his authority against his 
person, or against those that are commis- 
sionated by him ; and tliat I will conform to 
the Liturgy of the Church of England as it 
is now by law established." This declara- 
tion was required to be subscribed not only 
by eveiy person in holy orders, but also by 
public and private schoolmasters, who were 
likewise required to take out a license from 
the bishop of the diocese, under penalty of 
three months' imprisonment. The Declara- 
tion, so far as it relates to non-resistance, 
was abrogated at the Revolution (1 W. and 
M., c. S). The license of private tutors con- 
tinued, though latterly a dead letter, till it 
was abolished by a statute of Victoria (9 and 
10 Vict., c. 59). 

A declaration, repudiating of the Solemn 
League and Covenant, was, by the Act of 
Unifonnity, to be taken until the 25th of 
March, 16S2, a period allowed for the extinc- 
tion of Covenanters by the course of nature. 

H. With respect to the jJ^rmanent clausefi 
of the Act of Uniformity: these are, 1st, 
the Declaration of assent and consent to 
the Book of Common Prayer; and, 2d, a 
provision requii-ing Ein.-copal Ordinaiion. 
Abridged from Amos, ''The English Consti- 
tution in the reign of Charles II.," p. 87, seq. 

C. IMMUNITY OF JURIES. 

Previous to the year 1670, juries were fre- 
quently fined if they gave a verdict contraiy 
to the dictation of the judge. But in that 
year this pernicious practice was finally abol- 
ished by the decision of Vaughan, chief jus- 
tice of the Common Pleas. The Recorder of 
London had set a fine of 40 marks upon each 
of the juiy Avho had acquitted the Quakers 
Penn and Mead on an indictment for an un- 
lawful assembly. Bushell, the foreman, re- 
fused to pay, and being committed to prison, 
obtained his writ of Habeas Corpus from the 
court of Common Pleas ; and on the return 
made, that he had been committed for find- 
ing a verdict against full and manifest evi- 
dence, and against the direction of the court, 
Chief Justice Vaughan held the ground to 
be insufficient, and discharged the prisoner. 
Erskine, in his famous speech for the Dean 
of St. Asaph, observed that the country was 
almost as much indebted to Bushell as to 
Hampden in resisting ship-money. 

In earlier times, when juries Avere also 
witnesses [see p. 154], they were liable to be 
punished by the ten-ible writ oi Attaint* if 
a second jury, consisting of 24juroi-s, found 
them guilty'of giving a false verdict. The 
ancient punishment was, in such a case, 
that the jurors should be deprived of all 
their property, be imprisoned, and become 
forever infamous; and that the plaiutift' 
should be restored to all he had lost by rea- 
son of the unjust verdict. This odious pro- 
ceeding, though obsolete even in the time of 
Elizabeth, was not abolished till the 5th of 
George IV, See Hallam' s Constitutional Hfs- 
toiy, iii., p. 9; Amos, English Constitution 
in 'the reign of Charles H., p. 279, seq.; 
Kerr's Blackstone, iii., p. 433. 

* Attinctus, stained or blackened. 




Medal relating to the Rye House Plot. Obv. : pebievnt fvlminis ictv 16S3. The king 
as Hercules menaced by a hydra-like monster, having seven human heads, which repre- 
sent those of the supposed conspirators ; above, a hand in the clouds holding a thun- 
derbolt. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

CHARLES II. CONTINUED. FROM THE PEACE OF NIMEGUEN TO THE DEATH 
OP THE KING. A.D. 1678-1685. 

§ 1. The Popish Plot. Oates's Narrative. Godfrey's Murder. § 2. Zeal 
of the Parliament. Bedloe's Narrative. Bill for a new Test. § 3. Ac- 
cusation of Danby. Dissolution of Parliament, § 4. Trial and Execu- 
tion of Coleman and others. The Duke of Monmouth. § 5. A new 
Parliament. Danby's Impeachment. New Council. § 6. The Exclu- 
sion Bill. Habeas Corpus Act. § 7. Prosecutions of Papists. Affairs 
of Scotland. Murder of Archbishop Sharpe. § 8. Meal-tub Plot. Whig 
and Tory. § 9, Violence of the new Parliament. Exclusion Bill reject- 
ed in the Lords. Trial and Execution of Lord Stafford. Parliament 
dissolved. § 10. The new Parliament dissolved. Turn of the popular 
Feeling. Court Prosecutions. § 11. Trial of Shaftesbury. London and 
other Cities deprived of their Charters. § 12. Rye House Plot. Trial 
and Execution of Lord Russell and Algernon Sidney. § 13. State of the 
Nation. Monmouth banished. § 14. Marriage of Prince George of Den- 
mark and the Princess Anne. The King's Indolence and Subserviency. 
His Death and Character. 

§ 1. The English nation, ever since the fatal league with 
France, had entertained violent jealousies against the court. 
Some mysterious design was still suspected in every enterprise 
and profession. Arbitrary power and popery were apprehended 
as the scope of all projects. Each breath or rumor made the 
people start with anxiety: their enemies, *they thought, were in 
their very bosom, and had gotten possession of their sovereign's 
confidence. While in this timorous, jealous disposition, the cry 
of a plot all on a sudden struck their ears. They were wakened 
from their slumber, and, like men aifrighted and in the dark, 



A.D. 1678. 



THE POPISH PLOT. 



501 




Eev. 



DEVS NOBIS H^c OTiA FECIT. A shepherd, the king, keeping his flock, in the midst 
of which two wolves hanging : in the distance a view of London. 



took every figure for a spectre. The terror of each man became 
the source of terror to another ; and a universal panic being dif- 
fused, reason, and argument, and common sense, and common hu- 
manity, lost all influence over them. From this disposition of 
men's minds we are to account for the progress of the Popish 
Plot, and the credit given to it ; an event which would otherwise 
appear prodigious and altogether inexplicable. On the 12th of 
August, 1678, one Kirby, a chemist, accosted the king as he was 
walking in the park : " Sir," said he, " keep within the company ; 
your enemies have a design upon your life, and you may be shot 
in this very walk." Being asked the reason of these strange 
speeches, he said that two men, called Grove and Pickering, had 
engaged to shoot the king, and Sir George Wakeman, the queen's 
physician, to poison him. This intelligence, he added, had been 
communicated to him by Dr. Tonge, whom, if permitted, he would 
introduce to his majesty. Tonge was rector of St. INIichael's, Wood 
Street ; a man active, restless, full of projects, void of understand- 
ing. He brought papers to the king which contained information 
of a plot, and were digested into 4.3 articles. Tonge said that 
they had been secretly thrust under his door, and that, though he 
suspected, he did not certainly know who was the author. The 
king gave no credit to the story ; but the Duke of York, hearing 
that priests and Jesuits, and even his own confessor, had been 
accused, was desirous that a thorough inquiry should be made by 
the council into the pretended conspiracy. Kirby and Tonge were 
inquired after, and were now found to be living in close connec- 
tion with Titus Gates, the person who was said to have conveyed 
the first intelligence to Tonge. Gates was a man of infamous 
character. He had been originally an Anabaptist, had become a 



502 CHARLES II. Chap. XXV. 

clergyman of the Established Church at the Restoration, and sub- 
sequently went abroad, pretending to be a convert to Romanism. 
He had been expelled from the English college at St. Omer, where 
he had become acquainted with the names of the leading Roman- 
ists. As this man expected more encouragement from the public 
than from the king or his ministers, he thought proper, before he 
was presented to the council, to go with his two companions to 
Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey, a noted and active justice of peace, 
and to give evidence before him of the conspiracy. The main 
articles of this wonderful intelligence were, that the Pope had 
delegated the sovereignty of Great Britain to the Jesuits, who had 
proceeded to name a government and fill up the dignities of the 
Church ; that the king, whom they named " the Black Bastard," 
was to be put to death as a heretic ; that Pere la Chaise, the 
celebrated confessor of Louis XIV., had remitted £10,000 to Lon- 
don as a reward for the king's assassination, and other foreign 
ecclesiastics had offered farther sums ; that London was to be 
fired in several places by means of fire-balls, which they called 
Tewkesbury mustard-pills ; the Protestants were to be massacred 
all over the kingdom ; the crown was to be oficred to the duke on 
condition of his receiving it as a gift from the Pope, and utterly 
extirpating the Protestant religion ; if he refused these conditions, 
he himself was immediately to be poisoned or assassinated. To i^ot 
James must go, according to the expression ascribed by Gates to 
the Jesuits. 

Gates, when examined before the council, betrayed his impos- 
tures in the grossest manner. While in Sixain, he had been car- 
ried, he said, to Don John, who promised great assistance to the 
execution of the Catholic designs. The king asked him what 
sort of a man Don John was : he answered, a tall, lean man — ■ 
directly contrary to truth, as the king well knew. He totally 
mistook the situation of the Jesuits' college at Paris, and failed to 
identify persons whom he pretended to know. 

Notwithstanding these objections, the violent animosity which 
had been excited against the Catholics in general made the public 
swallow the grossest absurdities when they accompanied an ac- 
cusation of those religionists ; and the more diabolical any con- 
trivance appeared, the better it suited the tremendous idea enter- 
tained of a Jesuit. Danby, likewise, who stood in opposition to 
the French and Catholic interest at court, was willing to encour- 
age every story which might serve to discredit that party. By 
his suggestion a warrant was signed for arresting Coleman, who 
had been secretary to the late Duchess of York, and whom Gates 
had implicated in his evidence. Coleman's papers were seized, 
among which were copies of letters to Pere la Chaise and other 



A.D. 1678. ZEAL OF THE PARLIAMENT. 503 

eminent foreign Catholics. These did indeed betray a scheme 
for the conversion of the nation to popery ; but, instead of the 
king being murdered, he was to be bribed by the King of France, 
and the design was altogether different from Oates's pretended dis- 
covery. Yet his plot and Coleman's were universally confound- 
ed together ; and the evidence of the latter being unquestionable, 
the beUef of the former, aided by the passions of hatred and of 
terror, took possession of the whole people. The murder of God- 
frey completed the general delusion. The body of this magistrate 
was found lying in a ditch at Primrose Hill ; the marks of stran- 
gling were thought to appear about his neck, and some contusions 
on his breast ; his own sword was sticking in the body ; he had 
rings on his fingers, and money in his pocket ; it was therefore in- 
ferred that he had not fallen into the hands of robbers. Without 
farther reasoning, the cry rose that he had been assassinated by 
the papists, on account of his taking Oates's evidence. The dead 
body of Godfrey was carried into the city, attended by vast mul- 
titudes. The funeral pomp was celebrated with great parade. 
Yet the murder of Godfrey, in all likelihood, had no connection, 
one way or other, with the Popish Plot ; and, as he was a melan- 
choly man, there is some reason, notwithstanding the pretended 
appearances to the contrary, to suspect that he fell by his own 
hands. 

§ 2. When the Parliament met (Oct. 21), Danby, who hated 
the Catholics and courted popularity, opened the matter in the 
House of Peers. The king was extremely displeased with this 
temerity, and told his minister that he had given the Parliament 
a handle to ruin himself, and that he would surely live to repent 
it. Danby had afterward sufficient reason to applaud the sagac- 
ity of his master. The cry of the plot was immediately echoed 
from one house to the other. The authority of Parliament gave 
sanction to that fury with which the people were already agitated. 
A solemn fast was appointed ; addresses were voted for the -a^- 
moval of popish recusants from London, and for appointing the 
train-bands of London and Westminster to be in readiness. The 
Catholic lords Powys, Stafford, Arundel, Petre, and Belasyse were 
committed to the Tower, and were soon after impeached for high 
treason ; and both houses, after hearing Oates's evidence, voted 
that there had been, and still is, a damnable and hellish plot. 
Oates, though an infamous villain, was by every one applauded, 
caressed, and called the savior of the nation ; was recommended 
by the Parliament to the king ; was lodged in Whitehall, protect- 
ed by guards, and encouraged by a pension of £1200 a year. It 
was not long before such bountiful encouragement brought forth 
a new witness, William Bedloe, a man, if possible, more infamous 



504 CHARLES II. Chap. XXV. 

than Gates. When he appeared before the council he gave intel- 
ligence of Godfrey's murder only, which, he said, had been perpe- 
trated in Somerset House, where the queen lived, by papists, some 
of them servants in her family. He at first pretended ignorance 
of Oates's plot, but afterward gave a narrative of it, making it to 
tally, as well as he could, with that of Gates, which had been pub- 
lished. But, that he might make himself acceptable by new mat- 
ter, he added some absurd circumstances of vast invasions project- 
ed by France and Spain. Lord Carrington and Lord Brudenell, 
with all other persons mentioned by Bedloe as concerned in the 
conspiracy, were immediately committed to custody by the Par- 
liament. 

The king, though he scrupled not, wherever he could speak free- 
ly, to throw the highest ridicule on the plot, and on all who be- 
lieved it, yet found it necessary to adopt the popular opinion. In 
his speech to both houses, he told them that, provided the right 
of succession were preserved, he would consent to any laws for re- 
straining a popish successor ; exhorted them to think of effectual 
means for the conviction of popish recusants ; and highly praised 
the duty and loyalty of all his subjects who had discovered such 
anxious concern for his safety. 

A bill for a Parliamentary Test passed the Commons with- 
out much opposition; but in the upper House the Duke of York 
moved that an exception might be admitted in his favor. With 
great earnestness, and even with tears in his eyes, he told them 
that he was now to cast himself on their kindness, in the great- 
est concern which he could have in the world ; and he protested 
that, whatever his religion might be, it should only be a private 
thing between God and his own soul, and never should appear in 
his public conduct. Notwithstanding this strong effort in so im- 
portant a point, he prevailed only by two voices. By this bill no 
peer or member of the House of Commons could sit or vote with- 
Oj^t making a declaration repudiating the doctrine of transubstan- 
tiation, the adoration of the Virgin, and the sacrifice of the Mass. 
Thus all Roman Catholics were excluded from both houses of 
Parliament till the repeal of this act in the reign of George IV.* 

Encouraged by this general fury. Gates and Bedloe were now 
so audacious as to accuse the queen herself of entering into the 
design against the life of her husband. The Commons, in an ad- 
dress to the king, gave countenance to this scandalous accusation ; 
but the Lords would not be prevailed with to join in the address. 
Charles had the generosity to protect his injured consort. "They 
think," said he, " I have a mind to a new wife ; but for all that, 
I will not see an innocent woman abused." 

* See Notes and Illustrations, p. 498. 



A.D. 1678, 1679. DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT. 595 

§ 3. The present ferment and credulity of the nation engaged 
even persons of rank and condition to become informers. Mon- 
tague, the king's embassador at Paris, without obtaining or ask- 
ing the king's leave, suddenly came over to England. Charles, 
suspecting his intention, ordered his papers to be seized ; but Mon- 
tague had taken care to secrete two papers, which he laid before 
the House of Commons. One was a letter from the Treasurer 
Danby, written during the negotiations at Nimeguen. Montague 
was there directed to make a demand of money from France ; or, 
in other words, the king was willing secretly to sell his good of- 
fices to Louis, contrary to the general interests of the confeder- 
ates, and even to those of his own kingdoms. Danby was so un- 
willing to engage in this negotiation, that the king, to satisfy 
him, subjoined, with his own hand, these words : "This letter is 
writ by my order, C. R." The Commons were inflamed with this 
intelligence against Danby, and immediately voted an impeach- 
ment of high treason against that minister. Danby made it ap- 
pear to the House of Lords not only that Montague, the informer 
against him, had all along promoted the money negotiations with 
France, but that he himself was ever extremely averse to the in- 
terests of that crown, which he esteemed pernicious to his master 
and to his country. The Peers plainly saw that Danby's crime 
fell not under the statute of Edward III., and could not subject 
him to the penalties annexed to treason. They refused, therefore, 
to commit him ; the Commons insisted on their demand ; and a 
great contest was likely to arise when the king prorogued, and 
then dissolved the Parliament (Jan. 24, 1679). Thus came to an 
end the Parliament which had sat during the whole course of this 
reign. Being elected during the joy and festivity of the restora- 
tion, it consisted almost entirely of Royalists, who were disposed 
to support the crown by all the liberality which the habits of that 
age would permit. Alarmed by the alliance with France, they 
gradually withdrew their confidence from the king, and finding 
him still to persevere in foreign interest, they proceeded to dis- 
cover symptoms of the most refractory and most jealous disposi- 
tion. The Popish Plot pushed them beyond all bounds of moder- 
ation ; and before dissolution they seemed to be treading fast in 
the footsteps of the last Long Parliament, on whose conduct they 
threw at first such violent blame. 

§ 4. During the sitting of the Parliament, and after its pro- 
rogation and dissolution, the trials of the pretended criminals were 
carried on, and the courts of judicature, places which, if possible, 
ought to be kept more pure from injustice than even national as- 
semblies themselves, were strongly infected with the same party 
rage and bigoted prejudices. Coleman, the most obnoxious of the 

Y 



506 CHARLES II. Chap. XXV. 

conspirators, was first brought to his trial. His letters were pro- 
duced. Oates and Bedloe deposed against him, and he was con- 
demned and executed, persisting to the last in the strongest prot- 
estations of innocence. The same fate attended Grove, Picker- 
ing, and Father Ireland, who, it is pretended, had signed, together 
with 50 Jesuits, the great resolution of murdering the king. All 
these men, before their arraignment, were condemned in the opin- 
ion of the judges, jury, and spectators ; and to be a Jesuit, or even 
a Catholic, was of itself a sufficient proof of guilt. 

Bedloe still remained a single evidence against the persons ac- 
cused of Godfrey's murder ; but at last means were found to com- 
plete the legal evidence. One Prance, a silversmith and a Cath- 
olic, had been accused by Bedloe of being an accomplice in the 
murder ; and, upon his denial, being thrown into prison, loaded 
with heavy irons, and confined to the condemned hole, a place 
cold, dark, and full of nastiness, was at length wrought upon, by 
terrors and sufferings, to make a confession. Upon his evidence, 
three servants of the queen were condemned and executed for the 
murder. 

As the army could neither be kept up nor disbanded without 
money, the king found himself obliged to summon a new Parlia- 
ment. The Popish Plot had a great influence upon the elections, 
and, in spite of the exertions of the government, all the zealots of 
the former Parliament were rechosen ; new ones were added ; and 
it was apprehended that the new representatives would, if possi- 
ble, exceed the old m their refractory opposition to the court and 
furious persecution of the Catholics. The king was alarmed when 
he saw so dreadful a tempest arise from such small and unaccount- 
able beginnings. In order to gratify and appease his people and 
Parliament, he desired the duke to withdraw beyond sea, that no 
farther suspicion might remain of the influence of popish coun- 
sels. The duke complied, and retired to Brussels ; but first re- 
quired an order, signed by the king, lest his absenting himself 
should be interpreted as a proof of fear or of guilt. He also de- 
sired that his brother should satisfy him, as well as the public, by 
a declaration of the illegitimacy of the Duke of Monmouth. That 
person was the king's natural son by Lucy Waters, and born about 
ten years before the Kestoration. He possessed all the qualities 
which could engage the affections of the populace ; a distinguish- 
ed valor, an affable address, a thoughtless generosity, a graceful 
person. But his capacity was mean, his temper pliant ; so that, 
notwithstanding his great popularity, he had never been danger- 
ous, had he not implicitly resigned himself to the guidance of 
Shaftesbury, a man of such a restless temper, such subtle wit, and 
such abandoned principles. That daring politician had flattered 



A.D. 1679. DANBY'S IMPEACHMENT. 507 

Monmouth with the hope of succeeding to the crown. The story 
of a contract of marriage passed between the king and Mon- 
mouth's mother, and secretly kept in a certain J/ac/j box, had been 
industriously spread abroad, and was greedily received by the 
multitude. 

§ 5. The new Parliament assembled March 6, 1.679. The re- 
fractory humor of the lower House appeared in the first step 
which they took. It had ever been usual for the Commons, in 
the election of their speaker, to consult the inclinations of the sov- 
ereign, and even the Long Parliament in 1641 had not thought 
proper to depart from so established a custom. The king now de- 
sired that the choice should fall on Sir Thomas Meres ; but Sey- 
mour, speaker to the last Parliament, was instantly called to the 
chair by a vote which seemetl unanimous. The king, when Sey- 
mour was presented to him for his approbation, rejected him, and 
ordered the Commons to proceed to a new choice. A great con- 
test ensued, till, by way of compromise, it was agreed to set aside 
both candidates. Gregory, a lawyer, was chosen, and the election 
was ratified by the king. It has ever since been understood that 
the choice of the speaker lies in the House, but that the king re- 
tains the power of rejecting any person disagreeable to him. The 
impeachment of Danby was revived. The king had beforehand 
taken the precaution to grant a pardon to Danby ; and, in order 
to screen the chancellor from all attacks by the Commons, he had 
taken the great seal into his own hands, and had himself affixed it 
to the parchment. But the Commons maintained that no pardon 
of the crown could be pleaded in bar of an impeachment, though 
the prerogative of mercy had hitherto been understood to be alto- 
gether unlimited in the king; and James had remitted the sen- 
tence on Lord Bacon. On the other hand, if such a principle 
were allowed, there was an end of the pretended responsibility of 
the advisers of the crown, and any minister might set the Parlia- 
ment at defiance.* The Commons persisted, and the Peers or- 
dered Danby to be taken into custody. Danby absconded; but 
a bill having been passed for his attainder in default of his ap- 
pearance, he surrendered, and was immediately committed to the 
Tower. 

In order to allay the jealousy displayed by the Parliament and 
people,- the king, by the advice of Sir William Temple, laid the 
plan of a new privy council, without whose advice he declared 

nimself determined for the future to take no measure of import- 

# 
* This question was not finally decided till the Act of Settlement in 1701 
(13 Will. III., c. 2), which provides that no pardon under the Great Seal 
can be pleaded in bar of an impeachment of the Commons. — Hallam, Const. 
Hist., ii., 417. 



^08 CHARLES II. Chap. XXV. 

ance. This council was to consist of 30 persons ; 15 of the chief 
officers of the crown were to be continued ; and the other half was 
to be composed either of men of character detached from the court, 
or of those who possessed chief credit in both houses. The Earl 
of Essex, a nobleman of the popular party, was created treasurer 
in the room of Danby ; the Earl of Sunderland, a man of intrigue 
and capacity, was made secretary of state ; Viscount Halifax, a 
fine genius, possessed of learning, eloquence, industry, but subject 
to inquietude and fond of refinements, was admitted into the 
council. These three, together with Temple, who often joined 
them, though he kept himself more detached from public business, 
formed a kind of cabinet council, from which all affairs received 
their first digestion. Shaftesbury was made president of the coun- 
cil, contrary to the advice of Temple,' who foretold the consequence 
of admitting a man of so dangerous a character into any part of 
the public administration. 

§ 6. As Temple foresaw, it happened. Shaftesbury, finding 
that he possessed no more than the appearance of court favor, was 
resolved still to adhere to the popular party, by whose attachment 
he enjoyed an undisputed superiority in the lower house, and pos- 
sessed great influence in the other. By his advice the celebrated 
Exclusion Bill was brought into Parliament, the object of which 
was to exclude the Duke of York from the succession to the 
throne. It was carried by a miijority of 79 votes in the House 
of Commons, but its farther progress was stopped by the dissolu- 
tion of Parliament (May 27). Before its dissolution, the king had, 
though reluctantly, given his consent to the Habeas Corpus Act, for 
the enactment of which this Parliament is entitled to the gratitude 
of posterity. The great charter had provided against arbitrary 
imprisonment, and the Petition of Eight renewed and extended 
the principle ; but some provisions were still wanting to render it 
complete, and prevent all evasion or delay from ministers and 
judges. By the act of habeas corpus it is prohibited to send any 
one to a prison beyond sea ; no judge, under severe penalties, must 
refuse to any prisoner a writ of habeas corpus, by which the jailer 
was directed to produce in court the body of the prisoner (whence 
the writ had its name), and to certify the cause of his detainer and 
imprisonment ; every prisoner must be indicted the first term after 
his commitment, and brought to trial in the subsequent term ; and 
no man, after being enlarged by order of court, can be recommit- 
ted for the same offense.* 

§ 7. But even during the recess of Parliament there wal no in- 
terruption to the prosecution of the Catholics accused of the plot. 
Whitebread, provincial of the Jesuits, and four others of the same 
* For farther details, see Notes and Ilkistrations, p. 522. 



AD. 1679. AFFAIRS OF SCOTLAND. 509 

order, were condemned and executed. Langliorne, an eminent 
lawyer, by whom all the concerns of the Jesuits were managed, 
was the next victim. Oates and Bedloe, as in the former cases, 
were the chief witnesses against him. When the verdict was given 
against the prisoner, the spectators expressed their savage joy by 
loud acclamations. So high, indeed, had the popular rage mount- 
ed, that the witnesses for this unhappy man, on approaching the 
court, were almost torn in pieces by the rabble. The first check 
which the informers received was on the trial of Sir George Wake- 
man, the queen's physician, whom they accused of an intention to 
poison the kmg. Oates, on his examination before the council, 
had said that he knew nothing against Sir George, yet on the trial 
positively deposed to his guilt. The chief justice himself, who had 
hitherto favored the witnesses, gave a favorable charge to the 
jury, for which Oates and Bedloe had the assurance to attack 
him to his face, and even to accuse him of partiality before the 
council. 

During these transactions serious disturbances occurred in Scot- 
land. Lauderdale had ruled that country with great severity, and 
an incident at last happened which brought on an insurrection. 
The Covenanters were much enraged against Sharpe, the primate, 
whom they considered as an apostate from their principles, and 
whom they experienced to be an unrelenting persecutor of all 
those who dissented from the established worship. A body of 
them falling in with him by accident on the road near St. An- 
drew's, dragged him from his coach, tore him from the arms of 
his daughter, who interposed with cries and tears, and, piercing 
him with redoubled wounds, left him dead on the spot, and im- 
mediately dispersed themselves (May 3). This atrocious action 
served the ministry as a pretense for a more violent persecution. 
The officers quartered in the west received strict orders to find 
out and disperse all conventicles ; and for that reason the Cov- 
enanters, instead of meeting in small bodies, were obliged to cel- 
ebrate their worship in numerous assemblies, and to bring arms 
for their security. Graham of Claverhouse having attacked a 
great conventicle at Drumclog, near Loudon Hill, was repulsed 
with the loss of 30 men. The Covenanters, finding that they 
were unwarily involved in such deep guilt, pushed on to Glas- 
gow, made themselves masters of that city, dispossessed the estab- 
lished clergy, and issued proclamations, in which they declared 
that they fought against the king's supremacy, against popery and 
prelacy, and against a popish successor. But, though they suc- 
ceeded in raising an army of 8000 men, they were soon dispersed 
by Monmouth, whom the king had sent against them, at the bat- 
tle of Both well Bridge (June 22). In consequence of an illness 



510 CHARLES II. Chap XXV. 

of the king, the Duke of York returned to England, and shortly 
afterward went down to Scotland as lord high commissioner, 
where he was guilty of the most atrocious cruelties upon the Cov- 
enanters. He sometimes assisted at their torture, and looked on 
with tranquillity, as if he were considering some curious experi- 
ment. 

§ 8. The plan of government recommended by Temple was now 
abandoned. Shaftesbury was dismissed from the presidency of 
the council, and became more violent than ever in his opposition 
to the court. Essex also quitted the ministry and joined the op- 
position. Temple withdrew to his books and his gardens. But 
Plalifax and Sunderland still continued in office, and the ministry 
was recruited by two new men who afterward played a conspic- 
uous part in public life. These were Lawrence Hyde, the second 
son of the Chancellor Clarendon, who succeeded Essex at the 
treasury, and Sidney Godolphin. 

It was the favor and countenance of the Parliament which had 
chiefly encouraged the rumor of plots ; but the nation had got so 
niuch into that vein of credulity, and every necessitous villain was 
so much incited by the success of Gates and Bedloe, that even 
during the prorogation the people were not allowed to remain in 
tranquillity. There was one Dangerfield, a fellow who had been 
burned in the hand for crimes, transported, whipped, pilloried four 
times, fined for cheats, outlawed for felony, convicted of coining, 
and exposed to all the public infamy which the laws could inflict 
on the basest and most shameful enormitieSo The credulity of 
the people and the humor of the times enabled even this man to 
become a person of consequence. Pie was the author of a new 
incident called the Meal-tub Plot, from the place where some papers 
relating to it were found. The bottom of this affair it is difficult, 
and not very material, to discover. It only appears that Danger- 
field, under pretense of betraying the conspiracies of the Presby- 
terians, had been countenanced by some Catholics of condition, 
and had even been admitted to the duke's presence and the king's ; 
and that, under pretense of revealing new popish plots, he had ob- 
tained access to Shaftesbury and some of the popular leaders. 
Which side he intended to cheat is uncertain, or whether he did 
not rather mean to cheat both ; but he soon found that the belief 
of the nation was more open to a Popish than a Presbyterian plot, 
and he resolved to strike in with the prevailing humor ; but, 
though no weight could be laid on his testimony, great clamor was 
raised, as if the court, by way of retaliation, "had intended to load 
the Presbyterians with the guilt of a false conspiracy. 

The country was in a state of the wildest excitement with the 
elections. Every means was used, every nerve was strained by the 



A.D. 16T9, 1680. VIOLENCE OF THE NEW PARLIAMENT. 511 

two parties. The Duke of Monmouth, whom the king had sent 
abroad through the influence of the Duke of York, returned to En- 
gland, and made a triumphant procession through many parts of 
the kingdom, extremely caressed and admired by the people. The 
people clamored for the Exclusion Bill. The elections went 
against the court ; and the king, seeing it hopeless to obtain a 
majority in the Commons, prorogued the Parliament on the very 
day it should have met ; and afterward, by repeated prorogations, 
prevented its assembling for a twelvemonth. Notwithstanding a 
menacing proclamation from the king, petitions came from all 
parts, earnestly insisting on a session of Parliament. The dan- 
ger of popery and the terrors of the plot were never forgotten in 
any of these addresses. The king was obliged to encounter them 
by popular applications of a contrary tendency. Wherever the 
Church and court party prevailed, addresses were framed, contain- 
ing expressions of the highest regard to his majesty, the most en- 
tire acquiescence in his wisdom, the most dutiful submission to 
his prerogative, and the deepest abhorrence of those who endeavor- 
ed to encroach upon it by prescribing to him any time for assem- 
blino" the Parliament. Thus the nation came to be distino;uished 
into Petitioners and Ahhorrers. Besides these appellations, which 
were soon forgotten, this year is remarkable for being the epoch of 
the well-known epithets of Whig and Tory. The court party 
reproached their antagonists with their affinity to the fanatical 
conventiclers in Scotland, who were known by the name of Whigs ; 
the country party found a resemblance between the courtiers and 
the popish banditti in Ireland, to whom the appellation of Tory- 
was affixed ; and after this manner these foolish terms of reproach 
came into public and general use. 

In order still to keep alive the zeal against popery, the Earl 
of Shaftesbury appeared in Westminster Hall, attended by several 
persons of distinction, and presented to the grand jury of Middle- 
sex reasons for indicting the Duke of York as a popish recusant. 
While the jury were deliberating on this extraordinary present- 
ment, the chief justice sent for them, and suddenly, even some- 
what irregularly, dismissed them. Shaftesbury, however, obtain- 
ed his end by showing to all his followers the desperate resolution 
which he had embraced, never to admit of any accommodation 
with the duke. 

§ 9. The king at length opened the Parliament (Oct. 21, 1680) 
with a speech containing many mollifpng expressions ; but the 
Commons displayed the most violent and refractory disposition. 
Great numbers of the^ Abhorrers, from all parts of England, were 
seized by their order ; and they renewed the vote of the former 
Parliament, which affirmed the reality of the horrid Popish Plot. 



512 CHARLES II. Chap. XXV. 

The whole tribe of informers they applauded and rewarded ; and 
their testimony, however frivolous or absurd, met with a favorable 
reception ; the king was applied to in their behalf for pensions 
and pardons ; and Dr.'Tonge was recommended for the first con- 
siderable Church preferment which should become vacant. So 
much were the popular leaders determined to carry matters to 
extremities, that, in less than a week after the commencement of 
the session, a motion was made for again bringing in the Ex- 
clusion Bill, and a committee was appointed for that purpose. 
Shaftesbury and many considerable men of the party had ren- 
dered themselves irreconcilable with the duke, and could find their 
safety no way but in his ruin. Monmouth's friends hoped that 
the exclusion of that prince would make way for their patron, and 
the country party expected that the king would at last be obliged 
to yield to their demand. Though he had withdrawn his coun- 
tenance from Monmouth, he was known secretly to retain a great 
affection for him. On no occasion had he ever been found to per- 
sist obstinately against difficulties and importunity; and as his 
beloved mistress, the Duchess of Portsmouth, had been engaged 
to unite herself with the popular party, this incident was regarded 
as a favorable prognostic of their success. Sunderland, secretary 
of state, who had linked his interest with that of the duchess, had 
concurred in the same measure. The debates were carried on 
with great violence on both sides. In the House of Commons 
the bill passed by a great majority. In the House of Peers the 
contest was violent. Shaftesbury, Sunderland, and Essex argued 
for it ; Halifax chiefly conducted the debate against it, and dis- 
played an extent of capacity and a force of eloquence which had 
never been surpassed in that assembly. The king was present 
during the whole debate, which was prolonged till 11 at night. 
The bill was thrown out by a considerble majority. The Com- 
mons discovered much ill-humor at this disappointment. The 
impeachment of the Catholic lords in the Tower was revived; 
and as Viscount Stafford, from his age, infirmities, and narrow 
capacity, was deemed the least capable of defending himself, it 
was determined to make him the first victim, that his condemna- 
tion might pave the way for a sentence against the rest. The 
witnesses produced against the prisoner were Gates, Dugdale, and 
Turberville. The prisoner made a better defense than was ex- 
pected either by his friends or his enemies. With a simplicity 
and tenderness more persuasive than the greatest oratory, he still 
made protestations of his innocence, and could not forbear, every 
moment, expressing the most lively surprise and indignation at 
the audacious impudence of the witnesses. The Peers, after a 
solemn trial of six days, gave sentence against him by a majority 



A.D. 1680, 1681. THE NEW PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED. 513 

of 24. Stafford received with resignation the fatal verdict. 
" God's holy name be praised !" was the only exclamation which 
he uttered. On the day of his execution, the populace, who had 
exulted at Stafford's trial and condemnation, were melted into 
tears at the sight of that tender fortitude which shone forth in 
each feature, and motion, and accent of this aged noble. Their 
profound silence was only interrupted by sighs and groans. Witli 
difficulty they found speech to assent to those protestations of in- 
nocence which he frequently repeated. ''We believe you, my 
lord I" "God bless you, my lord!" These expressions, with a 
faltering accent, flowed from them. The executioner himself was 
touched with sympathy. Twice he lifted up the axe with an in- 
tent to strike the fatal blow, and as often felt his resolution to 
fail him. A deep sigh was heard to accompany his last effort, 
which laid Stafford forever at rest. All the spectators seemed to 
feel the blow ; and when the head was held up to them with the 
usual cry, "This is the head of a traitor!" no clamor of assent 
was uttered. Pity, remorse, and astonishment had taken pos- 
session of every heart, and displayed itself in every countenance 
(Dec. 29). This was the last blood which was shed on account 
of the Popish Plot. The execution of Stafford gratified the prej- 
udices of the country party, but it contributed nothing to their 
power and security ; on the contrary, by exciting commisei^tion, 
it tended still farther to- increase that disbelief of the whole plot 
which began now to prevail. As the violence of the Commons 
still continued, the king soon afterward prorogued and then dis- 
solved the Parliament (Jan. 10, 1681). 

§ 10. A new Parliament was summoned in the spring; and in 
order to remove it from the influence of the factious citizens, it 
was appointed to meet at Oxford (March 21, 1681). The leaders 
of the Exclusionists came attended not only by their servants, 
but by numerous bands of their partisans. The four city mem- 
bers in particular were followed by great multitudes, wearing rib- 
bons, in which were woven these words. No Popery I no Slavery ! 
The king had his guards regularly mustered ; his party likewise 
endeavored to make a show of their strength ; and, on the whole, 
the assembly at Oxford rather bore the appearance of a tumultu- 
ous Polish diet than of a regular English Parliament. 

The Commons were not overawed by the magisterial air of the 
king's speech, who addressed them in a more authoritative man- 
ner than usual. They consisted almost entirely of the same mem- 
bers ; they chose the same speaker ; and they instantly fell into 
the same measures, the impeachment of Danby, the inquiry into 
the Popish Plot, and the Bill of Exclusion. So violent were 
thev on this last article, that, though one of the king's ministers 

Y 2 



4 

514 CHARLES II. Chap. XXV. 

proposed that the duke should be banished, during life, 500 miles 
from England, and that on the king's demise the next heir should 
be constituted regent with regal power, even this expedient, which 
left the duke only the bare title of king, could not obtain the at- 
tention of the House. The past disappointments of the country 
party, and the opposition made by the court, had only rendered 
them more united, more haughty, and more determined. No 
method but their own of excluding the duke could give them any 
satisfaction. As there were no hopes of a compromise, Charles 
again dissolved the Parliament after it had sat only seven days. 
This rigorous measure, though it might have been foreseen, ex- 
cited such astonishment in the country party as deprived them of 
all spirit and reduced them to absolute despair. They were sensi- 
ble, though too late, that the king had finally taken his resolution, 
and was determined to endure any extremity rather than submit 
to those terms which they had resolved to impose upon him. 
They found that he had patiently waited till aifairs had come to 
full maturity; and, having now engaged a national party on his 
side, had boldly set his enemies at defiance. The violences of the 
Exclusionists were every where exclaimed against and aggravated, 
and even the reality of the plot, that great engine of their author- 
ity, was openly called in question. The clergy especially were 
busy in this great revolution : they represented all their antagon- 
ists as sectaries and republicans, and rejoiced in escaping those 
perils which they believed to have been hanging over them. Prin- 
ciples the most opposite to civil liberty were every where enforced 
from the pulpit and adopted in numerous addresses. The whole 
gang of spies, witnesses, informers, suborners who had so long- 
been supported and encouraged by the leading patriots, finding 
now that the king was entirely master, turned short upon their 
old patrons, and offered their service to the ministers. To the 
disgrace of the court and of the age, they were received with 
hearty welcome, and their testimony, or rather perjury, made use 
of in order to commit legal murder upon the opposite party. One 
College, a London joiner, who had become extremely noted for 
his zeal against popery, and who had been in Oxford, armed with 
a sword and pistol during the sitting of the Parliament, was in- 
dicted in that city as being concerned in a conspiracy. The wit- 
nesses produced against him were Dugdale, Turberville, Haynes, 
Smith, men who had before given evidence against the Catholics, 
and whom the jury, for that very reason, regarded as the most 
perjured villains. College defended himself with courage, capac- 
ity, and presence of mind ; yet did the jury, consisting entirely 
of Royalists, after half an hour's deliberation, bring in a verdict 
against him, and the inhuman spectators received the verdict with 



A.D. 1681-1682. 



TRIAL OF SHAFTESBURY. 



515 



a shout of apptkitse. Thus the two parties, actuated by mutual 
rage, but cooped up within the narrow limits of the law, leveled 
with poisoned daggers the most deadly blows against each other's 
breast, and buried in their factious divisions all regard to truth, 
honor, and humanity. 

§ 11. The court now aimed their next blow at Shaftesbury, and 
Turberville, Smith, and others gave information of high treason 
against their former patron. Shaftesbury was committed to pris- 
on, and his indictment was presented to the grand jury ; but the 
sheriffs of London were engaged deeply in the country party, and 
they took care to name a jury devoted to the same cause. As 
far as swearing could go, the treason was clearly proved against 
Shaftesbury ; or rather so clearly as to merit no kind of credit or 
attention. That veteran leader of a party, inured from his early 
youth to faction and intrigue, to cabals and conspiracies, was 
represented as opening without reserve his treasonable intentions 
to these obscure banditti, and throwing out such violent and out- 
rageous reproaches upon the king as none but men of low educa- 
tion, like themselves, could be supposed to employ. The grand 
jury rejected the indictment, and the people who attended the 
iiall testified their joy by the loudest acclamations, which were 
echoed throughout the whole city (Nov. 24, 1681). 




Medal struck in commemoration of the acquittal of the Earl of Shaftesbury. Obv. : antonio 
cOMiTi i>K snAFTESBVRY. Bust to right. Eev. : L^TAMVK : a view of London, with the 
sun appearing from behind a cloud : below, 24 nov. , 1681. 

About the same time the Earl of Argyle was condemned in Scot- 
land of high treason, at the instance of the Duke of York, for re- 
fusing to take an absurd and contradictory test without a qualifica- 
tion. He escaped from prison and succeeded in reaching Holland ; 
but his estate was confiscated and his arms reversed and torn. 

In the following year (1682) the Duke of York paid a visit to 
England. His credit was great at court. Though neither so 



51G CHARLES 11. Chap. XXV. 

ranch beloved nor esteemed (is the king, he was more dreaded, 
and thence an attendance more exact, as well as a submission 
more obsequious, was paid to him. Charles, however, who loved 
to maintain a balance in his counsels, still supported Halifax, 
whom he created a marquis, and made privy seal, though ever 
in opposition to the duke. This man, who possessed the finest 
genius and most extensive capacity of all employed in public af- 
fairs during the present reign, maintained a species of neutrality 
between the parties, and was esteemed the head of that small body 
known by the denomination of Trimmers. Sunderland, who had 
promoted the Exclusion Bill, and who had been displaced on that 
account, was again, with the duke's consent, brought into the ad- 
ministration. Hyde, created Earl of Rochester, was first commis- 
sioner of the treasury, and was entirely in the duke's interests. In 
this year the court obtained the support of the mayor and sheriffs 
of the city of London, and hence could reckon upon obtaining ju- 
ries subservient to its views. But, though the court had obtained 
so great a victory in the city, it was not quite decisive, and the 
contest might be renewed every year at the election of magis- 
trates. An important project, therefore, was formed, not only to 
make the king master of the city, but by that precedent to gain 
him uncontrolled influence in all the corporations in England. A 
writ of quo warranto was issued against the city ; that is, an in- 
quiry into the validity of its charter. It was pretended that the 
city had forfeited all its privileges because the magistrates had im- 
posed a small toll on goods brought to market, in order to defray 
the expense of rebuilding the market after the fire, and because 
in the year 1679 they had addressed the king against the proro- 
gation of Parliament in terms which were pretended to contain a 
scandalous reflection on the king and his measures. The case of 
the crown evidently rested not on law, but reasons of state ; yet 
the judges condemned the city. The office of judge was at that 
time held during pleasure, and it was impossible that any cause, 
where the court bent its force, could ever be carried against it. 
After sentence was pronounced, the city applied in an humble 
manner to the king, and he agreed to restore their charter ; but, 
in return, they were obliged to agree that no mayor, sheriff, re- 
corder, common sergeant, town clerk, or coroner, should be ad- 
mitted to the exercise of his office without his majesty's approba- 
tion, as well as to submit to other regulations. Most of the cor- 
porations in England, having the example of London before their 
eyes, were successively induced to surrender their charters into the 
king's hands. Considerable sums were exacted for restoring the 
charters, and all offices of power and profit were left at the dis- 
posal of the crown. 



A.D. 1682. MONMOUTH'S CONSPIRACY. 5I7 

§ 12. Every friend to liberty must allow that the nation, whose 
constitution Avas thus broken in the shock of faction, had a ri^ht, 
by every prudent expedient, to recover that security of which it 
was so unhappily bereaved. There was, however, a party of mal- 
contents who, even before this last iniquity, which laid the whole 
constitution at the mercy of the' king, had meditated plans of re- 
sistance. In the spring of 1681, when the king was seized with 
a fit of sickness at Windsor, the Duke of Monmouth, Lord Wil- 
liam Russell, and others, instigated by the restless Shaftesbury, had 
agreed, in case it should prove mortal, to rise in arms and to op- 
pose the succession of the duke. Charles recovered, but these 
dangerous projects were not laid aside. Shaftesbury's imprison- 
ment and trial put an end for some time to these machinations, 
and it was not till the new sheriffs were imposed on the city that 
they M^ere revived. Besides the city, the gentry and nobility in 
several counties of England were solicited to rise in arms. The 
whole train was ready to take fire, but was prevented by the cau- 
tion of Lord Russell, who induced Monmouth to delay the enter- 
prise. Shaftesbury, in the mean time, was so much affected with 
the sense of his danger that he left his house and secretly lurked 
in the city, meditating all those desperate schemes which disap- 
pointed revenge and ambition could inspire, till, enraged at per- 
petual cautions and delays in an enterprise which he thought 
nothing but courage and celerity could render effectual, he re- 
tired into Holland (1682), where he soon after died. 

After Shaftesbury's departure the conspirators with some diffi- 
culty renewed the correspondence with the city malcontents, and 
a regular project of an insurrection was again formed. A council 
of six was erected, consisting of Monmouth, Russell, Essex,* Lord 
Howard, Algernon Sidney, and John Hampden, grandson of the 
great Parliamentary leader. These men entered into an agree- 
ment with Argyle and the Scottish malcontents, and insurrections 
were anew projected in Cheshire and the west, as well as in the 
city. The conspirators differed extremely in their views. Sidney 
and Essex were for a commonwealth. Monmouth entertained 
hopes of acquiring the crown for himself. Russell, as well as 
Hampden, was much attached to the ancient constitution, and in- 
tended only the exclusion of the duke and the redress of griev- 
ances. Lord Howard was a man of no principle, and was ready 
to embrace any party which his immediate interest should recom- 
mend to him. While these schemes were concerting among the 

* The title of Earl of Essex became extinct on the death of the Parlia- 
mentary general in 1646. The Earl of Essex mentioned in the text was 
the son of Lord Capel, beheaded in 1649 for his loyaky to Charles I. He 
was created Earl of Essex in 1661, and is the ancestor of the present earl. 



518 CHARLES II. Chap. XXV. 

leaders, there was an inferior order of conspirators who carried on 
projects quite unknown to Monmouth and the cabal of six. Rum- 
l3old, an old Eepublican officer, was a maltster, and possessed a 
farm called the Rye House, which lay on the road to Newmarket, 
whither the king commonly went once a year for the diversion of 
the races. A plan was formed by overturning a cart to stop at 
that place the Idng's coach, while they might fire upon him from 
the hedges, and be enabled afterward, through by-lanes and across 
the fields, to make their escape. The whole, however, was little 
more than loose discourse; and the scheme was disconcerted by 
the king leaving Newmarket 8 days sooner than he intended (1683). 
Some of the conspirators betrayed to the government the Rye 
House Plot ; and Colonel Rumford, who was acquainted with the 
conspiracy of Monmouth and the others, also informed the gov- 
ernment that the latter had been accustomed to hold their meet- 
ings at the house of Shephard, an eminent wine-merchant in the 
city. Shephard was immediately apprehended, and had not cour- 
age to maintain fidelity to his confederates. Upon his inform- 
ation, orders were issued for arresting the great men engaged in 
the conspiracy. Monmouth absconded ; Russell was sent to the 
Tower ; Howard was taken while he concealed himself in a chim- 
ney, and, being a man of profligate morals as well as indigent cir- 
cumstances, he scrupled not, in hopes of a pardon and a reward, 
to reveal the whole conspiracy. Essex, Sidney, and Hampden, 
were immediately apprehended upon his evidence. Several of the 
conspirators in the R\6e House Plot, were condemned and executed ; 
and from their trial %nd confession it is sufficiently apparent that 
the plan of an insurrection had been regularly formed, and that 
even the assassination had been often talked of, and not without 
the approbation of many of the conspirators. 

Lord Russell was next brought to trial. The witnesses pro- 
duced against the noble prisoner were Rumsey, Shephard, and 
Lord Howard. On the whole, it was undoubtedly proved that 
the insurrection had been deliberated on by the prisoner, and fully 
resolved ; a surprisal of the guards deliberated on, but not fully 
resolved ; and that an assassination had never once been mention- 
ed nor imagined by him. He contented himself with protesting 
that he never had entertained any design against the life of the 
king ; but his veracity would not allow him to deny the conspiracy 
for an insurrection. The jury were men of fair and reputable 
characters, but zealous Royalists : after a short deliberation, they 
brought in the prisoner guilty. Applications were made to the 
king for a pardon ; even money to the amount of jGI 00,000 was 
offered to the Duchess of Portsmouth by the old Earl of Bedford, 
father to Russell. The king was inexorable, and would go no 



A.D. 1683. EXECUTION OF ALGERNON SIDNEY. 519 

farther than remitthig the more ignominious part of the 'sentence, 
which the law requires to be pronounced against traitors. Rus- 
sell's consort, a woman of virtue, daughter and heir of the good 
Earl of Southampton, threw herself at the king's feet, and pleaded 
with many tears the merits and loyalty of her father as an atone- 
ment for those errors into which honest, however mistaken, prin- 
ciples had seduced her husband ; but, finding all applications vain, 
she collected courage, and not only fortified herself against the 
fatal blow, but endeavored by her example to strengthen the res- 
olution of her unfortunate lord. With a tender and decent com- 
posure they took leave of each other on the day of his execution. 
" The bitterness of death is now passed," said he, when he turned 
from her. The scaffold was erected in Lincoln's Inn Fields, in 
order probably, by conducting Russell through so many streets, to 
show the mutinous city their beloved leader exposed to the ut- 
most rigors of the law. Without the least change of countenance 
he laid his head on the block, and at two strokes it was severed 
from his body (July 21, 1683). 

On the day that Lord Russell was tried, Essex was found in 
the Tower with his throat cut. The coroner's jury brought in a 
verdict of self-murder. Essex was subject to fits of deep melan- 
choly; yet the murder was ascribed to the king and the duke, 
who happened that morning to pay a visit to the Tower. 

Algernon Sidney was next brought to his trial. This gallant 
person, son of the Earl of Leicester, was in principle a Repub- 
lican, and had entered deeply into the war a^inst the late king. 
He had been named on the high court of jusuce which tried and 
condemned that monarch, but he thought not proper to take his 
seat among the judges, and had ever opposed Cromwell's usurpa- 
tion with zeal and courage. After the restoration he went into 
voluntary banishment; but in 1677, having obtained the king's 
pardon, he returned to England. When the factions arising from 
the Popish Plot began to run high, Sidney, full of those ideas of 
liberty which he had imbibed from the great examples of antiquity, 
joined the popular party ; but his conduct was deficient in prac- 
tical good sense, and he labors under the imputation of accepting 
French gold. The only witness who deposed against Sidney was 
Lord Howard ; but, as the law required two witnesses, the de- 
ficiency was supplied by producing some of his papers, in which 
he maintained the lawfulness of resisting tyrants, and the prefer- 
ence of liberty to the government of a single person. The violent 
and inhuman Jeffreys was now chief justice, and by his direction a 
partial jury was easily prevailed on to give verdict against Sid- 
ney. His execution followed a few days after (Dec. 7); but he 
had too much greatness of mind to deny those conspiracies with 



520 CHARLES II. Chap. XXV. 

Monmouth and Russell in which he had been engaged. He rather 
gloried that he now suffered for that good old cause in which from 
his earliest youth, he said, he had enlisted himself. 

Howard was also the sole evidence against Hampden. He 
was convicted only for a misdemeanor, but the fine imposed was 
exorbitant — no less than £40,000. 

§ 13. Some other memorable causes were tried about this time. 
Gates was convicted of having called the duke a popish traitor, 
was condemned in damages to the amount of £100,000, and was 
adjudged to remain in prison till he should make payment. Sir 
Samuel Barnardiston was fined £10,000 because, in some private 
letters, which had been intercepted, he had reflected on the gov- 
ernment. 

The Duke of Monmouth had absconded on the first discovery 
of the conspiracy ; but Halifax, having discovered his retreat, pre- 
vailed on him to write tAvo letters to the king, full of the tender- 
est and most submissive expressions. The king's fondness was 
revived ; he permitted Monmouth to come to court, and engaged 
him to give a full account of the plot. Monmouth kept silence 
till he had obtained his pardon in form ; but finding that by tak- 
ing this step he was entirely disgraced with his party, he instruct- 
ed his emissaries to deny that he had ever made any such con- 
fession as that which was imputed to him, and the party exclaim- 
ed that the whole was an imposture of the court. The king, pro- 
voked at this conduct, banished Monmouth his presence, and aft- 
erward ordered him to depart the kingdom. 

§ 14. The king Endeavored to increase his present popularity 
by every art ; and knowing that the suspicion of popery was of 
all others the most dangerous, he judged it proper to marry his 
niece, the Lady Anne, to Prince George, brother to the King of 
Denmark. The Duke of York nevertheless exercised great influ- 
ence over the king. Through his mediation, Danby and the pop- 
ish lords, who had so long been confined in the Tower, were ad- 
mitted to bail ; a measure just in itself, but deemed a great en- 
croachment on the privileges of Parliament ; and the duke, con- 
trary to law, was restored to the ofiice of high admiral without 
taking the Test. But James's hasty counsels gave the king un- 
easiness ; and he was overheard one day to say, " Brother, I am 
too old to go again to my travels ; you may, if you choose it." 
Charles was now resolved to govern without calling a Parliament ; 
and after the dismissal of the last one, had returned to his former 
dangerous connections with Louis. 

On the 2d February, 1685, Charles was seized with a sudden 
fit, which resembled an apoplexy ; and though he recovered from 
it by bleeding, he languished only a few days, and expired on the 



A.D. 1683-1685. 



DEATH OF THE KING. 



521 



6tli, in the 55th year of his age and the 25th of his reign. He 
was so happy in a good constitution of body, and had ever been 
so remarkably careful of his health, that his death struck as great 
a surprise into his subjects as if he had been in the flower of his 
youth. During the king's illness he received the sacrament from 
a Roman Catholic priest, accompanied with the other rites of the 
Romish Church. Charles II. was in society the most amiable 
and engaging of men. This, indeed, is the most shining part of 
his character; and he seems to have been sensible of it, for he 
was fond of dropping the formality of state, and of relapsing ev- 
ery moment into the companion. His relations with the other 
sex were in the highest degree immoral,^ and hence his court be- 
came a school of vice and profligacy. Yet he was a friendly 
brother, an indulgent father, and a good-natured master. As a 
sovereign, his character was dangerous to his people and dishon- 
orable to himself. Negligent of the interests of the nation, care- 
less of its glory, averse to its religion, jealous of its liberty, lavish 
of its treasure, sparing only of its blood, he exposed it by his 
measures, which, however, were often the result of mere indolence, 
to the danger of a furious civil war, and even to the ruin and ig- 
nominy of a foreign conquest. It has been remarked of Charles 
that he never said a foolish thing, nor ever did a wise one ; which 
he explained by observing that his discourse was his own, his ac- 
tions were the ministry's. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1662. 



The Act of Uniformity passed. Charles 
marries Catherine of Braganza. 
1664. Conventicle Act. 

War declared against the Dutch. 
Great Plague at London. 
Five-mile Act. 
Great sea-fight. 
" Fire of London. 
16GT. The Dutch fleet under De Paiyter in- 
sults Chatham. 
'■'■ Treaty of Breda. 
'•'• Fall of Clarendon. 

The new ministry, callad the Cabal. 
Triple alliance hetAveen England, Hol- 
land, and Sweden. 



1665. 



1666. 



1668. 



1610. Secret treaty of Dover". 

16T2. War declared against Holland. 

1673. The Test Act. 

1674. Peace with HoUand. 

" Earl of Danby prime minister. 

1678. Peace of Nimeguen. 
"■ The Popish Plot. 

1679. The Habeas Corpus Act. 
'■'■ The Exclusion Bill. 

"■ Meal-tub Plot. 
16S1. Trial and acquittal of Shaftesbury. 
16S3. Pvye House Plot. 

'•'' Trial and execution of Lord William 
Russell and Algernon Sidney. 
1685. Death of Charles H. 



* Some of his illegitimate children were the ancestors of several of the 
noblest families in the present peerage. His favorite son, the Duke of Mon- 
mouth, by Lucy Walters, was beheaded in the following reign, and left no 
issue. By the Duchess of Cleveland (Barbara Villiers) he had three sons, 
the Duke of Southampton, the Duke of Grafton (ancestor of the present 
duke), and the Duke of Northumberland. The Duke of Richmond (the an- 
cestor of the present duke) was his son by the Duchess of Portsmouth (Louise 
de Querouaille) ; and the Duke of St. Alban's (also the ancestor of the 
present duke) was his son by the actress Eleanor Gwynn. 



522 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. XXV. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTKATIONS. 



HABEAS COEPUS ACT. 
31 Car. H., c. 2 (a.i). 16T9). 

This celebrated statute did. not introduce 
any new principle, but only confiitned and 
rendered more available a remedy which had 
long existed. '^The writ of habeas corptis^ 
requiring a return of the body imprisoned 
and the cause of his detention, and hence 
anciently called coi-pus cuvi causd^ was in 
familiar use between subject and subject in 
the reign of Henry VI. Its use by a subject 
against the crown has not been traced during 
the time of the Plantagenet dynasty; the 
earliest precedents known being of the date 
of Henry VH." (See Amos, "• The English 
Constitution in the reign of Charles H.," p. 
ITl, and the authorities there quoted.) The 
privilege of habeas corjnis was twice solemn- 
ly confirmed in the reign of Charles I. , first 
by the Petition of Right (162S), and second- 
ly by the statute abolishing the Star Cham- 
ber and other arbitrary courts (1640), which 
contained a clause that any person imprison- 
ed by orders of the abolished courts, or by 
command or warrant of the king or any of 
his council, should be entitled to a writ of 
habeas corpus from the courts of King's 
Bench or Common Pleas, loithout delay upon 
any pretense whatsoever. But as Charles 
H and his ministers still found means to 
evade these enactments, the celebrated stat- 
ute was passed in 16T9, known as the Habeas 
Corpus Act. Its principal author was Lord 
Shaftesbury, and it was for many years call- 
ed '' Lord Shaftesbury's Act." It enacts : 

" 1. That on complaint and request in 
writing by or on behalf of any person com- 
mitted and charged vnVa. any crime (unless 
committed for treason or felony expressed in 
the warrant ; or as accessory or on suspicion 
of being accessory before the fact to any petit 
treason or felony ; or upon suspicion of such 
petit treason or felony plainly expressed in 
the waiTant; or unless he is convicted or 
charged in execution by legal process), the 
lord chancelloi", or any of the judges in va- 
cation, upon viewing a copy of the warrant 
or affidavit that a copy is denied, shall (un- 
less the party has neglected for two tenns 
to apply to any court for his enlargement) 
aivard a habeas corpus for such prisoner, re- 
turnable immediately before himself or any 
other of the judges; and upon the return 
made shall discharge the party, if bailable, 
upon giving security to appear and answer 
to the accusation in the proper court of judi- 
cature. 2. That such writs shall be indorsed 
as granted in pursuance of this act, and sign- 
ed by the person awarding tliem. 3. That 
the writ shaU be returned and the prisoner 
brought up within a limited time according 



to the distance, not exceeding in any case 
twenty days. 4. That officers and keepers 
neglecting to make due returns, or not de- 
livering to tlie prisoner or his agent within 
six hours after demand a copy of the war- 
rant of commitment, or shifting the custody 
of the prisoner from one to another without 
sufficient reason or authority (specified in 
the act), shall for the first offense forfeit 
£100, and for the second offense £200 to the 
party grieved, and be disabled to hold his 
office. 5. That no person once delivered by 
habeas corinis shall be recommitted for the 
same offense, on penalty of £500. C. That 
every person committed for treason or felony 
shall, if he requires it, the first week of the 
next term, or the first day of the next session 
of oyer and terminer^ be indicted in that 
term or session, or else admitted to bail, un- 
less the king's witnesses can not be produced 
at that time; and if acquitted, or not in- 
dicted and tried in the second term or ses- 
sion, he shaU be discharged from his impris- 
onment for such imputed offense; but that 
no person, after tlie assizes shall be open for 
the county in which he is detained, shall be 
removed by habeas cor2JUS till after the as- 
sizes are ended, but shall be left to the jus- 
tice of the judges of assize. 7. That any 
such prisoner may move for and obtain his 
habeas corpus as well out of the Chancery 
or Exchequer as out of the King's Bench or 
Common Pleas; and the lord chancellor or 
judges denying the same on sight of the war- 
rant or oath that the same is refused, forfeits 
severally to the party grieved the sum of 
£500. 8. That this writ of habeas corpus 
shall run into the counties palatine, cinque 
ports, and other privileged places, and the 
islands of Jersey and Guernsey. 9. That no 
inhabitant of England (except persons con- 
tracting or convicts praying to be transport- 
ed, or having committed some capital offense 
in the place to which they are sent) shall be 
sent prisoner to Scotland, Ireland, Jersey, 
Guernsey, or any places beyond the seas 
within or without the king's dominions, on 
pain that the party committing, his advisers, 
aiders, and assistants, shall forfeit to the 
party aggrieved a sum not less than £500, to 
be recovered with treble costs ; shall be dis- 
abled to bear any office of trust or profit; 
shall incur the penalties of 2)Tcemunire ; and 
shall be incapable of the king's pardon." 

The Habeas Corpus Act was confined to 
criminal cases, but by the 56 Geo. III., c. 
100, it was extended not only to cases of il- 
legal restraint by subject on subject, but 
also to those in Avhich the crown has an in- 
terest, as in instances of impressment ov 
smuggling. See Kerr's Blackstone, iii., 137; 
Amos, ibid., p. 201. 




Obverse of Medal of James II. and ]Mary of INIodena. iacobvs . ii . et . maeia . d . g . 
MAG . BEi . FKAN , ET . HiB . REX . ET . EEGiNA. Busts of king and quecu to right. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

JAMES II. A.D. 1685-1688, 

§ 1. Accession of James. His arbitrary Proceedings. Conviction and 
Punishment of Titus Gates. § 2. Monmouth's Invasion, Defeat, and Ex- 
ecution. §3. Cruelties of Kirke and Jeffreys. Invasion and Execution 
ofArgjde. § 4. A Parliament, Popish Measures. § 5. Court of High 
Commission revived. Sentence against the Bishop of London. Penal 
Laws suspended. Embassy to Rome. § 6. The King's violent Proceed- 
ings with Corporations. Affair of Magdalen College. Imprisonment 
and Trial of the seven Bishops. § 7. Birth of the Prince of Wales. Con- 
duct of the Prince of Orange, § 8. Coalition of Parties in his Eavor. 
The King retracts his Measures. § 9. The Prince of Orange lands at 
Torbay. The King deserted by the Army and by his Family. § 10. 
The King's Flight. His Character. § 11. Convention summoned. De- 
bates. Settlement of the Crown. § 12. Review of the Stuart Dynasty. 
Principles of Government. § 13. Foreign Affairs. § 14. Internal State 
of England. § 15. Revenue. Army and Navy. § 16. Colonies and 
Commerce. § 17. Manners, Literature, Art, etc. 

§ 1. The first act of James's reign was to assemble the pri^y 
council, where, after some praises bestowed on the memory of his 
predecessor, he made professions of his resolution to maintain the 
established government, both in Church and State. The first ex- 
ercise of his authority, however, showed that either he was not 
sincere in his profes.sions of attachment to the laws, or that he 
had entertained so lofty an idea of his own legal power, that even 
his utmost sincerity would tend very little to secure the liberties 
of the people. Without waiting for a Parliament, he issued a 



524: JAMES II. Chap. XXVI. 

proclamation, ordering the customs and excise to be paid as be- 
fore ; and this exertion of power he would not deign to qualify 
by the least act or even appearance of condescension. He like- 
wise went openly, and with all the ensigns of his dignity, to mass, 
an illeo-al meeting ; and by this imprudence he displayed at once 
his arbitrary disposition and the bigotry of his principles — those 
two great characteristics of his reign and bane of his administra- 
tion. Nevertheless, all the chief offices of the crown continued 
still in the hands of Protestants. Rochester was made treasurer ; 
his brother Clarendon chamberlain ; Godolphin chamberlain to 
the queen ; Sunderland secretary of state ; Halifax president of 
the council. On the 23d of April James and his queen were 
crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury in Westminster Abbey. 
The communion and a few minor ceremonies were omitted. The 
Parliament assembled in May. The new House of Commons con- 
sisted almost entirely of zealous Tories and Churchmen, and were, 
of consequence, strongly biased by their affections in favor of the 
measures of the crown. In his opening speech the king plainly 
intimated that he had resources in his prerogative for supporting 
the government independent of their supplies, and that, so long as 
they complied with his demands, he would have recourse to them ; 
but that any ill usage on their part would set him free from those 
measures of government, which he seemed to regard more as vol- 
untary than as necessary. Yet the Commons, besides giving 
thanks for the king's speech, voted unanimously that they would 
settle on his present majesty, during life, all the revenue enjoyed 
by the late king at the time of his demise. 

A little before the meeting of Parliament Gates was convicted 
of perjury on two indictments, was fined 1000 marks on each in- 
dictment, and sentenced to be whipped on two different days from 
Aldgate to Newgate, and from Newgate to Tyburn, to be impris- 
oned during life, and to be pilloried five times every year. Though 
the whipping was so cruel that it was evidently the intention of 
the court to put him to death by that punishment, he was enabled, 
by the care of his friends, to recover ; and he lived to King Wil- 
liam's reign. 

§ 2. Monmouth, when ordered to depart the kingdom during 
the late reign, had retired to Holland, where he was well received 
by the Prince of Orange ; but, after the accession of James, the 
prince thought it necessary to dismiss Monmouth and all his fol- 
lowers. He retired to Brussels ; but was pushed on by his fol- 
lowers, and especially the Earl of Argyle, contrary to his judg- 
ment as well as inclination, to make a rash and premature attack 
upon England^ He sailed from Holland with three ships, and 
landed at Lyme, in Dorsetshire, with scarcely 100 followers; yet 



AD. 1685. INVASION AND DEFEAT OF MONMOUTH. 525 

so popular was his name that in four days he had assembled above 
2000 horse and foot. They were, indeed, almost all of them the 
lowest of the people ; and the declaration which he published was 
chiefly calculated to suit the prejudices of the vulgar, or the most 
bigoted of the AYhig party. He called the king Duke of York, 
and denominated him a traitor, a t}T.'ant, an assassin, and a popish 
usurper. He imputed to him the fire in London, the murder of 
Godfrey and of Essex, nay, the poisoning of the late king ; and 
he invited all the people to join in opposition to his tyranny. 

Monmouth advanced without opposition to Taunton, where 
twenty young maids of some rank presented him with a pair of col- 
ors of their handiwork, together with a copy of the Bible. Mon- 
mouth was here persuaded to take upon him the title of king, and 
assert the legitimacy of his birth. His numbers had now increased 
to 6000 ; and he was obliged every day, for want of arms, to dismiss 
a great many who crowded to his standard. He entered Bridge- 
water, Wells, Frome, and was proclaimed in all these places ; but, 
forgetting that such desperate enterprises can only be rendered 
successful by the most adventurous courage, he allowed the ex- 
pectations of the people to languish, w^ithout attempting any con- 
siderable undertaking;. 

The king's forces, under the command of Feversham and 
Churchill, now advanced against him ; and Monmouth, observing 
that no considerable men joined him, finding that an insurrection 
which, was projected in the city had not taken place, and hearing 
that Argyle, his confederate, was already defeated and taken, sunk 
into such despondency that he had once resolved to withdraw him- 
self, and leave his unhappy followers to their fate ; but he was en- 
couraged by the negligent disposition made by Feversham, to at- 
tack the king's army at Sedgmoor, near Bridge water, and would 
at last have obtained a victory had not his own misconduct and 
the cowardice of Lord G-rey, who commanded his cavalry, prevent- 
ed it. After a combat of three hours the rebels gave way, and 
were followed with great slaughter (July 6) ; and thus was con- 
cluded, in a few weeks, this enterprise, rashly undertaken and fee- 
bly conducted. Monmouth fled from the field of battle above 20 
miles, till his horse sank under him. He then changed clothes 
with a peasant in order to conceal himself. The peasant was dis- 
covered by the pursuers, who now redoubled the diligence of their 
search. At last the unhappy Monmouth was found lying in the 
bottom of a ditch, covered with fern ; his body depressed with fa- 
tigue and hunger, his mind, by the memory of past misfortunes 
and by the prospect of future disasters. He burst into tears when 
seized by his enemies, and he seemed still to indulge the fond hope 
and desire of life. He wrote James the most submissive letters, 



526 JAMES II. Chap. XXVI. 

and conjured him to spare the issue of a brother who had ever been 
so strongly attached to his interest. James, finding such symp- 
toms of depression and despondency in the unhappy prisoner, ad- 
mitted him to his presence, in hopes of extorting a discovery of his 
accomplices ; but Monmouth v^ould not purchase life, however 
loved, at the price of so much infamy. Finding all efforts vain, 
he assumed courage from despair, and prepared himself for death 
with a spirit better suited to his rank and character. This favor- 
ite of the people was attended to the scaffold with a plentiful effu- 
sion of tears. He warned the executioner not to fall into the er- 
ror which he had committed in beheading Russell, where it had 
been necessary to repeat the blow. This precaution served only to 
dismay the executioner. He struck a feeble blow on Monmouth, 
who raised his head from the block and looked him in the face, as 
if reproaching him for his failure. He gently laid down his head 
a second time, and the executioner struck him again and again to 
no purpose. He then threw aside the axe, and cried out that he 
was incapable of finishing the bloody office. The sheriff obliged 
him to renew the attempt, and at two blows more the head was 
severed from the body (July 15). 

§ 3. Such arbitrary pripciples had the court instilled into all 
its servants, that Feversham, immediately after the victory, hang- 
ed above 20 prisoners; but he was outdone by Colonel Kirke, a 
soldier of fortune, who had long served at Tangiers, and had con- 
tracted, from his intercourse with the Moors, an inhumanity less 
known in European and in free countries. At his first entry into 
Bridge water he hanged 19 prisoners, without the least inquiry into 
the merits of their cause. As if to make sport with death, he or- 
dered a certain number to be executed while he and his company 
should drink the king's health. Other actions of inhuman bar- 
barity are related of him. His soldiery were let loose to live at 
free quarters. By way of pleasantry he used to call them his 
lambs, from the device which they bore on their colors, an appel- 
lation which was long remembered with horror in the west of En- 
gland. 

The violent Jeffreys succeeded after some interval, and showed 
the people that the rigors of law might equal, if not exceed, the 
ravages of military tyranny. This man, who wantoned in cruel- 
ty, had already given a specimen of his character in many trials 
where he presided, and he now set out with a savage joy, as to a 
full harvest of death and destruction. He opened his court at 
Dorchester, Exeter, Taunton, and Wells, and, on the whole, be- 
sides those who were butchered by the military commanders, 330 
are computed to have fallen by the hand of justice. The whole 
country was strewed with the heads and limbs of traitors. The 



A.D.1685. POPISH MEASURES. 527 

convictions of Mrs. Gaunt, Lady Lisle, and Alderman Cornish, 
were particularly cruel and unjust. The last two were reversed 
after the Revolution. Nothing could satiate the spirit of rigor 
which possessed the administration. Even those multitudes who 
received pardon were obliged to atone for their guilt by fines which 
reduced them to beggary; or where their former poverty made 
them incapable of paying, they were condemned to cruel whippings 
or severe imprisonments. Some bought a pardon by bribing the 
judge, who made a large sum of money by selling his protection. 
Jeffreys, for those eminent services, was soon after vested by the 
king with the dignity of chancellor. The fate of Argyle, as al- 
ready mentioned, was decided before that of Monmouth. Having 
landed in Argyleshire, he collected and armed a body of about 
2500 men ; but his small and still decreasing army, after wander- 
ing about for a little time, was at last defeated and dissipated 
without a battle. Argyle himself, in attempting to escape, was 
seized and carried to Edinburgh, where, after enduring many in- 
dignities with a gallant spirit, he was publicly executed. The 
Scotch Parliament showed the utmost servility to the government, 
and seemed to have made an entire surrender of its liberties. 

§ 4. The king, elated with this continued tide of prosperity, 
opened the English Parliament with a violent and impolitic speech, 
in which he intimated his intention of maintaining; a standincr 
army, and dispensing with the tests (Nov. 9). The latter declara- 
tion struck a universal alarm throughout the nation ; infused 
terror into the Church, which had hitherto been the chief support 
of monarchy ; and even disgusted the army, by whose means alone 
he could now purpose to govern. At the same time, the revoca- 
tion, by Louis XIY., of the edict of Nantes, granted by Henry IV. 
in favor of his Protestant subjects, tended mightily to excite the 
animosity of the nation against the Roman Catholic communion. 
Above half a million of the most useful and industrious subjects 
deserted France ; and exported, together with immense sums of 
money, those arts and manufactures which had chiefly tended to 
enrich that kingdom. Near 50,000 refugees passed over into 
England ; and all men were disposed, from their representations, 
to entertain the utmost horror against the projects which they 
apprehended to be formed by the king for the abolition of the 
Protestant religion. The smallest approach toward the introduc- 
tion of popery must, in the present disposition of the people, have 
afforded reason of jealousy. Yet was the king resolute to perse- 
vere in his purpose ; and, having failed in bringing over the Par- 
liament, he made an attempt, with more success, in establishing 
his dispensing power by a verdict of the judges. For this purpose 
a feigned action was instituted. Sir Edward Hales, a new pros- 



52$ JAMES II. Chap. XXVI. 

elyte, had accepted a commission of colonel, and directions were 
given to his coachman to prosecute him for the penalty of £500, 
which the law establishing the tests had granted to informers. 
Before the cause was tried, four of the judges; — Jones, Montague, 
Charleton, and Nevil — were displaced. Sir Edward Herbert, the 
chief justice, declared that there was nothing with which the king 
might not dispense ; and when the matter was referred to the 
judges, 11 out of the 12 adhered to this decision. The nation 
thought the dispensing power dangerous, if not fatal, to liberty. 
But it was not likely that an authority which James had assumed 
through so many obstacles would in his hands lie long idle and 
unemployed. Four Catholic lords were brought into the privy 
council — Powys, Arundel, Belasyse, and Dover. Halifax was dis- 
missed, and the office of privy seal was given to Arundel. The 
king was open as well as zealous in the desire of making converts, 
and men plainly saw that the only way to acquire his affection 
and confidence was by a sacrifice of their religion. Sunderland, 
some time after, scrupled not to gain favor at this price. Koch- 
ester, the treasurer, though the king's brother-in-law, yet because 
he refused to give this instance of complaisance, was turned out 
of his office. The treasury was put in commission, and Belasyse 
was placed at the head of it. In Scotland James's zeal for pros- 
elytism was still more successful. In Ireland the mask was 
wholly taken off. The Duke of Ormond was recalled, and the 
whole power was lodged in the hands of Talbot, the general, soon 
after created Earl of Tyrconnel ; a man who, from the blindness 
of his prejudices and fury of his temper, was transported with the 
most immeasurable ardor for the Catholic cause. All the Prot- 
estants were disarmed on pretense of securing the public peace, 
and keeping their arms in a few magazines for the use of the 
militia. Next the army was new-modeled ; and a great number 
of officers, and about 4000 or 5000 private soldiers, because they 
were Protestants, were dismissed; and being stripped even of 
their regimentals, were turned out to starve in the streets. When 
Clarendon, who had been named lord lieutenant, came over, he 
soon found that, as he had refused to give the king the desired 
pledge of fidelity by changing his religion, he possessed no credit 
or authority ; and he was even a kind of prisoner in the hands 
of Tyrconnel. All judicious persons of the Roman Catholic com- 
munion were disgusted with these violent measures, and could 
easily foresee the consequences. 

§ 5. The proceedings of the court awakened the alarm of the 
Established Church. Instead of avoiding controversy, according 
to tlie king's injunctions, the preachers every where declaimed 
against popery ; and among the rest, Dr. Sharpe, a clergyman of 



A.D. 1685-6. COURT OF ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION. 529 

London, particularly distinguished himself. His discourses gave 
great offense at court ; and positive orders were issu-ed to the 
Bishop of London immediately to suspend Sharpe till his majes- 
ty's pleasure should be farther known. The prelate replied that 
he was not empowered, in such a summary manner, to inflict any 
punishment, even upon the greatest delinquent. But neither 
this obvious reason, nor the most dutiful submissions, both of the 
prelate and Sharpe himself, could appease the court. The court 
of High Commission had been abolished in the reign of Charles I. 
by act of Parliament ; and, although that act was partly repealed 
after the Restoration, yet the clause was retained which prohibit- 
ed the erection, in all future times, of that court, or any of a like 
nature. Nevertheless, an ecclesiastical commission was anew is- 
sued, almost in the words which created the court under Eliza- 
beth, by which seven commissioners were vested with full and 
unlimited authority over the Church of England (July 14, 1686). 
The Bishop of London was cited before the commissioners ; and, 
by a majority of votes, the prelate, as well as Sharpe, was sus- 
pended. 

Almost the whole of this short relgii consists of attempts, al- 
ways imprudent, often illegal, sometimes both, against whatever 
was most loved and revered by the nation. The king, not con- 
tent with granting dispensations to particular persons, assumed a 
power of issuing a declaration of general indulgence, and of sus- 
pending at once all the penal statutes, by which a conformity was 
required to the established religion. In this declaration he prom- 
ised that he would maintain his loving subjects in all their prop- 
erties and possessions, as well of Church and abbey lands as of 
any other. Men thought that if the full establishment of popery 
were not at hand, this promise was quite superfluous ; and thev 
concluded that the king was so replete with joy on the prospect of 
that glorious event, that he could not, even for a moment, refrain 
from expressing it. But what afforded the most alarming pros- 
pect was the continuance and even increase of the violent and 
precipitate conduct of affairs in Ireland. The Catholics were put 
in possession of the council-table, of the courts of judicature, and 
of the bench of justices. The charters of Dublin and of all the cor- 
porations were annulled, and new charters were granted, subject- 
ing the corporations to the will of the sovereign. The Protestant 
freemen were expelled. Catholics introduced ; and the latter sect, 
as they always were the majority in number, were now invested 
with the whole power of the kingdom. But the king was not con- 
tent with discovering in his own kingdom the imprudence of his 
conduct ; he was resolved that all Europe should be witness of it. 
He publiclv sent the Earl of Castlemaine embassador extra^ordi- 

Z 



530 JAMES II. Chap. XXVI. 

nary to Kome, in order to express his obedience to the Pope, and 
to make advances for reconciling his kingdoms, in form, to the 
Catholic communion. The Pope, in return, sent a nuncio to En- 
gland; and, though any communication with the Pope was treason, 
yet so little regard did the king pay to the laws that he gave the 
nuncio a public and solemn reception at Windsor. Four Catholic 
bishops were publicly consecrated in the king's chapel ; the regu- 
lar clergy of that communion appeared at court in the habits of 
their order, and some of them were so indiscreet as to boast that 
in a little time they hoped to walk in procession through the 
capital. 

§ 6. By the practice of annulling the charters, the king was be- 
come master of all the corporations, and could at pleasure change 
every where the whole magistracy. The Church party, therefore, 
was deprived of authority ; and, by an unnatural and impolitic 
coalition, the Dissenters were, first in London and afterward in 
every other corporation, substituted in their place. Not content 
with this violent and dangerous innovation, the king appointed 
certain regulators to examine the qualifications of electors, and 
directions were given them to exclude all such as adhered to the 
test and penal statutes. He sought to bring over the chief public 
functionaries to his views in private conferences which were then 
called closetings. The whole power in Ireland had been commit- 
ted to Catholics. In Scotland, all the ministers whom the king 
chiefly trusted were converts to that religion. Every great office 
in England, civil and military, was gradually transferred from the 
Protestants. Nothing remained but to open the door in the 
Church and universities to the intrusion of the Catholics, and it 
was not long before the king made this rash effort. Cambridge 
successfully resisted the king's mandate to confer the degree of 
master of arts on Father Francis, a Benedictine ; but Parker, Bish- 
op of Oxford, a man of loose character, and recommended only by 
his willingness to change his religion, was forced upon the fellows 
of Magdalen College as a new president. This act of violence, of 
all those which were committed during the reign of James, is per- 
haps the most illegal and arbitrary : it not only attacked private 
property, but poisoned the very fountains of the Church (1687). 
The next measure of the court was an insult still more open on 
the ecclesiastics. The king published a second declaration of in- 
dulgence, almost in the same terms with the former ; and he sub- 
joined an order that, immediately after divine service, it should be 
read by the clergy in all the churches (April, 1688). Hereupon 
six prelates — namely, Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph, Ken of Bath 
and: Wells, Turner of Ely, Lake of Chichester, White of Peterbor- 
ough, and Trelawney of Bristol — met privately with Sancroft the 



AD. 1C86-1688. IMPRISONMENT OF THE SEVEN BISHOPS. 531 



primate, and drew up a respectful petition to the king, in which 
they represented that the Declaration of Indulgence being founded 
on a prerogative formerly declared illegal by Parliament, they 
could not, in prudence, honor, or conscience, make themselves 
parties to the distribution of it, and besought the king that he 
would not insist upon their reading it. The king immediately em- 
braced a resolution of punishing the bishops for a petition so pop- 
ular in its matter, and so 
prudent and cautious in 
the expression. He sum- 
moned them before the 
council ; and when they 
avowed the petition, an 
order was immediately 
drawn for their commit- 
ment to the Tower ; and 
the croAvn lawyers receiv- 
ed directions to prosecute 
them for the seditious li- 
bel which, it was pretend- 
ed, they had composed and 
uttered. When the peo- 
ple beheld these fathers of 
the Church brought from 
court under the custody 
of a guard, when they 
saw them embark in ves- 
sels on the river and con- 
veyed toward the Tower, 
all their affection for lib- 
erty, all their zeal for re- 
ligion, blazed up at once, 
and they flew to behold 
this aiFecting spectacle. 
The whole shore was cov- 
ered with crowds of pros- 
trate spectators, who at 
once implored the bless- 
ing of those holy pastors, 
and addressed their peti- 
tions toward heaven for 
protection during this ex- 
treme danger to which their country and their religion stood ex- 
posed. Even the soldiers, seized with the contagion of the same 
spirit, flung themselves on their knees before the distressed prel- 




Medal of Archbishop Bancroft and the seven bishops. 

Obv. : GVIL . SANOROFT . AECHIEPISC . OANTTJAE - 

16SS. Bust to right. Kev. : Busts of the seven 
bishops in circles, with their names. 



532 JAMES II. Chap. XXVI. 

ates, and craved the benediction of those criminals whom they 
were appointed to guard. Their passage, when conducted to their 
trial, was, if possible, attended by greater crowds of anxious spec- 
tators. Twenty-nine temporal peers (for the other prelates kept 
aloof) attended the seven prisoners to Westminster Hall ; and 
such crowds of gentry followed the procession that scarcely was 
any room left for the populace to enter. No cause, even during 
the prosecution of the Popish Plot, was ever heard with so much 
zeal and attention. The arguments of counsel in favor of the 
bishops were convincing in themselves, and were heard with a 
favorable disposition by the audience. The jury, however, from 
what cause is unknown, took several hours to deliberate, and kept, 
during so long a time, the people in the most anxious expecta- 
tion. But when the wished-for verdict, not guilty^ was at last pro- 
nounced, the intelligence was echoed through the hall, was con- 
veyed to the crowds without, was carried into the city, and was 
propagated with infinite joy throughout the kingdom (June 30). 
The king had formed a standing army of about 16,000 men, which 
encamped in summer on Hounslow Heath. It happened that the 
very day on which the trial of the bishops was finished, James 
had reviewed the troops, and had retired into the tent of Lord 
Feversham, the general, when he was surprised to hear a great 
uproar in the camp, attended with the most extravagant symp- 
toms of tumultuary joy. He suddenly inquired the cause, and 
was told by Feversham, " It was nothing but the rejoicing of the 
soldiers for the acquittal of the bishops." " Do you call that 
nothing?" replied he. " But so much the worse for them." 

§ 7. A few days before the acquittal of the bishops the queen 
was delivered of a son (June 10, 1688), who was baptized by the 
name of James. This blessing was impatiently longed for, not 
only by the king and queen, but by all the zealous Catholics both 
abroad and at home. Vows had been offered at every shrine for 
a male successor, and pilgrimages undertaken, particularly one to 
Loretto, by the Duchess of Modena ; and success was chiefly at- 
tributed to that pious journey. But the Protestant party went 
so far as to ascribe to the king the design of imposing on the 
world a supposititious child, who might be educated in his prin- 
ciples, and after his death support the Catholic religion in his 
dominions. 

Although the king's conduct had entirely alienated the hearts 
of his subjects, yet such is the influence of established government, 
and so averse are men from beginning hazardous enterprises, that, 
had not an attack been made from abroad, affairs might long have 
remained in their present delicate situation. The Prince of 
Orange, ever since his marriage with the Lady Mary, had main- 



A.D. 1688. CONDUCT OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE. 533 

tained a veiy prudent conduct, agreeable to that sound understand- 
ing with which he was so eminently endowed. But when the ar- 
birraiy conduct of James had disgusted all his subjects, William 
sent over Dykvelt as envoy to England, and gave him instructions 
to apply in his name, after a proper manner, to every sect and de- 
nomination. To the Church party he sent assurances of favor 
and regard ; while the Nonconformists were exhorted not to be 
deceived by the fallacious caresses of a popish court, but to wait 
patiently till laws, enacted by Protestants, should give them that 
toleration which, with so much reason, they had long demanded. 
Dykvelt executed his commission with such dexterity that all 
orders of men cast their eyes toward Holland, and many of the 
most considerable persons, both in Chujjch and state, made secret 
applications through him to the Prince*of Orange. At last, when 
a son vras born to the king, and the succession of William thus cut 
off, both the prince and the EngUsh nation were reduced to despair, 
and saw no resource but in a confederacy for their mutual inter- 
est. And thus the event which James had so long made the ob- 
ject of his most ardent prayers, and from which he expected the 
firm establishment of his throne, proved the immediate cause of 
his ruin and downfall. 

Zuylestein, who had been sent over to congratulate the king on 
the birth of his son, brought back to the prince invitations from 
most of the great men in England, to assist them, by his arms, in 
the recovery of their laws and liberties. Whigs, Tories, and Non- 
conformists, forgetting their animosity, secretly concurred in a de- 
sign of resisting their unhappy and misguided sovereign. Even 
Sunderland, the king's favorite minister, entered into correspond- 
ence with the prince; and, at the expense of his own honor and 
his master's interests, secretly favored a cause which, he foresaw, 
was likely soon to predominate. 

§ 8. The prince was easily engaged to yield to the applications 
of the English, and to embrace the defense of a nation which, dur- 
ing its present fears and distresses, regarded him as its sole pro- 
tector. The time when he entered on his enterprise was well 
chosen, as the people were then in the highest ferment on account 
of the insult which the imprisonment and trial of the bishops had 
put upon the Church, and, indeed, upon all the Protestants of the 
nation. He had beforehand increased the Dutch nav^', levied ad- 
ditional troops, and made such arrangements with his neighbors 
and allies as should prevent any danger to Holland from his ex- 
pedition. So secret were the prince's counsels, and so fortunate 
was the situation of affairs, that he could still cover his prepar- 
ations under other pretenses. Yet all his artifices could not en- 
tirely conceal his real intentions from the sap;a£ity of the French 



534 JAMES II. Chap. XXVI. 

court. Louis conveyed the intelligence to James, and offered to 
join a squadron of French ships to the English fleet, and to send 
over any number of troops which James should judge requisite for 
his security. But all the French king's proposals were imprudently 
rejected. James was not, as yet, entirely convinced that his son- 
in-law intended an invasion upon England. Fully persuaded, 
himself, of the sacredness of his own authority, he fancied that a 
like belief had made deep impression on his subjects ; and, not- 
withstanding the strong symptoms of discontent which broke out 
every where, such a universal combination in rebellion appeared 
to him nowise credible. 

James at last received a letter from his minister at the Hague 
which informed him with^ certainty that he was soon to look for 
a powerful invasion from Holland. Though he could reasonably 
expect no other intelligence, he was astonished at the news : he 
grew pale, and the letter dropped from his hand ; his eyes were 
now opened, and he found himself on the brink of a frightful prec- 
ipice, which his delusions had hitherto concealed from him. His 
ministers and counselors, equally astonished, saw no resource but 
in a sudden and precipitate retraction of all those fatal measures 
by which he had created to himself so many enemies, foreign and 
domestic. He paid court to the Dutch, and offered to enter into 
any alliance with them for common security ; he replaced in all 
the counties the deputy lieutenants and justices, who had been de- 
prived of their commissions for their adherence to the Test and 
the penal laws ; he restored the charters of London and of all the 
corporations ; he annulled the court of ecclesiastical commission ; 
he took off the Bishop of London's suspension ; he reinstated the 
expelled president and fellows of Magdalen College ; and he was 
even reduced to caress those bishops whom he had so lately per- 
secuted and insulted. But all these measures were regarded as 
symptoms of fear, not of repentance. 
^ § 9. Meanwhile the Prince of Orange published a declaration, 
which was dispersed over the kingdom, and met with universal 
approbation. In this document he enumerated all tlie grievances 
of the nation, and declared his intention of coming to England 
with an armed force, in order to protect the liberties of the people, 
to assemble a legal and a free Parliament, and to examine the 
proofs of the legitimacy of the Prince of Wales. He set sail from 
Helvoetsluys on Oct. 19, with a fleet of nearly 500 vessels, and 
an army of above 14,000 men, and landed safely in Torbay on 
the 5th of November, the anniversary of the gunpowder treason. 
The Dutch army marched first to Exeter, and the prince's dec- 
laration was there published. That whole county was so terrified 
with the executions which had ensued on Monmouth's rebellion 



A.D. 1688. THE KING DESERTED. 535 

that no one for several days joined the prince. But Sir Edward 
Seymour made proposals for an association, and by degrees the 
Earl of Abingdon, Mr. Russell, son of the Earl of Bedford, and 
others, came to Exeter. All England was in commotion, and 
the nobility and gentry in various counties embraced the same 
cause. 

But the most dangerous symptom was the disaifection which 
had crept into the army. The officers seemed all disposed to ad- 
here to the interests of their country and of their religion, and 
s^eral of high distinction openly deserted. Among those was 
Lord Churchill (afterward the celebrated Duke of Marlborough), 
who had been raised from the rank of a page, had been invested 
wdth a high command in the army, had been created a peer, and 
had owed his whole fortune to the king's favor. He carried 
with him the Duke of Grafton, natural son of the late king, 
Colonel Berkeley, and some troops of dragoons. The king had 
arrived at Salisbury, the head-quarters of his army, when he re- 
ceived this fatal intelligence ; and in the perplexity which it occa- 
sioned, he embraced a sudden resolution of drawing off his army 
and retiring toward London — a measure which could only serve to 
betray his fears and provoke farther treachery. 

But Churchill had prepared a still more mortal blow for his dis- 
tressed benefactor. His lady and he had an entire ascendant 
over the family of Prince George of Denmark, and the time now 
appeared seasonable for overwhelming the unhappy king, who was 
already staggering with the violent shocks which he had received. 
Andover was the first stage of James's retreat toward London, 
and there Prince George, together with the young Duke of Or- 
mond, and some other persons of distinction, deserted him in the 
nighttime, and retired to the prince's camp. No sooner had this 
news reached London, than the Princess Anne, pretending fear 
of the king's displeasure, withdrew herself in company with the 
Bishop of London and Lady Churchill. She fled to Nottingham, 
where the Earl of Dorset received her with great respect, and 
the gentry of the county quickly formed a troop for her protec- 
tion. The kino- burst into tears when the first intelliofence of this 
astonishing event was conveyed to him. " God help me," cried 
he, in the extremity of his agony, " my own childr^en have forsaken 
me !" Unable to resist the torrent, he preserved not presence of 
mind in yielding to it, but seemed in this emergency as much de- 
pressed with adversity as he had before been vainly elated by 
prosperity. He called a council of the peers and prelates who 
were in London, and followed their advice in issuing writs for a 
new Parliament, and in seaiding Halifax, Nottingham, and Godol- 
phin as commissioners to treat with the Prince of Orange. 



536 JAMES II. Chap.XXVT. 

§ 10. The Prince of Orange declined a personal conference with 
James's commissioners, and sent the Earls of Clarendon and Ox- 
ford to treat with them : the terms which he proposed implied al- 
most a present participation of the sovereignty, and he stopped 
not a moment the march of his army toward London. The news 
which the king received from all quarters served to continue the 
panic into which he was fallen. Impelled by his own fears and 
those of others, he precipitately embraced the resolution of escap- 
ing into France, and he sent off beforehand the queen and the in- 
fant prince, under the conduct of Count Lauzun, an old favorite 
of the French monarch. He himself disappeared in the night- 
time, attended only by Sir Edward Hales, and made the best of 
his way to a ship which waited for him near the mouth of the 
river (Dec. 11). Nothing could equal the surprise which seized 
the city, the court, and the kingdom upon the discovery of this 
strange event. The more effectually to involve every. thing in 
confusion, the king threw the great seal into the river ; and he 
recalled all those writs which had been issued for the election of 
the new Parliament. 

By this temporary dissolution of government the populace were 
masters ; and there was no disorder which, during their present 
ferment, might not be dreaded from them. They rose in a tu- 
mult and destroyed all the Catholic chapels. They even attack- 
ed and rifled the houses of the Florentine envoy and Spanish em- 
bassador, where many of the Catholics had lodged their most val- 
uable effects. Jeffreys, the chancellor, who had disguised himself 
in order to fly the kingdom, was discovered by them, and so abused 
that he died a little after. To add to the disorder, Feversham, 
the royal general, had no sooner heard of the king's flight than he 
disbanded the troops in the neighborhood, and, without either dis- 
arming or paying them, let them loose to prey upon the country. 
In this extremity, the bishops and peers who were in town thought 
proper to assemble, and to interpose for the preservation of the 
community. They chose the Marquis of Halifax speaker ; they 
gave directions to the mayor and aldermen for keeping the peace 
of the city ; they issued orders, which were readily obeyed, to the 
fleet, the army, and all the garrisons ; and they made applications 
to the Prince of Orange, whose enterprise they highly applauded, 
and whose success they joyfully congratulated. The prince, on 
his part, was not wanting to the tide of success which flowed in 
upon him, and continued his march toward London. 

While every one, from principle, interest, or animosity, turned 
his back on the unhappy king, who had abandoned his own cause, 
the unwelcome news arrived that he had been seized by the popu- 
lace at Feversham. as he was making his escape in disguise. On 



A. D 1688. JAMES RETIRES TO FRANCE. 537 

his arrival in London, the populace, moved by compassion for his 
unhappy fate, and actuated by their own levity, received him with 
shouts and acclamations ; but during his abode at Whitehall little 
attention was paid to him by the nobility or any persons of dis- 
tinction. Pie himself showed not any symptom of spirit, nor dis- 
covered any intention of resuming the reins of government which 
he had once thrown aside. 

Nothing remained for the now ruling powers but to deliberate 
how they should dispose of his person. Besides that the prince 
may justly be supposed to have possessed more generosity than to 
think of offering violence to an unhappy monarch, so nearly re- 
lated to him, he knew that nothing would so effectually promote 
his own views as the king's retiring into France, a country at all 
times obnoxious to the English. It was determined, therefore, to 
push him into that measure, which, of himself, he seemed suffi- 
ciently inclined to embrace. Lord Feversham, whom he had sent 
on a civil message to the prince, desiring a conference, was put in 
arrest, under pretense of his comii:\g without a passport ; the Dutch 
guards were ordered to take possession of Whitehall ; and Hali- 
fax, Shrewsbury, and Delamere delivered a message to the king 
in bed after midnight, ordering him to leave his palace next morn- 
ing, and to depart for Ham, a seat of the Duchess of Lauderdale's. 
He desired permission, which was easily granted, of retiring to 
Rochester, a town near the sea-coast. Here he lingered some 
days, under the protection of a Dutch guard, and seemed desirous 
of an invitation still to keep possession of the throne. But, ob- 
serving that the Church, the nobility, the city, the country, all 
concurred in neglecting him, and leaving him to his own counsels, 
he submitted to his melancholy fate ; and, being urged by earnest 
letters from the queen, he privately embarked on board a frigate 
which waited for him (Dec. 23) ; and he arrived safely at Amble- 
teuse, in Picardy. Hence he hastened to St. Germain's, where 
Louis received him with the highest generosity, sympathy, and 
regard. 

§ 11. It now remained to settle the government ; and the prince, 
finding himself possessed of the good-will of the nation, resolved 
to leave them entirely to their own guidance and direction. The 
peers and bishops, to the number of nearly 90, presented an ad- 
dress desiring him to summon a convention by circular letters, 
and to assume, in the mean time, the management of public affairs. 

The prince seemed still unwilling to act upon an authority 
Avhich might be deemed so imperfect ; he was desirous of obtain- 
ing a more express declaration of the public consent. A judi- 
cious expedient was fallen on for that purpose. All the members 

who had sat in the Plouse of Commons during anv Parliament of 

79 



538 JAMES II. Chap. XXVJ 

Charles II. (the only Parliaments whose election was regarded as 
free) were invited to meet; and to them were added the lord 
mayor, aldermen, and 50 of the common council. This was re- 
garded as the most proper representative of the people that could 
be summoned during the present emergency. They unanimously 
voted the same address with the Lords ; and the prince, being 
thtis supported by all the legal authority which could possibly be 
obtained in this critical juncture, wrote circular letters to the. 
counties and corporations of England ; and his orders were uni- 
versally complied with. The conduct of the prince with regard 
to Scotland was founded on the same prudent and moderate max- 
ims. He summoned all the Scotchmen of rank at that time in 
London, who made an offer to the prince of the present adminis- 
tration, which he willingly accepted. 

When the English convention assembled (Jan. 23, 1689), thanks 
were unanimously given by both houses to the Prince of Orange 
for the deliverance which he had brought them ; and the Com- 
mons sent up to the Peers the following vote for their concur- 
rence : " That King James II., having endeavored to subvert the 
constitution of the kingdom by breaking the original contract be- 
tween king and people, and having, by the advice of Jesuits and 
other wicked persons, violated the fundamental laws, and with- 
drawn himself out of the kingdom, -has abdicated the government, 
and that the throne is thereby vacant." This vote, when carried 
to the upper House, met with great opposition, but after many 
debates the Lords at length adopted the resolution of the Com- 
mons without any alteration. The convention passed a bill in 
which they settled the crown on the Prince and Princess of Orange, 
the sole administration to remain in the prince ; the Princess of 
Denmark to succeed after the death of the Prince and Princess 
of Orange ; her posterity after those of Mary, but before those of 
William by any other wife. The convention annexed to this set- 
tlement of the crown a Declaration of Rights, where all the points 
which had, of late years, been disputed between the king and peo- 
ple, were finally determined, and the powers of royal prerogative 
were more narrowly circumscribed and more exactly defined than 
in any former period of the English government. This declaration 
was subsequently confirmed and extended by the Bill of Eights, 
as will be related in the following Book. 

On Feb. 13, 1689, the Marquis of Halifax thereupon tendered 
the crown to William and Mary, who accepted the offer, and were 
proclaimed King and Queen of England, France, and Ireland. 

§ 12. By the Revolution just recorded, the struggle between 
king and people, which had lasted since the reign of John, was at 
length decided. The sovereigns who preceded the Stuarts had 



AD 1689 REVIEW OF THE STUART DYNASTY. 539 

contented themselves with practical triumphs over the Legisla- 
ture ; James I., adopting the maxim "a Deo rex, a rege lex," 
raised the abstract question of principle, and inculcated on his 
subjects his own divine right, and their duty of passive obedience, 
in which he was followed by his son and grandsons. But there 
was already a large party which precisely reversed this maxim, 
and before the expiration of a century they established their view 
at the bitter expense of two of James's descendants. Fortunately 
for the nation, Charles I. and James II., two princes of very sim- 
ilar character, possessed sufficient courage or sufficient obstinacy 
to stake their lives and fortunes on the maintenance of what they 
mistakingly considered a sacred principle, and thus to bring the 
question to an issue, which James I. had avoided out of natural 
timidity, and Charles II. partly from good sense and partly from 
the careless indolence of his temper. 

It is therefore the constitutional and parliamentary history of 
the country that will chiefly engross the attention of the student 
during the period of the Stuarts — a study for which there are am- 
ple materials, as indicated in a note appended to this book. Nor 
Avas the age fertile alone in records and practical works on gov- 
ernment. The antagonistic theories of the divine right of kings, 
and the indefeasible right of the people to govern themselves, pro- 
voked a host of writers to treat on the fundamental principles of 
government, and to examine the foundations on which all legisla- 
tive and executive authority is built. The greatest names — Har- 
rington, Sidney, Milton, Locke — are ranged on the side of popular 
liberty ; on the other, Hobbes, a profound and original thinker, is 
the chief; a writer who affords a striking instance that the ut- 
most freedom and originality of philosophical speculation may 
not be incompatible with the entertainment of servile and arbi- 
trary political principles. Nothing can more strongly show how 
generally the theory of government occupied the attention of re- 
flecting men in the time of the Stuarts, than the solemn asser- 
tion by the convention of 1688 of an original contract between 
prince and people ; an hypothesis utterly incapable of proof, how- 
ever wholesome in itself, and however useful as the postulate of a 
political disquisition. Happily, however, the opposite principle 
of divine right is not a whit better founded ; and in the present 
day, the question between the two would be decided by more di- 
rect and practical, if less ingenious arguments. 

§ 13. With regard to foreign affairs, the era of the first four 
Stuarts presents almost a blank, and what little is to be noted is 
for the most part discreditable to the nation. James I. added to 
England the power of Scotland as well as that of pacified Ireland, 
yet on the day of his accession, to use the words of Lord Macau- 



540 



JAMES II. Chap. XXVI. 



lay, " our country descended from the rank which she had hitherto 
lield, and began to be regarded as a power hardly of the second 
order." The timidity of that sovereign restrained him from a 
war to which he was summoned both by the ties of family inter- 
ests and by the policy becoming a Protestant prince : his blind 
subserviency to a favorite precipitated him, toward the close of his 
reign, into another which helped to forward the ruin of his son. 
The short effort of Charles I. in favor of the French Protestants 
was equally inglorious and unsuccessful ; and the domestic troubles 
which occupied the remainder of his reign diverted his attention 
from the affairs of the Continent. The energetic administration 
of Cromwell revived for a while the tarnished lustre of the En- 
glish arms. Under Charles II., the pensioner of France, England 
reached its lowest depth of degradation as a member of the Euro- 
pean system. 

§ 14. Yet, in spite of all this misgovernment, these disturbances 
at home, this dishonor abroad, the country went on steadily, though 
slowly, advancing in wealth, in power, and in civilization. In the 
time of Charles II. the population of England had increased to 
about five millions and a quarter. The addition was principally 
in the southern counties ; the district north of Trent still con- 
tinued thinly peopled, and in a state of manners comparatively 
barbarous, although the coal-beds which it contained were des- 
tined eventually to attract an immense increase of population by 
making it the seat of manufacturing industry. The archiepisco- 
pal province of York, which at* the time of the Revolution was 
thought to contain only one seventh of the English population, 
contained in 1841 two sevenths. In Lancashire the number of 
inhabitants appears to have increased nine-fold.* But the means 
of communication throughout the kingdom were wretched in the 
extreme. Canals did not exist ; the roads were execrable and in- 
fested with highwaymen. Four horses, sometimes six, were re- 
quired to drag the coaches through the mud; and the traveler 
who missed the scarce discernible track over the heaths, which 
were then frequent and extensive, might wander lost and benight- 
ed. Some improvement was effected by the introduction of posts 
in the reign of Charles I., which were brought to more perfection 
after the Restoration. In 1680 a penny post was established in 
London for the delivery of letters and parcels several times a day. 
The first law for erecting turnpikes was passed in 1662 ; but no 
very considerable improvement in the roads took place till the 
reign of George II. 

§ 15. The annual revenue of James I. was estimated at about 
£450,000, a great part of which arose from the crown lands, and 
* Macaulav. Hist, of Enqland. i.. 28G. 



A.D 1689. REVENUE— ARMY AND NAVY. 54I 

from purveyance and other feudal rights, which were abolished, as 
before related, soon after the Restoration. Tlie customs in the 
reign of James I. never exceeded £190,000, and were supposed to 
be an ad valorem duty of 5 per cent., both on exports and imports. 
The excise was not established till the next reign, when both the 
customs and the total amount of the revenue had more than 
doubled ; the income previous to the meeting of the Long Parlia- 
ment being about £900,000, of which the customs formed about 
£500,000. During the Commonwealth the revenue was about 
£2,000,000 ; yet it was exceeded by the expenditure. The aver- 
age revenue of Charles II. was about jGl, 200,000. The first Par- 
liament of James II. put him in possession of £1,900,000 per an- 
num, though the country was at peace ; to which his income as 
Duke of York being added, made about two millions. The na- 
tional debt at the time of the Revolution was only a little more 
than a million. 

These facts show a vast increase in the trade and resources of 
the country. But the increased revenue was absorbed by aug- 
mented expenditure. Fortunately, the first two Stuarts had no 
standing army, or they might probably have succeeded in over- 
throwing the liberties of the country. Regular troops were first 
kept constantly on foot in the time of the Commonwealth. Charles 
II. had a few regiments of guards, but James II. possessed a reg- 
ular force of 20,000 men. Taught by the errors of his predeces- 
sors, he no doubt contemplated employing more effectual means 
for asserting his odious principles than had been at their disposal ; 
but in the moment of need he found that his Protestant troops 
were citizens as well as soldiers. The navy was also vastly aug- 
mented under the Stuarts. In Elizabeth's reign the whole naval 
force of the kingdom consisted of only 33 ships, besides pinnaces, 
and the largest of them would not now equal a fourth rate. In 
the reign of James I. was constructed a ship larger than had yet 
been seen in the English navy, being of 1400 tons, and carrying 
64 guns. The navy increased considerably under Charles II., 
and still more under James 11. The latter had an affection for 
the service, showed considerable talent as an admiral, and was 
the inventor of naval signals. He was well seconded by Pepys, 
the Secretary of the Admiralty. At the period of the Revolution 
the fleet consisted of 173 vessels, manned by 42,000 seamen. 

§ 16. The increase of revenue and of military power denoted 
and was accompanied with a corresponding increase in wealth and 
commerce. The first foundations of the North American colonies 
were laid, as we have seen, in the reign of James I., when also 
the Bermudas and the island of Barbadoes were planted. The 
East India trade began to flourish, Greenland was discovered, and 



542 JAMES II Chap XXVI 

the whale-fishery begun. The population of the North American 
colonies was considerably augmented in the reign of Charles I. 
by the persecutions and intolerance of the High-Church party, 
which drove many Puritans to New England, many Catholics to 
Maryland. Under Charles II., New York and the Jerseys were 
recovered or conquered, and Carolina and Pennsylvania settled. 
The two Dutch wars, by disturbing the trade of that republic pro- 
moted the commerce of this island ; and after Charles II. had 
made a separate peace with the States, his subjects enjoyed un- 
molested the trade of Europe. The commerce and riches of En- 
gland increased very fast from the Restoration to the Revolution, 
and it is computed that during these 28 years the shipping of 
England was more than doubled. Several new manufactures were 
introduced, and especially that of silk, by the French Protestants 
who took refuo;e here after the revocation of the edict of Nantes. 
Sir Josiah Child, the banker, who wrote upon trade, states that in 
1688 there were more men on 'Change worth £10,000 than there 
were in 1650 worth £1000. 

§ 17. Never, perhaps, have the manners of any nation under- 
gone a more sudden and violent revulsion than those of the En- 
glish during this period. Under the first two Stuarts they were 
marked by religious austerity; under the last two, by profligacy 
and shamelessness. The gloomy enthusiasm of the earlier period 
begat many religious sects, of which one of the most singular was 
that of tlie Quakers, founded in the reign of Charles I. by George 
Fox, a native of Drayton, in Lancashire. Of this sect, Penn, the 
founder of Pennsylvania was an eminent member. Each of these 
two classes had its literature. The greatest genius among the 
Puritans, and, indeed, one of the greatest among the English 
poets, was Milton. The writers who succeeded the Restoration, 
and who belonged to what may he called the Cavalier literature, 
are more numerous, but less remarkable than their predecessors. 
Their works, and especially those of the dramatists, though often 
sparkling with wit, are for the most part disfigured by indecency. 
The chief merit of these authors is their having moulded our lan- 
guage, and especially its prose, into that easy, perspicuous, and 
equable flow which makes their writings still seem modern. The 
principal refiners of our language and versification were Denham, 
Waller, and Dryden : the prose of the last has seldom been equal- 
ed. No era can rival that of the Stuarts in the names of great 
philosophers : it counts among others those of Bacon, Hobbes, 
Locke, Boyle, Newton, and Harvey, the discoverer of the circu- 
lation of the blood. Indeed, notwithstanding the numerous men 
of wit and learning who flourished after the Restoration, the reign 
of Charles II. is, after all, more distinguished for science than 



A.D. 1689 



MANNERS, LITERATURE, ETC. 



543 



for literature. The Royal Society was founded in 1660 by a 
small circle of Oxford philosophers, and obtained the king's let- 
ters patent. 

Charles I. encouraged the fine arts, and made collections ; but 
we can not yet be said to have had a school either of painting or 
sculpture. The artists employed were commonly foreigners, as 
Vandyck, Verrio, Kneller, Lely, and others. Gibber the sculptor 
was a Dutchman. Almost the only Englishmen eminent in art 
at this period were Inigo Jones and Wren the architects. The 
former built Whitehall and several mansions of the nobility. The 
great fire which swept away the wooden tenements of London 
opened a noble field for the display of Wren's genius, which, how- 
ever, was checked by the penury of government. Nevertheless, 
we are indebted to him for St. Paul's Cathedral, as well as for 
several of the finest churches in London. 

Had there existed in the times of the Stuarts better vehicles 
for the expression of public opinion, they might probably have 
been saved from some of those schemes which proved so fatal to 
themselves. Newspapers had indeed been established in the reign 
of Charles I. ; but even in that of his successor they were small 
and unimportant, and appeared only occasionally. Toward the 
close of his reign Charles II. would allow only the London Ga- 
zette to be published. Till 1679 the press in general was under 
a censorship ; but, though it was then emancipated for a short 
period, till the censorship was revived by James, the liberty was 
not extended to gazettes. In this state of things, the cofi'ee-houses, 
which were established in the reign of Charles II. — for tea, coffee, 
and chocolate were first introduced about the time of the Restora- 
tion — were the chief places for the ventilation of political and 
literary opinions. The government regarded these places ofresort 
with such uneasiness and suspicion that it once made an ineffect- 
ual attempt to close them. 



A.T>. 

1685. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMAEKABLE EVENTS. 



Accession of James 11. 
" Invasions, defeat, and execution of 

Monmouth and Argyle. 
" Eevocation of the Edict of Nantes by 
Louis XIV. 
1686. New Court of Ecclesiastical Commis- 
sion. Penal laws suspended. 



16S7. Attack upon the privileges of the- uni- 
versities. 

1688. Trial of the seven bishops. Invasion 

of the Prince of Orange. Flight and 
abdication of the king. 

1689. King William m. and Queen Mary 

proclaimed. 



144: 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. XXV L. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



AUTHORITIES FOR THE PERIOD OF 
THE STUARTS. 

During this epoch the materials of history 
become both more abundant and more au- 
thentic. The following list does not pretend 
to enumerate all that might be mentioned, 
taut to give only the more important. 

For the reign of James I. the chief author- 
ities a.re^Wmwooi'' s itLemorials ; Whitelock's 
Memorials ; the Secret Hibtoi-ij of the Court 
of Jcmies /., by Osborne, Weldon, Heylin, 
and Peyton; Camden's Annals of King 
James I., and Wilson's History of King 
Javies I. (both in Kennett); Dalrymple's 
Memorials and Letters^ illustrative of the 
reigns of James I. and Charles I. ; Carleton's 
Letters during his embassy in Holland; 
RusliAvorth's Historical Collection (1618- 
164S) ; Birch's Negotiations from 1592 to 
1617; Bacon's Wo7'ks; King James's Works. 
Sully's Memoires and Boderie's Amhassades 
en Angleterre throw considerable liglit on 
the state of James's foreign relations. 

For the reign of Charles I., Clarendon's 
History of the Rebellion is the principal 
work; a classical perfomiance in regard to 
style .and liistorical description, especially 
the delineation of characters, but far fi'om 
being always trustworthy, as the author was 
both prejudiced and careless. A genuine, 
unmutilated edition of this work was not 
published till 1826. To tliis must be added 
Clarendon's Life and State Papers; White- 
lock's Memorials (from Cliarles I. to the Res- 
toration); Nalson's Collection (1639-1648); 
Scotaell's Acts and Ordinances (1640-1656); 
Husband's Collection (1642-1646); Thurloe's 
State Papers (1638-1660); May's History 
of the Long Parliament; Strafford's Letters 
and Dispatches ; the Sydney State Papers ; 
Dugdale's Short View of the late Troubles; 
Robert Baillie's Letters and Journals (1637- 
1662); Ludlow's Memoirs; Lucy Hutchin- 
son's Memoirs of her husband, Col. Hutch- 
inson; Sir John Berkeley's Memoirs; John 



Ashburnham's Narrative; Lord Fairfax's 
Memoriids; Sir T. Herbert's Memoirs; 
Slingsby's and Hodgson's Memoirs; Bax- 
ter's Life and Times; Bishop Hacket's Me- 
morial of Archbishop Williams; Laud's 
liemains, ivith the History of his Troubles 
and Trial; Carte's Life of Ormonde; Sir 
P. Warwick's Memoirs of King Charles I. ; 
Denzil Lord Hollis's Memoirs (1641-1648); 
Bishop Hall's Hard Meastire ; Evelyn's Me- 
moirs (1641-1706): Sir Ed. Walker's Histor- 
ical Discourses relative to King Charles I. ; 
Dr. John Walker's Number and Sufferings 
of the Clergy sequestered in the Great Rebel- 
lion; Clement Walker's History of Inde- 
pe7iclency; Burton's Cromivellian Diary; 
Sir John Temple's History of the Irish Re- 
bellion ; Oliver Cromwell's Letters and 
S]peeches, with elucidations by Tliomas Car- 
lyle. 

For the reigns of Charles H. and James 
n. : Burnet's History of his own Times; 
Reresby's Memoirs; Pepys' Diary (1659- 
1669); Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Brit- 
ain and Ireland^! fi-om Charles H. to the 
battle of La Hogue; Life of James II.., col- 
lected out of Memoirs writ of his own hand, 
edited by Rev. J. S. Clarke; Corresjiondenca 
of Henry and Lawrence Hyde, Earls of Cla- 
rendon and Rochester; and Diary of Lord 
Clarendon. The Memoires de Grammont il- 
lustrate tlie court and times of Charles II. 
It is scarcely necessary to mention the re- 
cent work of Lord Macaulay. The CEuvres 
de Louis XIV\ and the letters of Barillon 
and D'Avaux show tlie relations of Charles 
IL and his brother Avith the French court. 

Other works which illustrate the whole pe- 
riod are the Journals of the Lords and Com- 
mons, the Parliamentary History, Howell's 
State Trials, the Hardwicke Pap)ers., Coke's 
Detection of the Court and State of England 
from James I. to Queen Anne, Harris's 
Lives of the Stuarts, Neal's Histonj of the 
Puritans., etc. 




Medal of ATilliam III, inyictissimys gvillelmts mag. Bust laureate to right. 

B O K V I. 

FROM THE REVOLUTION OF 1688 TO THE 
YEAR 1858. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIA3I in. A.D. 1689-1702. 

1. Introductory Remarks. § 2. Character of William III. His Minis- 
try. Convention Parliament. § 3. Discontents and Mutiny. Nonju- 
rors. Toleration Act. Settlement of Scotland. § 4. James lands in 
Ireland. Naval Action at Bantry Bay. Siege of Londonderry. Battle 
of Ne-\vton Butler. § 5. Bill of Rights. Attainders reversed. Change 
of Ministers. § 6. William proceeds to Ireland. Battle of the Boyne. 
Siege of Limerick and Return of William. § 7. Action off Beachy Head. 
Campaign in Ireland. Pacification of Limerick. § 8. Altered Views of 
William. Massacre of Glencoe. § 9. Intrigues in Favor of James. 
Marlborough sent to the Tower. § 10. Battle of La Hogue. § 11. At- 
tack on the Smyrna fleet. Growing Unpopularity of William. Expedi- 
tion to Brest betrayed by Marlborough. § 12. Bill for triennial Parlia- 
ments. Death of Queen Maiy. §13. General CorrujDtion. Abolition 
of the Censorship. Campaign in Flanders. § 14. Conspiracy against 
the King. Loyal Association. Attainder of Sir J. Fenwick. § 15. 
Treaty of RysAvick. § 16. Miscellaneous Transactions. Negotiations 
respecting the Spanish Succession. First Partition Treaty. § 17. Wil- 
liam's Unpopularity. Dismissal of his Dutch Guards. Resumption of 
forfeited Estates in Ii'eland. § 18. Second Treaty of Partition. William 



546 WILLIAM AND MARY. Chap. XXVII. 

acknowledges the Duke of Anjoii as King of Spain. § 19. The Cabinet 
Council. § 20. Discontent of the Commons. The Grand Alliance. 
Death of King James II. Preparations for War. Death of King Wil- 
liam. 

§ 1. The preceding books comprehend the history of the estab- 
lishment of the English Constitution ; for whatever changes have 
since been eifected were merely developments of principles already 
established either previous to or at the period of the Revolution. 
In the following book, therefore, our attention will be chiefly di- 
rected to what may be called the outward history of the country ; 
that is, its progress in material wealth, in colonial dominion, and 
in European influence. The vast strides that have been made in 
these respects, unequaled by any other country on the face of the 
earth, may in a great measure be referred to the solid foundations 
of liberty laid in previous ages, which have enabled the natural 
energy of the people to develop itself without restriction in the 
manner best suited to its genius. 

§ 2. William Henry, Prince of Orange, called to the throne by 
the national voice in place of his uncle James, by the title of Wil- 
liam III., was now in his 38th year. In person he was of the 
middle size, his shoulders round, his limbs slender and ill-shaped, 
yet capable of sustaining considerable fatigue in hunting and other 
athletic sports in which he delighted. His ample forehead was 
shaded by light brown hair ; his nose was high and aquiline ; a 
penetrating and eagle eye lighted up a pale and careworn counte- 
nance, the expression of which indicated a degree of sullenness as 
well as thought and resolution. His manner was ungraceful and 
taciturn, and little calculated to win love or popularity ; and, 
though he had the art to conceal his designs, he could not always 
suppress the manifestation of his passions. Notwithstanding his 
feeble health, he frequently indulged to excess in -the pleasures 
of the table. He had no taste for literature and art, but he pos- 
sessed some skill as a linguist, and knew enough of mathematics 
to understand fortification. In short, his acquirements were of 
the useful order, and he especially devoted his attention to all 
questions of politics. Hence he shone more on great occasions 
than in the ordinary intercourse of society ; and it was observed 
that he was never more sprightly and animated than, on the field 
of battle. 

In the choice of his ministers William seemed to have almost 
forgotten personal as well as political animosities and predilec- 
tions. The Earl of Nottingham, who had violently opposed his 
elevation to the throne, as well as the Earl of Shrewsbury, who 
had zealously promoted it, were both made secretaries of state ; 
Danby and Halifax, though bitter political rivals, took their seats 



A.D. 1689. CONVENTION PARLIAMENT. 547 

in the council, the former "as its president, the latter as privy seal. 
The great seal was intrusted to commissioners, with Sergeant 
Majnard at their head. The treasury was also put into commis- 
sion, the chief commissioner being Lord Mordaunt, afterward Earl 
of Peterborough ; but that post was not then so important as it 
, subsequently became. At the same time William's Dutch favor- 
ites were not forgotten, much to the discontent of many English- 
men. Bentinck^^ was made privy councilor, privy purse, and 
groom of the stole ; Zuylesteinf was appointed master of the robes ; 
Schombergij: was placed at the head of the ordnance ; and Auver- 
querque§ became master of the horse.* For himself William claim- 
ed the full and undivided authority of the crown. The name of 
Mary, the heiress by blood, was indeed inserted with his own in 
all the acts of government; yet, as her easy and unambitious tem- 
per disposed her to implicit obedience to her husband, she soon 
appeared to sink into the position of a queen consort, and lost all 
importance in the consideration of the people. 

In order to avoid the excitement of an election under existing 
circumstances, a bill to convert the Convention into a Parliament 
passed through both houses, and received the royal assent on the 
23d of February. Many members of the opposition party in the 
Commons retired, however, from an assembly which they declared 
to be illegal, and even those who remained displayed the greatest 
frugality in their votes for the public service. James II. had en- 
joyed a revenue of nearly two millions ; but the Whigs would 
grant William no more than £1,200,000. They even established 
the precedent, which has since been followed, of appropriating 
the supplies, and determined that one half of the sum voted should 
be applied to the public expenses, and the other half to the civil 
list. And when William represented the justice and necessity of 
refunding the charge of £700,000 incurred by the Dutch republic 
for his expedition, they would vote only £600,000. This frugal- 
ity alienated the king's mind from the Wliigs, and even made him 
think of abandoning the government altogether. 

§ 3. No sooner was William seated on the throne than he seem- 

* Bentinck was created Earl of Portland in 1689, He died in 1709, and 
was succeeded in the title by his son, who was created in 1716 Duke of 
Portland, and was the ancestor of the present duke. 

f Zuylestein was created in 1695 Earl of Rochford. The title became 
extinct on the death of the 5th earl in 1830. 

I Schomberg was created Duke of Schomberg in 1689. His son Charles, 
the second duke, was killed at the battle of Marsaglia, 1693, Another son, 
Meinhardt, third Duke of Schomberg, and first Duke of Leinster in Ire- 
land, died 1719, Avhen the title became extinct. 

§ Auverquerque was created in 1698 Earl of Grantham. He died in 
1754, when the title became extinct. 



548 WILLIAM AND MARY. Chap. XXVil. 

ed to have lost all his former popularity. The emissaries of James 
were active, and even Halifax and Danby expressed their appre- 
hension that, if he would only give securities for the maintenance 
of the Protestant religion, nothing could prevent his restoration. 
Symptoms of discontent having showed themselves in the army, 
the king resolved to send the malcontent regiments to Holland, 
and to supply their place at home with Dutch troops. The first 
regiment of the line, chiefly composed of Scotchmen, which was 
one of those ordered abroad, mutinied, and marched northward 
with drums beating and colors flying, carrying with them four 
pieces of artillery ; but, being overtaken by three regiments of 
Dutch dragoons under Ginkell, they were compelled to surrender 
and proceed to their appointed destination. This affair occasioned 
the Mutiny Bill. The soldier had been hitherto regarded only as 
a citizen, and amenable to the civil tribunals ; the army was now 
placed under martial law, and the Mutiny Bill has since been con- 
tinued from year to year. 

The House of Commons, or such members as remained, did not 
hesitate to take the oath of allegiance ; but many of the temporal 
peers as well as eight bishops, including the primate Sancroft, re- 
fused, and their example was afterward followed by about 400 of 
the inferior clergy. The party that refused the oaths were de- 
signated by the title of nonjurors. The oaths were to be taken 
by the beneficed clergy, and by those holding academical offices, 
on the ensuing 1st of August. This opposition on the part of 
the Church furnished the king with an opportunity to display his 
predilection for the Dissenters, toward whom he was naturally in- 
clined by'his Calvinistic tenets. The bill known as the Tolera- 
tion Act, to relieve Protestant dissenters from certain penalties, 
was introduced this session, and passed on the 24th of May. Per- 
sons taking the new oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and mak- 
ing a declaration against transubstantiation, were thereby exempted 
from the penalties incurred by absenting themselves from church, 
or by frequenting unlawful conventicles. Dissenters were re- 
strained from meeting with locked doors ; but, on the other hand, 
a penalty was enacted against disturbing the congregation. The 
ancient penal statutes remained, however, unrepealed, and persons 
who denied the Trinit}^, as well as papists, were excluded from 
the benefit of the new act. An attempt was also made to pass a 
Comprehension Bill, in order to admit dissenters by altering the 
Liturgy, and leaving certain ceremonies discretionary ; but it fail- 
ed, and has never since been renewed. 

During the debates on these measures William and Mary were 
crowned in Westminster Abbey, April 11th. Sancroft, the primate, 
declined to act, and the ceremony was performed by Compton, the 



A.D. 1689. JAMES LANDS IN IRELAND. 549 

Bishop of London. With regard to Scotland, it has been ab-eady 
mentioned that the Prince of Orange was acknowledged in Janu- 
ary by a sort of irregular convention of Scotch nobility and gentry 
resident in London. A more regular assembly was held at Edin- 
burgh in March ; and 50 malcontent members having deemed it 
prudent to withdraw, it was unanimously decided that James had 
forefaulted his right, and that the throne had become vacant. 
There was, however, in Scotland, a strong party in favor of James, 
headed by the Duke of Gordon, and supported by the Archbishop 
of Glasgow, the Earl of Balcarras, Viscount Dundee (formerly 
Graham of Claverhouse), and others. Dundee succeeded in rais- 
ing between 2000 and 3000 Highlanders, with whom he defeated 
at KilliecrankiCy on May 26th, the king's forces of double the 
number ; but Dundee received a mortal wound in the action, and 
with him expired all James's hopes in Scotland. The Highland- 
ers, dispirited by the loss of their leader, dispersed after a few 
skirmishes, and the Duke of Gordon having surrendered Edin- 
burgh Castle on June 13th, the whole country was reduced to 
obedience. Episcopacy was a,bolished, and Presbyterianism es- 
tablished as the religion of the state. 

§ 4. In Ireland Tyrconnel was still lord deputy. His govern- 
ment had been marked by violence toward the Protestants ; many 
towns were deprived of their charters, and the public offices were 
filled with Roman Catholics. Alarmed, however, at William's 
success, he had intimated his willingness to surrender Ireland to 
any force respectable enough to justify the act ; an offer which 
William neglected by the advice apparently of Halifax, who rep- 
resented to him that Ireland formed the only pretext for keeping 
an army»on foot, without which he might be expelled from En- 
gland as easily as he had been established. AVhile he was in this 
state of doubt and alarm, Tyrconnel received a letter from James 
announcing that he was preparing to sail from Brest with a pow- 
erful armament ; whereupon the lord deputy exerted himself to 
raise an immense force of half-wild, ill-armed, and worse disci- 
plined Irish. James landed at Kinsale on the 12th jof March, and 
was received with every demonstration of jpy. Louis XIV. had 
furnished him with 14 ships of the line, six frigates, and three 
fire-ships ; but the whole land-force which he brought with him 
consisted of 1200 of his own subjects in the pay of France, and 
100 French officers. 

At Cork James was met by Tyrconnel, whom he raised to the 
rank of duke. The view of the troops that were to fight for his 
cause was not calculated to inspire him with any very sanguine 
hopes of success. Scarcely two in a hundred were provided with 
muskets fit for service ; the rest were armed with clubs and sticks 



550 WILLIAM AND MARY. Chap. XXVIL 

tipped with iron. More than 100,000 of this rabble were on foot ; 
but he found himself obliged to disband the greater part of them, 
and retained only 35 regiments of infantry and 14 regiments of 
horse. His whole artillery consisted of 12 field-pieces and four 
mortars. After summoning a Parliament to meet at Dublin on 
the 7th of May, James set out for his army in the north, where 
Londonderry was invested. That place and Enniskillen, being in- 
habited by Protestants, were the only towns in Ireland that de- 
clared for King William. Lundy, the governor of Londonderry, 
had sent a message to James's head-quarters, with assurances that 
the place would be surrendered on the first summons ; but his 
treachery was fortunately discovered, and it was with difficulty 
that he escaped with his life by letting himself down from the walls 
in the disguise of a porter. James, who had ridden up with his 
staff to within a short distance of the gates, was saluted with a 
cry of " No surrender," and at the same time a discharge from 
the fortifications killed an officer by his side. The citizens, after 
the flight of Lundy, chose Walker, a clergyman, and Major Baker, 
for their governors, and resolved to hold out to the last extremity. 

The army of James was ill provided with materials for a siege, 
and after some fruitless assaults it was turned into a blockade. 
James now returned to Dublin in order to meet the Parliament. 
He was induced to pass several injudicious acts, especially one to 
repeal all the acts of settlement, thus subverting at a blow all the 
English property in the country ; as well as a general bill of at- 
tainder, comprehending more than 2000 persons ; and his scheme 
of replenishing his cofiers by an issue of base coin occasioned uni- 
versal disgust. 

In June Marshal de Rosen was appointed to take the command 
of the besieging army at Londonderry. The town being com- 
pletely invested on the land side, and cut off from all relief by sea 
by means of a boom about a mile and a half down the Foyle, the 
inhabitants were reduced to the last extremity of famine, and 
obliged to subsist on horses, dogs, rats, starch, and other food of 
the like revolting kind. The hopes of the garrison had been raised 
and disappointed by |jie appearance of a small squadron in the 
Lough, commanded by Kirke, of west of England notoriety, who 
had been obliged to retire. Toward the end of July, however, he 
again appeared, and two merchantmen, the Mountjoy and the 
Phoenix, covered by the Dartmouth frigate, succeeded on the 30th 
in breaking the boom. The former was driven ashore by the 
concussion, and was for some time in danger of being captured by 
the enemy ; but the Phoenix easily forced a passage through the 
broken spars. The season was wet; De Rosen's trenches were 
filled with water ; and the relief of the town determined him, as 



A.D. 1G89, 1690. BILL OF RIGHTS. 551 

he had ah-eady contemplated, to abandon the siege. During the 
31st ofJuly his guns continued to play on the town, but on the 
1st of August his army decamped after burning their huts. The 
siege, one of the most memorable in the history of Britain, had 
lasted 105 days, and the garrison had been reduced from 7000 
effective men to about 3000. 

On the same day that Londonderry was relieved Lord Mount- 
cashel had been completely routed by the Protestants of Ennis- 
killen at Newton Butler, and he himself wounded and taken pris- 
oner. To add to James's misfortunes, Schomberg landed with 
10,000 men near Donaghadee, on the coast of Down (Aug. 12th). 
Carrickfergus surrendered to him after a short siege, and was treat- 
ed with great cruelty. He then encamped in the neighborhood of 
Dundalk, the Duke of Berwick, James's natural son, retiring on 
his approach. James, having in vain endeavored to draw him to 
a battle, closed the campaign of 1689 by retiring into winter quar- 
ters at Atherdee. 

§ 5. While these things were passing in Ireland, the English 
Parliament had been employed in some important measures. The 
chief of these was the Bill of Rights, the third great charter of 
English liberty, which embodied and confirmed the provisions of 
the Declaration of Rights,^ and which also included a settlement 
of the crown in the manner already related in the preceding chap- 
ter.! The Parliament also reversed the attainders of Lord Rus- 
sell, Algernon Sidney, Alderman Cornish, and Mrs. Lisle. The 
exorbitant fines imposed in the preceding reign were declared il- 
legal, and the money extorted by Jeffreys was charged against his 
estate, with interest. All these proceedings were unexception- 
able ; but the same can not be said of the reversal of the judg- 
ment on the perjured Gates, and the granting him a, pension of 
£300 a year. 

William dissolved the Convention Parliament on February 6, 
1690. Halifax was soon after removed from office ; and Danby, 
now Marquis of Caermarthen, appointed many of his own crea- 
tures to the higher offices of state. The new Parliament, vv-hich 
met in March, was composed chiefly of Tories. The king an- 
nounced his intention of passing over into Ireland, and a supply 
of £1,200,000 was unanimously voted. The Commons also pre- 
sented Marshal Schomberg with £100,000. 

§ 6. William arrived at Carrickfergus on June 14, 1690, and 
proceeded to Schoraberg's head-quarters at Lisburn. His army 
amounted to about 36,000 men, variously composed of English, 

* See p. 538. 

t The Bill of Eights is printed at length in Notes and Illustrations, p. 
569. 



552 WILLIAM AND MARY. Chap. XXVII. 

Dutch, Germans, and other foreigners. On his approach the Irish 
army retired to the south bank of the Boyne, which is steep and 
hilly, and had been fortified with intrenchments. When James 
joined them there with 10,000 French troops under Lauzun, his 
whole army amounted to about 30,000 men ; and though his 
force was thus considerably inferior to that of William, he was 
induced, by the strength of the position, to hazard a battle. On 
the 30th of June both armies were in presence on either bank of 
the river; and on the following morning (July 1) James drew up 
his troops in two lines, his left being covered by a morass, while 
in his rear was the village of Dromore, and three miles farther on 
the narrow Pass of Duleek. William, who had been reconnoi- 
tring the enemy's position, was slightly wounded before the action 
commenced by a cannon ball which grazed his shoulder. He 
ranged his army in three columns of attack. The centre, led by 
the Duke of Schomberg, was to ford the river in front of the en- 
emy ; the right, under Count Schomberg, his son, was to cross 
near the bridge of Slane ; while William himself headed the pass- 
age of the left, between the camp and the town of Drogheda. 
The attack was successful at all points ; the Irish horse alone 
made some resistance; the foot fled without striking a blow; 
James parted from his army at the Pass of Duleek, and made the 
best of his way to Dublin. This engagement, celebrated as the 
Battle of the Boyne, decided the fate of James, though the loss 
on both sides .was small, that of the Irish being about 1500, chiefly 
cavalry, while that of William was only 500, but among them was 
the Duke of Schomberg. Walker, the brave defender of London- 
derry, also fell in this engagement. James, having no army left 
— for the Irish had dispersed themselves in the night — abandoned 
Dublin and hastened to Kinsale, where he got on board a French 
frigate, and arrived at Brest on the 9 th of July. 

William arrived in Dublin a few days after his victory, and 
treated the inhabitants with considerable harshness. He then 
marched southward, took Wexford, Clonmel, Waterford, Duncan- 
non, and laid siege to Limerick (Aug. 8-30) ; but, having been 
repulsed in an assault, and the rains setting in, he found it neces- 
sary to raise the siege, and early in September he left Ireland for 
London. Soon after his departure Marlborough landed near Cork 
with 5000 men, and, having received some re-enforcements, cap- 
tured the town after a short siege. He next took Kinsale after 
a desperate resistance ; and, as the winter was approaching, he 
then returned to England, from which he had been absent only 
five weeks. 

§ 7. While William was in Ireland a naval engagement took 
place off Beachy Head on the 30th of June, between the combined 



A.D. 1690,1691. PACIFICATION OF LIMERICK. 553 

Dutch and English fleets, commanded by Admiral Herbert, now 
created Earl of Torrington,* and the French fleet under Admiral 
Tourville. Torrington, with a hardly justiRable policy, placed 
the Dutch vessels in the van, which, in consequence, suffered se- 
verely. The victor}^ remained with the French ; and Torrington, 
taking the disabled ships in tow, made for the Thames. London 
was filled with consternation, as it was expected that the French 
would sail up the river ; but they made but little use of their vic- 
tory. An invasion at this juncture would probably have been 
successful, as the French had the command of the sea, and might 
easily have embarked a large army, while there were not 10,000 
regular troops in England; but all they attempted was the burn- 
ing of Teignmouth. The danger which the nation had incurred 
inflamed them against the Jacobites and nonjurors, and thus the 
victory of the French proved on the whole injurious to the cause 
of James. William was incensed against Torrington on account 
of the losses suffered by the Dutch, and denounced him to Parlia- 
ment in the speech with which he opened the autumnal session. 
Torrington was tried by a court-martial at Sheerness and honor- 
ably acquitted ; but the king deprived him of his command, and 
forbade him his presence. 

In the following year (1691) the campaign in Ireland was 
brought to a close. That countiy was in a very distracted state. 
Bodies of wild Irish, called Rapparees, from a species of pike with 
which they committed their massacres, went roaming about the 
country, and hung upon and infested the quarters of the English 
army, who in their turn committed great barbarities. Toward 
the end of June, Ginkell, who commanded the English army, bom- 
barded and took Athlone. It was a master-piece of audacity, as a 
large army of Irish, commanded by St. Ruth, a Frenchman, lay 
behind the tOTVTi, while the storming columns had to ford the Shan- 
non, with the water breast-high, in order to gain the breach. St. 
Ruth now took up a strong position at Aghrim, where Ginkell 
did not hesitate to attack him. For some time the battle raged 
with doubtful fury, till, St. Ruth being killed by a cannon ball, 
his army was seized with a panic, and fled in disorder toward 
Limerick. Ginkell sat down before that place on the 25 th of 
August ; and, after a siege of six weeks, the Irish, much to the 
discontent of the French, agreed to the very favorable terms which 
he offered for a general pacification. The chief articles of this 
treaty, signed on October 3, and called the Pacification of Limerick, 
were, that the Irish should enjoy the exercise of their religion as 

* The title became extinct on the death of the first earl in 1716. The 
present Viscount Torrington is descended from a son of Sir George Byng, 
created Viscount Torrington in 1721. 

A A 



554 WILLIAM AND MARY/ Chap. XXVIL 

in the time of Charles II. ; that all included in the capitulation 
should remain unmolested in their estates and professions ; and 
that those who wished to retire to the Continent should be con- 
veyed thither at the expense of the government. By virtue of 
this last clause, Sarsfield and about 12,000 men were conveyed to 
France, and entered the service of Louis XIY. Thus an end was 
put in every part of the empire to the authority of James, who 
had been de facto king in Ireland more than a year and a half 
after his flight from England. 

As Bancroft, the primate, and five of the bishops still refused to 
take the Oath of Allegiance, they were deprived of their sees on 
Feb. 1, 1691. Tillotson, Dean of St. Paul's, succeeded Bancroft 
as Archbishop of Canterbury. 

§ 8. William had spent the greater part of the year in Holland 
for the purpose of conducting the campaign against Louis XIV. 
He had repaired thither in the middle of January ; and, though 
the weather was foggy, and the coast lined with ice, he attempted 
to land in a boat. The steersman lost his way, and the king was 
obliged to pass the night in the boat, covered up with a cloak. 
The following day he succeeded in landing at Goree. The cam- 
paign was not marked by any important event, excepting the 
taking of Mons by Louis. William paid a short visit to En- 
gland in April, and finally returned in October to open the Par- 
liament. A bill was passed for facilitating the execution of the 
Pacification of Limerick, though that treaty was not approved of 
in England. Although William had been brought in by the 
Whigs, he was now chiefly supported by the Tories, and he seem- 
ed inclined to disregard those liberal principles which had placed 
him on the throne. Thus he rejected a bill which had passed 
both houses for making the judges independent of the crown ; and 
his reign was now sullied by an act of great barbarity — the in- 
famous massacre of Glencoe. A pacification had been entered 
into in August with the Scotch Highlanders, and an indemnity 
ofiered to all who should take the oaths of allegiance to the king 
and queen before the 31st of December, 1691. All the Jacobite 
heads of clans had complied except M'lan of Glencoe, the chief 
of the M'Donalds, whose delay arose more from accident than de- 
sign. He had repaired to Fort Augustus on the 31st of Decem- 
ber, where, to his surprise and alarm, he found nobody who could 
administer the oath. Colonel Hill, the commandant, directed him 
to Inverary ; but the season was rigorous, the country mountain- 
ous and covered with deep snow, so that M'lan did not arrive till 
the 6th of January, 1692. After many entreaties. Sir Colin 
Campbell, the sheriff of Argyle, consented to receive his oath ; but 
Sir John Dalrymple, the Master of Stair, and secretary for Scot- 



A. D. 1691,1692. MASSACRE OF GLENCOE. 555 

land, who bore a deadly hatred to the M'Donalds, took advantage 
of M'lan's negligence to destroy him and his whole clan. Con- 
cealing from the king the fact of M'lan's tardy submission, he 
procured a w^arrant for the military execution of him and his 
tribe. It is pretended that William either did not read or did not 
understand the warrant.* These are poor excuses for a king. of 
such business-like habits ; and they seem, moreover, to be contra- 
dicted by the facts that the warrant was signed with unusual care, 
both at the top and bottom, and that subsequently those who had 
been most active in the affair were favored and promoted. 

But, whatever blame may be attached to the king, the massa- 
cre of Glencoe wdll remain almost unparalleled in history for its 
cold-blooded atrocity. On the 1st of February, 1692, a body of 
120 soldiers appeared in that lonely mountain glen, which lies 
near Lochleven. They were commanded by Campbell of Glen- 
lyon ; and as Campbell was the uncle of young M'Donald's wife, 
they were welcomed with unsuspecting friendship. For nearly a 
fortnight the troops enjoyed free quarters and hospitable enter- 
tainment. On the evening of the loth the officers played at cards 
in the house of M'lan ; in the night Lieutenant Lindsay, with a 
party of soldiers, appeared at his door and were instantly admit- 
ted. They had come in the guise of friendship to act the part of 
assassins. M'lan was shot in the back as he was rising from his 
bed ; his wife, who had already risen, was stripped, and the rings 
torn from her fingers. The males, young and old, were murdered 
without pity ; and even some wom.en fell in attempting to defend 
their children. About 60 persons were massacred, and as many 
more, chiefly women and children, who had escaped among the 
mountains, perished there of cold and hunger. The massacre 
would have been more complete had Lieutenant Colonel Hamil- 
ton, whom the Master of Stair had charged with the execution, 
arrived at the appointed time. The severity of the weather de- 
layed his arrival till the following day, and nothing remained for 
him but to complete the inhuman deed by burning the houses, 
driving off the cattle, and dividing the spoil. By this fortunate 
delay 150 men were enabled to escape through the mountain 
passes, which were not sufficiently guarded. 

§ 9. This year (1692) William again embarked for Holland, 
leaving the administration of affairs in England to Queen Mary. 
He was not aware of all the danger that threatened his newly- 
acquired crown. Intrigues had been formed for the restoration 
of James, and w^ere entered into not only by nonjurors and Tories, 
but even by Whigs. One of the principal leaders in them was the 
inconstant and treacherous Marlborough, who had induced the 
* See Macaulay, iv., 201. 



556 WILLIAM AND MARY. Chap.XXVIL 

Princess Anne to write a letter to her father, in which she peni- 
tently asked his forgiveness. Admiral Russell, commander of the 
fleet, Lord Godolphin, and others, were also engaged in these in- 
trigues. Marlborough invited James to invade England, and in 
some degree pledged himself for the conduct of the English army. 
A large body of Irish troops had been conveyed to France in 1690 ; 
and by that impolitic article of the Pacification of Limerick which 
allowed a free passage, their number had been swelled to nearly 
20,000. These were at James's disposal, and Louis engaged to 
add 10,000 French. A camp was formed in the Cotentin, near 
La Hogue ; and Marshal Bellefonds was appointed to command 
the army of invasion, which was to be convoyed by 80 sail of the 
line. Early in 1692 every thing was in a state of forwardness, 
and James had even drawn up his manifesto. With his usual 
infelicity of judgment, its tone was of the most impolitic kind, and 
disgusted many who would have been prepared to serve him. He 
already began to talk of punishing, and was even mean enough to 
advert to the poor fishermen who had insulted him at Sheerness. 
The English ministry thought that they could not do him a greater 
injury than to publish the document at full length, accompanied 
with a biting commentary. 

The government had received some vague information of a plot ; 
and the Earls of Marlborough, Huntingdon, and Scarsdale were 
apprehended and sent to the Tower on the information of one 
Young, a man of infamous character, and actually in Newgate on 
a charge of forgery. As the government suspected Marlborough, 
they encouraged Young, paid his fine, and released him from pris- 
on ; and Marlborough was detained some weeks in the Tower, till 
Young's falsehood was discovered. 

§ 10. The combined Dutch and English fleets, consisting of 90 
sail of the line, together with many frigates and fire-ships, carry- 
ing 6000 guns and about 40,000 men, assembled at St. Helen's 
in May. As the fidelity of the admiral himself, as well as many 
of his officers, was suspected,~Mary wrote a letter which Russell 
Avas ordered to read to all the officers of the fleet assembled on 
liis quarter-deck. In it she stated that she had heard certain re- 
ports respecting their conduct, but that she regarded them as cal- 
umnies, aud put entire confidence in their loyalty. This politic 
step was attended with excellent effects. At the same time the 
militia was called out, and a camp formed between Petersfield and 
Portsmouth. 

James was waiting at La Hogue for the arrival of Admiral 
Tourville, who was to bring 44 ships from Brest. About the mid- 
dle of May, Tourville's fleet was descried off the coast of Dorset- 
shire, whence it made for La Hogue, where the army of invasion 



A.D. 1G92-1694. BATTLE OF LA HOGUE. 557 

was embarking. Russell also directed his course toward that 
port; and on the 19th of May, the haze having suddenly cleared 
oiF, the hostile fleets came unexpectedly in sight of each other. 
Tourville, though much inferior in force, bore down upon the al- 
lies, in the expectation that several of the English ships would 
come over to his side ; but in this he was disappointed. Russell's 
ship, the Britannia, of 100 guns, engaged that of the French ad- 
miral of 104 ; and the battle, which raged from 11 o'clock to 
about 4, soon became general. The French admiral's ship was 
disabled. Toward evening, a breeze having sprung up from the 
east, and the haze having cleared a little, the French were de- 
scried running on all sides, and signal was given to chase ; but the 
pursuit was arrested by the flood tide and the approach of night. 
Several of the smaller French ships escaped through the race of 
Alderney into St. Malo ; the larger ones sought refuge at Cher- 
bourg and La Hogue. Many of the latter were destroyed the two 
following days by a flotilla of sloops and boats commanded by Ad- 
miral Rooke, in the very sight of King James and the French. 
Altogether 16 French men-of-war, eight of which were three- 
deckers, were sunk or burnt, besides several transports that w^ere 
cut out of the harbor. Russell's politics did not dispose him to 
make so much of his victory as he might, but it sufficed to avert 
the threatened invasion. After the battle of La Hogue Queen 
Mary ordered the royal palace at Greenwich to be converted into 
a hospital for disabled seamen.* 

§ 11. The campaign in Flanders was unfavorable to the arms 
of William, both this year and the next, notwithstanding that he 
displayed great courage and conduct. He was defeated in 1692, 
with great loss, at Steinkirk, while attempting to raise the siege 
of Namur. The only important event at sea in 1693, was also 
disastrous to the allies. The Smyrna fleet, consisting of about 
400 English, Dutch, and Hamburg merchantmen, was intrust- 
ed, after passing Ushant, to the convoy of a detached squadron 
of 23 English and Dutch men-of-war under Sir Gr. Rooke, while 
the remainder of the combined fleet returned to Torbay. Tour- 
ville, with a far superior force, now issued from the Bay of La- 
gos ; Rooke was obliged to fly, and signaled the merchantmen to 
shift for themselves. About 80 of the latter were captured, as 
well as three Dutch men-of-war ; the rest escaped into Spanish 
ports. 

This disgrace, as well as William's ill success in the Nether- 
lands, tended to increase his unpopularity, and to encourage the 
party of James (1694). The towns of Bristol, Exeter, and Bos- 

* The first stone of the new building, the present Greenwich Hospital, 
was not laid till 1696. 



558 WILLIAM III. Chap. XXVII. 

ton sionified their adherence to him ; in the north several consid- 
erable bodies of horse were enhsted in his name ; and many of 
the nobihty and gentry engaged for themselves, as well as for 
different towns and counties with which they were connected. 
The treacherous Sunderland had veered round again, and entered 
into correspondence with James, who, however, naturally doubted 
his sincerity. The treason of Marlborough proved more useful 
to him, and more disastrous to his own country. Marlborough 
informed him of an expedition that was fitting out at Portsmouth, 
under the command of the Earl of Berkely and General Talmash, 
for an attack upon Brest. Berkely appeared off that port on the 
5 th of June, and 900 men were landed in Camaret Bay; but the 
French were prepared to receive them, and they were all slain 
but 100, Talmash himself receiving a mortal wound. Dieppe, 
Havre, Calais, and Dunkirk were afterward bombarded, but with- 
out much effect. Nor was the campaign in Flanders marked by 
any event of importance. 

§ 12. The Parliament which met in November (1694) passed a 
bill for triennial Parliaments, and, as they made it the condition 
of a grant of supplies, William, though he had previously refused 
his assent to a similar bill, was now obliged to yield. He had 
also another motive. Mary lay dangerously ill with the small- 
pox, and, in the event of her death, which must naturally shake 
his influence with the nation, he was unwilling to incur any farther 
unpopularity. The queen, in fact, died on the 28th of December. 
In person she was tail and well proportioned, and her counte- 
nance, though not regularly beautiful, was animated and pleasing. 
Her manners were affable and agreeable, and procured her the 
love of the people. She was a devoted and affectionate wife ; but 
her conduct toward her father and sister can hardly be reconciled 
with the duties of those relations. Her death made no change 
in the government ; and William, in accordance with the act for 
settling the succession of the crown, became sole ruler. Tillotson 
had died shortly before the queen (Nov. 22), and was succeeded 
in the primacy by Tennison, Bishop of London. 

William HI. — Anne had lived on bad terms with her sister 
and brother-in-law ; but now, at the instance of Sunderland, she 
was induced to send a letter of condolence to William ; and as she 
was a greater favorite with the nation than himself, he thought it 
politic to meet her advances, and even presented her with the 
greater part of Mary's jewels. 

§ 13. The session of 1695 was signalized by the discovery of 
an almost universal corruption. Sir John Trevor, speaker of the 
House of Commons, having been detected in taking a bribe of 
1000 guineas to procure the passing of the Orphans' Bill, had to 



A.D. 1694, 1695. AMENDMENT OF LAW OF TREASON. 559 

endure the humiliation of putting the question for his own expul- 
sion, but immediately withdrew on pretense of a colic. It was 
farther discovered that the East India Company had distributed 
large bribes in order to secure a new charter ; £10,000 were said 
to be traced to the king himself, £5000 to Danby (now Duke of 
Leeds), and farther sums to other men in power. The Commons 
impeached the Duke of Leeds ; but the court connived at the es- 
cape of his Swiss servant, the only person who could establish his 
guilt, and the case was put an end to by the prorogation of Par- 
liament on May 3d. 

This session is memorable for a silent revolution, which, in the 
words of Lord Macaulay, " has done more for liberty and civiliza- 
tion than the Great Charter or the Bill of Rights." This was the 
abolition of the censorship of the press, effected by the Commons 
refusins; to renew the last act for restrainino- unlicensed printing. 
The authors of thg abolition seem to have been hardly aware of 
the important step they were taking. None of their arguments 
were based on the great principle of the freedom of the press, but 
turned solely on matters of detail, such as the hardships occasion- 
ed to printers, booksellers, etc. ; nor was the measure noticed in 
any contemporary publication. The abolition of the censorship 
was soon followed by the establishment of several newspajDers. 
The London Gazette was the only one previously published. This 
session was also memorable for an excellent statute respecting the 
law of treason. ''It provides that all persons indicted for high 
treason shall have a copy of their indictment delivered to them 
five days before their trial, a period extended by a subsequent 
act to ten days, and a copy of the panel of jnrors two days before 
their trial ; that they shall be allowed to have their witnesses ex- 
amined on oath, and to make their defense by counsel. It clears 
up any doubt that could be pretended on the statute of Edward 
VI., by requiring two witnesses, either both to the same overt 
act, or the first to one, the second to another overt act of the 
same treason (that is, the same kind of treason), unless the party 
shall voluntarily confess the charge. It limits prosecutions for 
treason to the term of three years, except in the case of an at- 
tempted assassination on the king. It includes the contested 
provision for the trial of peers by all who ha^e a right to sit and 
vote in Parliament. A later statute, 7 Anne, c 21, which may 
be mentioned here as the complement of the former, has added a 
peculiar privilege to the accused, hardly less material than any 
of the rest. Ten days before the trial a list of the witnesses in- 
tended to be brought for proving the indictment, with their pro- 
fessions and places of abode, must be delivered to the prisoner, 
along with a copy of the indictment. The operation of this 



560 WILLIAM in. Chap. XXVIL 

clause was suspended till after the death of the pretended Prince 
of Wales."* 

William passed over to Holland after the prorogation of the 
Parliament, and distinguished himself this year, in the campaign 
in the Low Countries, bj one of his greatest military feats, the 
taking of Namur in presence of a large force of the enemy. The 
Marshal de Luxembourg was dead, and the French army was now 
commanded by Marshal Villeroi and Marshal Boufflers ; France 
was becoming exhausted with the length of the war, and Louis 
was anxious to conclude a peace on any decent terms, while Wil- 
liam's reputation was rising in Europe. His success abroad con- 
firmed his power at home ; for, though the Jacobite party was in- 
creasing in England, they could hardly hope to succeed without 
the aid of France. 

§ 14. A conspiracy against the throne and life of William was, 
neverthless, formed and detected early in 1696. The principal 
agent in it was Sir George Barclay, a Scotch officer, who received 
a commission from James to attempt a general insurrection in his 
favor. One Crosby had also gone to St. Germain's to procure 
James's sanction to the assassination of William ; but James, sus- 
pecting that a trap was laid for him, refused his consent. Bar- 
clay arrived in London in January, and associated in his design 
Harrison, a priest, Charnock, formerly a fellow of Magdalen Col- 
lege, Oxford, but now a captain. Sir John Friend, Sir Wm. Per- 
kins, Sir John Fenwick, a Captain Porter, and others. Their first 
scheme was to seize William and carry him over to France ; but, 
as this seemed impracticable without taking his life, they resolved 
to attack him in the midst of his guards between Brentford and 
Turnham Green, through which places he passed every Saturday 
to hunt in Richmond Park ; and with this view they procured a 
body of 40 armed men, and fixed the 15th of February for the 
attempt. But the secret was betrayed to the Earl of Portland a 
day or two previously by Captain Fisher, one of the conspirators, 
and his information was soon after confirmed by an Irishman 
named Prendergrass. The king having consequently remained 
at home on the 15th, and again on the 22d, to which day the con- 
spirators had adjourned the execution of their plot, they were 
seized with alarm ; some of them fled, but others were captured 
the next night in their beds. 

On the following day the king laid the whole plot before the 
Parliament, and both houses responded with a joint address, breath- 
ing the most zealous expressions of duty and affection. A loyal 
association was formed in imitation of that in the reign of Eliza- 
beth, which was signed the same day by 400 members of the House 
* Hallam's Constitutional History, iii., 221. 



A.D. 1695-1G97. TREATY OF RYSWICK. • 5(31 

of Commons ; and such members as were absent were required to 
sign it by the 16th of March, or to notify their refusal* The as- 
sociation was adopted, with very little alteration, by the House of 
Lords; and of the whole Parliament, only 15 peers and 92 com- 
moners refused to put their names to it. Shortly afterward an 
act was passed to make the signing of the association imperative 
on all holders of civil or military employments. 

Five of the conspirators, namely, Charnock, King, Keys, Sir 
John Friend, and Sir Wm. Perkins, were condemned and exe- 
cuted. On the execution of the two latter the celebrated Jeremy 
Collier, the nonjuring divine, appeared on the scaffold, and public- 
ly absolved them. The trial of Sir John Fenwick, who had been 
captured at New Eomney while endeavoring to escape to France, 
did not come on till the autumn. AVhile he lay in Newgate he 
sought to procure a pardon by turning evidence, and accused the 
Duke of Shrewsbury, the Earls of Bath and Marlborough, Lord 
Godolphin, and Admiral Russell of corresponding and intriguing 
with King James. But, though this information is now known 
to be true, William refused to listen to it. As only one witness 
could be produced against Fenwick, while the law required two in 
cases of high treason, Admiral Russell brought in a bill of at- 
tainder against him, which was passed after considerable oppo- 
sition. Fenwick was beheaded on Tower Hill on January 28, 
1G97. 

§ 15. During the campaign of 1696 the French remained on 
the defensive ; nor did any thing of importance take place at sea. 
All parties were looking forward to a peace ; and on the 9th of 
May a conference was opened between the belligerent powers, un- 
der the mediation of the King of Sweden, at Ryswick, a village 
between Delft and the Hague. William had, as usual, gone over 
to Holland. All that he desired was to fix a barrier to the French 
power in Flanders, and to procure from Louis the acknowledg- 
ment of his title to the English throne ; but the negotiations were 
protracted by the Emperor of Germany and the King of Spain, 
who were desirous of continuing the war. William, therefore, 
while the hostile armies lay opposed to each other near Brussels, 
caused a separate negotiation to be opened in July between the 
Earl of Portland on his part, and Marshal Boufflers on that of 
Louis. 

The taking of Carthagena, in America, by a French squadron, 
and the capture of Barcelona by a French army, inclined the 
Spaniards to come to terms with Louis, and the Peace of Rys- 
vriCK was signed on September 10, 1697. Louis resigned several 
of his conquests, and recognized William as King of England. 
The peace of Ryswick seems to have been necessary in consequence 

A A 2 



502 • WILLIAM III. Chap. XXV IF. 

of the defection of the Duke of Savoy, and of the bad state of pub- 
lic credit in England ; but William foresaw that it could be no 
more than a sort of armistice, and a fresh struggle must soon take 
place on the subject of the Spanish succession. 

§ 16. The Parliament, which met soon after the peace of Rys- 
wick, voted that the army should be reduced to 7000 men, and 
were with difficulty persuaded to increase it to 10,000 ; but, at 
the same time, they granted the king the large sum of £700,000 
for the civil list. William was exceedingly annoyed at the vote 
for reducing the army ; and before he repaired to Holland in the 
spring (1698) he ventured to leave sealed orders that the army 
should be raised to 16,000 men, which the ministers unconstitu- 
tionally obeyed. During his residence in Holland he negotiated a 
treaty respecting the Spanish succession. Charles II. of Spain was 
now supposed to be at the point of death ; and, as he had no heirs 
within the kingdom, the question of his succession threatened to 
disturb the peace of Europe. Philip IV. of Spain had left three 
children : one son, Charles II., and two daughters — the elder, 
Maria Theresa, married to Louis XIV. of France, and the young- 
er, Margaret Theresa, married to the Emperor Leopold I. Ma- 
ria Theresa had renounced her pretensions to the Spanish succes- 
sion on her marriage with the King of France. The younger sis- 
ter, Margaret Theresa, had made no such renunciation on her 
marriage with Leopold ; but their only child, a daughter, who was 
married to Maximilian Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, was also 
obliged, before her marriage, to abandon all claims to the Span- 
ish throne. But both France and Bavaria maintained that these 
princesses had no power to renounce the claims of their posterity ; 
Louis XVI. therefore demanded the Spanish throne for his son 
the dauphin, and the Elector of Bavaria for his son the electoral 
prince. A third claimant was the Emperor Leopold, who, by a 
second marriage, had two sons, Joseph, King of the Romans, and 
the Archduke Charles. Leopold claimed the succession for his 
son Charles on the ground that he was a lineal descendant of 
Philip III ; but Louis XIV. could make also the same claim for 
his son, since both Louis and Leopold had married granddaughters 
of Philip IIL* 

William would have been content to modify the claim of France 
by conceding to her part of the Spanish dominions ; and Louis 
was, or pretended to be, better satisfied with this partial inherit- 
ance than to have to fight for the whole. The first treaty for the 
partition of Spain was accordingly negotiated in the summer at 
Loo, and was signed on the 1st of October ; according to which, 

* The genealogical table on the opposite page exhibits the relationship 
of the different claimants. 



THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 



563 



fl o 3 






.— " C S_ C 









' ^ ^ I— I . 

-S „ S -3 

P I -I -*^ 5t-t 
^ ^ < O 



.5 S 



a; C g 



tSl S t^ C3 
^ 1 O "S 3 

-■« )■ - is 5 



1^ =^ o --S ^ 



- q .2 S _ 
a 
<1 



^ -^ 




564 WILLIAM III. Chap. XXVIL 

on the death of Charles II., the dauphin was to be put in pos- 
session of Naples and Sicily, the ports on the Tuscan shore, and 
the marquisate of Final in Italy ; while on the Spanish frontier 
he was to have all the territory on the French side of the Pyren- 
ees, and of the mountains of Navarre, Alava, and Biscay. The 
son of the Elector of Bavaria was to inherit Spain, the Nether- 
lands, and the Indies ; and Milan was to be assigned to the Arch- 
duke Charles, second son of the emperor. It was intended to 
keep this treaty a profound secret from the King of Spain, but it 
came to his ears and naturally roused his indignation ; and, anx- 
ious to preserve the integrity of the empire, he drew up a will ap- 
pointing the Electoral Prince of Bavaria his universal heir, ac- 
cording to the previous disposition of Philip IV. But Charles 
unexpectedly recovered, and the treaty was defeated by the de- 
mise of the electoral prince at Brussels, 8th of February, 1699. 

§ 17. The new Parliament, which assembled in December, 1698, 
exhibited strong symptoms of discontent ; insisted on the reduc- 
tion of the army to 7000 men, and also voted that these should 
be natives of the British dominions. This involved the dismissal 
of the Dutch guards, the severest mortification which William 
had ever experienced. On this occasion he even condescended to 
send a message to the Commons by Lord Ranelagh, entreating 
them as a personal favor that his guards might be retained ; and 
when they refused to comply he burst into a violent passion, and 
threatened to abandon the kingdom, a threat which he seriously 
thought of carrying into execution. All the debates of the Com- 
mons continued to be violent and hostile to the king. In the last 
session they had appointed commissioners to inquire into the grants 
of forfeited estates in Ireland ; and the report being now brought 
in, it appeared that no fewer than 3921 persons had been outlawed 
in that country since February, 1689, and that more than 1,060,000 
acres of land had been declared forfeited, the annual rent of which 
was computed at £211,623. It also appeared that large grants 
of these lands had been made to foreigners, as Keppel,* Bentinck, 
Ginkell, and Ruvigny, who had also obtained peerages in one of 
the two kingdoms. But perhaps the most obnoxious grant of all 
was that of King James's private estates, containing 95,000 acres, 
and valued at £25,995 per annum, to William's mistress, Elizabeth 
Villiers, now Countess of Orkney. The Commons resolved unan- 
imously that all these forfeitures should be applied to the public 
use ; and they even added that the grants which had been made 
of them were a reflection upon the king's honor. To secure the 

* Keppel was created Earl of Albemarle in 1696, and was the ancestor 
of the present earl. Bentinck was created Earl of Portland, as already re- 
lated (see p. 5t7); Ginkell, Earl of Athlone, and Rnvigny, Earl of Galway. 



A.D. 1697-1700. DEATH OF THE KING OF SPAIN. 555 

king's assent, the bill for the resumption of forfeitures was tacked 
to the bill of supply. Several amendments were proposed and 
carried in the Lords, and some angry conferences ensued between 
the two houses. The Commons threatened to impeach the Earls 
of Portland and Albemarle, and resolved to address the king that 
no foreigners, except Prince George of Denmark, should be ad- 
mitted to the royal councils. William began to be alarmed, and 
sent a private message to his friends in the Lords to withdraw 
their opposition. The bill having passed in its original state, the 
king came to the House and gave his assent to it, and then sud- 
denly prorogued the Parliament without any speech. 

§ 18. The rapid decline of the King of Spain's health hastened 
the conclusion of a second treaty of partition, which was signed 
at London on the 21st of February, and at the Hague on the 14th 
of March, 1700. William had spent great part of the preceding 
summer and autumn at Loo in negotiating it, as he and the States 
were desirous of bringing the emperor into their views ; but in 
October Leopold formally rej-ected any partition w^iatever. By 
this new treaty the share formerly allotted to the electoral prince 
was to be transferred to the Archduke Charles, and Milan was to 
be added to the dauphin's portion. To prevent the union of the 
imperial crown with that of Spain, it was provided that the King 
of the Romans should not succeed to the Spanish kingdom in case 
of the archduke's death ; and a like provision was made with re- 
gard to the King of France and the dauphin. 

The long-expected death of Charles H. of Spain, which follow- 
ed on the 1st of November, soon discovered how fruitless had been 
all the pains bestowed on the partition treaties. The pride of the 
Spanish nation was naturally wounded by the treaty, and Charles 
especially was grievously oifended by it. The French embassador 
availed himself of this feeling to persuade Charles to make another 
will, in favor of Philip, Duke of Anjou, the second son of the 
dauphin ; nor did Louis hesitate to accept this magnificent bequest 
to his grandson. In case of his refusal, the Spanish throne was 
to be tendered to the Archduke Charles. William found it pru- 
dent to acquiesce in the new arrangement, and ultimately ac- 
knowledged the title of the Duke of Anjou. 

§ 19. In the last year or two there had been several changes 
in the ministry, and the king seemed to be ever approximating 
more closely toward the Tory party, but trimmed between both 
with a dexterity which rendered it difficult to say to which he 
most inclined. In this year the Earl of Rochester, the leader 
of the Tories and High-Church party, was appointed to the lord 
lieutenancy of Ireland. The institution of a cabinet council — that 
is, a select body of ministers with whom the king exclusively 



5G6 WILLIAM III. Chap.XXVIL 

consulted, and who prepared and digested the measures which were 
subsequently laid before the general body of the privy council 
rather as a matter of form than of necessity, was now regularly 
established. Traces of a cabinet first began to appear under 
Charles I., and became more frequent under Charles II., but it 
was not till the reign of William that it became the regular mode 
of government. In earlier times the sovereign was accustomed to 
consult the whole body of the privy council, and was guided by 
the opinion of the majority. The cabinet, therefore, was a sort of 
silent revolution which crept in unobserved, and was never recog-. 
nized by the Constitution. 

In the new Parliament which assembled in February, 1701, the 
Tories had the majority, and Robert Harley, one of their leaders, 
was chosen speaker. As the death of the Duke of Gloucester, 
which happened in the preceding July at the age of 11, left the 
succession of the crown unprovided for after the demise of Wil- 
liam and Anne, it became necessary to make a new settlement, 
and the king recommended the subject to the consideration of the 
Parliament. The next in blood, after the children of James IT., 
was the Duchess of Savoy, daughter of Henrietta, Duchess of Or- 
leans, and then the family of the Elector of the Palatinate, all of 
whom, however, had abjured the Reformed faith, with the excep- 
tion of his daughter Sophia, married to the Elector of Hanover ; 
to whom, therefore, as papists were excluded from the succession 
by act of Parliament, it became necessary to revert. Nor was 
Wilham averse to her appointment, as he was desirous of securing 
the accession of the Elector of Hanover to the grand alliance 
which he was then meditating ; and she, and the heirs of her body, 
being Protestants, were declared next in succession to the king 
after the Princess of Denmark and their respective heirs, by a bill 
which passed in the spring, and which is known by the name of 
the Act of Settlement. 

The Commons took advantage of this settlement to su23ply some 
deficiencies in the Bill of Rights, and therefore this act (12 and 
13 William III., c. 2) became a most important one, and put, as it 
were, the seal to the English Constitution. The Tory government 
showed themselves on this occasion no less the friends of liberty 
than the Whigs, and moved and carried certain resolutions as 
preliminary to the settlement of the succession, to the following 
effect ; that whoever should hereafter come to the throne should 
join the communion of the Church of England ; that, in the case 
of the crown devolving to a foreigner, the nation should not be 
obliged to enter into any foreign war, without the consent of Par- 
liament ; that no future sovereign should leave Great Britain or 
Ireland without consent of Parliament ; that all matters cognizable 



A.D. ITOl. ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 5^7 

in the privy council should be transacted there, and all resolutions 
taken be signed by such of the privy council as should consent to 
them ; that none but a person born of English parents should be 
capable of holding office under the crown, or receiving a grant 
from it, or being a member of Parliament ; that no person in the 
service of the crown, or receiving a pension, should be capable of 
sitting in the House of Commons ; that the commissions of the 
judges should be irrevocable so long as they conducted themselves 
properly ("quamdiu se bene gesserint"), but that they might be 
removed on an address of both houses ; and that no pardon under 
the great seal should be pleaded to an impeachment of the Com- 
mons. 

All these provisions, and especially the last two, were highly im- 
portant safeguards to the liberty and welfare of the country. 
That respecting placemen sitting in Parliament, being found incon- 
venient, was repealed in 1706 ; but it was provided at the same 
time that any member of the Lower House accepting an office 
should vacate his seat, and again oiFer himself to his constituents ; 
and that no person holding any office created since October 25th, 
1705, should be eligible at all. The article respecting the sover- 
eign leaving the United Kingdom was repealed soon after the ac- 
cession of George I. 

§ 20. Both houses of Parliament expressed the highest disappro- 
bation of the partition treaties, to which they ascribed, the will of 
Charles II. in favor of the Duke of Anjou ; the Commons address- 
ed the king to remove the Earl of Portland, the Earl of Orford,* 
Lord Halifax,! and Lord SomersJ from his presence and councils 
forever, and ordered them to be impeached at the bar of the Lords 
on account of the steps they had taken in promoting the partition 
treaties, as well as for other alleged illegal practices. But an ir- 
reconcilable difference sprang up betw^een the two houses as to the 
mode of proceeding ; the Commons refused to appear on the day 
appointed by the Peers, and the impeached ministers were conse- 
quently acquitted. 

* The Earl of Orford was Admiral Russell, who received this title in 
1697. It became extinct upon his death in 1727, but was revived in 1742 
in favor of the celebrated Sir Robert Walpole. 

f This Lord Halifax was Charles Montague, a grandson of the first Earl 
of Manchester, and was created Lord Halifax in 1700, and Earl of Halifax 
in 1714. He was of a different family from the celebrated George Saville, 
Marquis of Halifax (p. 516), who died in 1695, and was succeeded in the 
title by his son, who died in 1700, when the title became extinct. 

X Somers was lord chancellor, and had been dismissed from office in the 
previous year (1700) in consequence of the attacks made upon him in Par- 
liament. The present Earl Somers is a descendant of the eldest sister of 
the chancellor. 



568 WILLIAM IIL Chap. XXVIL 

Although "William had acknowledged the new King of Spain, 
he was by no means satisfied with that arrangement, especially as 
it proved so distasteful to his subjects. During the summer, 
which he spent in Holland, negotiations had been going on be- 
tween him and D'Avaux, the French embassador ; but these hav- 
ing utterly failed, William, about the beginning of August, set on 
foot a treaty with the emperor, who had already commenced the 
War of the Spanish Succession by attacking the French in 
Italy. William, however, would engage himself no farther than 
for the recovery of Flanders and the Milanese, the former as a 
barrier to Holland, the latter as a barrier to the empire ; and he 
likewise stipulated that England and Holland should retain what- 
ever conquests they might make in both the Indies. On these 
conditions, a treaty was signed on September 7th between the em- 
peror, England, and the States, which afterward obtained the name 
of the Grand Alliance. 

An event happened soon after which induced Louis immediate- 
ly to declare himself On the 16th of September King James II. 
expired at St. Germain's. Ever since the peace of Ryswick, 
which extinguished his hopes of regaining the English crown, he 
had abandoned himself to all the austerities of his temper and his 
religion, and some time before his decease he had fallen into a 
kind of lethargy. Louis paid him a visit as he lay on his death- 
bed, and in the presence of his attendants, whom he would not suf- 
fer to withdraw, and who wept at once for joy and grief, he de- 
clared his intention of acknowledging his son as King of Great 
Britain and Ireland. He then visited the young prince in state, 
addressed him with the title of majesty, and caused him to be ac- 
knowledged by the French court and nation. William immediate- 
ly remonstrated against these proceedings as infringing the treaty 
of Ryswick ; dismissed the French embassador and recalled his 
own ; while both sides began to make preparations for war. The 
French took possession of the towns on the Rhine ; the Dutch en- 
tered Juliers in force ; and William arranged with the States a 
campaign for the ensuing spring ; but, notwithstanding the press- 
ing solicitations of the emperor, he would not declare war till he 
had assured himself of the support of the English Parliament, and 
he left Holland in November for the purpose of opening that as- 
sembly. 

The new Parliament met in December, when Harley was again 
elected to the chair. The Commons, in their address to the king 
on his speech, warmly conveyed their approbation of the course 
he had pursued with regard to France, and expressed a hope that 
no peace would be concluded till Louis had atoned for acknowl- 
edging the Pretender. A bill was brought in and passed for the 



A.D. 1701, 1702. 



DEATH OF WILLIAM. 



569 



attainder of that prince, and another for his abjuration by all 
persons holding employments in Church or State ; and the Com- 
mons voted 40,000 men to act with the allies, and a like number 
of seamen for the fleet. But, in the midst of all these great prep- 
arations, William met with an accident which, in his rapidly de- 
clining state of health, proved fatal. On the 21st of February, 
1702, while riding from Kensington to Hampton Court, his horse 
fell with him, and h« broke his collar-bone. It was at first antici- 
pated that the accident would not be attended with any danger- 
ous consequences, and on the 28th he was declared convalescent ; 
but on the 2d of March symptoms appeared which precluded all 
hope of recovery, and on Sunday the 8th he expired, after receiv- 
ing the sacrament from the Archbishop of Canterbury. 



A.l>. 

1689. 

1690. 
1691. 
1692. 

1694. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



Accession of William and Mary. 
Bill of Rights. 
Battle of the Borne. 
Pacification of Limerick. 
Massacre of Glencoe. 
Battle of La Hogue. 
Bill for triennial Parliaments pas: 
Death of Queen Mary. 



ed. 



A.D. 

1695 
1697, 
1700. 



Censorship of the press abolished. 

Treaty of Ryswick. 

Death of Charles II. of Spain. 

1701. Act of Settlement. Death of James 

II. The Grand Alliance. Com- 
mencement of the War of the Span- 
ish Succession. 

1702. Death of WiUiam IIL 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



AX ACT FOR DECLARING THE RIGHTS 
AND LIBERTIES OF THE SUBJECT, 
■ AND SETTLING THE SUCCESSION OF 
THE CROWN (1689). 

Wliereas the Lords spiritual and temporal, 
and Commons, assembled at Westminster, 
lawfully, fully, and freely representing all 
the estates of the people of this realm, did, 
upon the 13th day of February, in the year 
of our Lord 1688, present unto their majes- 
ties, then called and known by the names 
and style of William and Mary, Prince and 
Princess of Orange, being present in their 
proper persons, a certain declaration in writ- 
ing, made by the said Lords and Commons, 
in the words following, viz. : 

Whereas the late king, James H., by the 
assistance of divers evil counselors, judges, 
and ministers employed by him, did endeav- 
or to subvert and extirpate the Protestant 
religion, and the laws and liberties of this 
kingdom : 

1. By assuming and exercising a power of 
dispensing with and suspending of laws, and 
the execution of laws, without consent of 
Parliament. 

2. By committing and prosecuting divers 
worthy prelates for humbly petitioning to be 
excused from concun-ing to the said assiuned 
power. 



3. By issuing and causing to be executed 
a commission under the great seal for erect- 
ing a court called the Court of Commission- 
ers for Ecclesiastical Causes. 

4. By levying money for and to the use of 
the crown, by pretense of prerogative, for 
other time, and in other manner, than the 
same was granted by Parliament. 

5. By raising and keeping a standing army 
within this kingdom in time of peace, with- 
out consent of Parliament, and qiiartering 
soldiers contrary to law. 

6. By causing several good subjects, being 
Protestants, to be disarmed, at the same time 
when papists were both ai-med and employ- 
ed, contraiy to law. 

7. By violating the freedom of election of 
members to sei've in Parliament. 

8. By prosecutions in the Court of King's 
Bench for matters and causes cognizable 
only in Parliament ; and by divers other ar- 
bitrary and illegal courses. 

9. And whereas of late years partial, cor- 
rupt, and unqualified persons have been I'e- 
turned and served on juries in trials, and 
particularly divers jurors in trials for high 
treason, which were not freeholders. 

10. And excessive bail hath been required 
of persons committed in criminal cases, to 
elude the benefit of the laws made for the 
liberty of the subjects. 



170 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. XXVIL 



11. And excessive fines have been im- 
posed, and illegal and cruel punishments in- 
flicted. 

12. And several gi'ants and promises made 
of fines and forfeitures, before any conviction 
or judgiiient against the persons upon whom 
the same were to be levied. 

All which are utterly and directly con- 
trary to the known laws and statutes, and 
freedom of this realm. 

And whereas, the said late king, James 11., 
having abdicated the government, and the 
throne being thereby vacant, his highness 
the Prince of Orange (whom it hath pleased 
Almighty God to make the glorious instru- 
ment of delivering this kingdom from popery 
and arbitraiy power) did (by the advice of 
the Lords spiritual and temporal, and divers 
principal persons of the Commons) cause let- 
ters to be written to the Lords spiritual and 
temporal, being Protestants; and other let- 
tei's to the several counties, cities, universi- 
ties, boroughs, and cinque-ports, for the 
choosing of such persons to represent them 
as wei'e of right to be sent to Parliament, to 
meet and sit at Westminster upon the 22d 
day of January, in this year 1688, in order 
to such an establishment as that their reli- 
gion, laws, and liberties might not again be 
in danger of being subverted; upon which 
letters elections have been accordingly made. 

And thereupon the said Lords spiritual and 
temporal, and Commons, pursuant to their 
respective letters and elections, being now 
assembled in a full and free representation 
of this nation, taking into their most serious 
consideration the best means for attaining 
the ends aforesaid, do, in the first place (as 
their ancestors in like case have usually 
done), for the vindicating and asserting their 
ancient rights and liberties, declare : 

1. That the pretended power of suspend- 
ing of laws, or the execution of laws, by re- 
gal authority, without consent of Parliament, 
is illegal. 

2. That the pretended power of dispensing 
with laws, or the execution of laws, by regal 
authority, as it hath been assumed and ex- 
ercised of late, is illegal. 

3. That the commission for erecting the 
late Court of Commissioners for Ecclesias- 
tical Causes, and all other commissions and 
courts of like nature, are illegal and perni- 
cious. 

4. That levying money for or to the use 
of the crown, by pretense and prerogative, 
without grant of Parliament, for longer time 
or in other manner than the same is oV shall 
be granted, is illegal. 

5. That it is the right of the subjects to 
petition the king, and all commitments and 
prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal. 

6. That the raising or keeping a standing 
army within the kingdom in time of peace, 
unless it be Avith consent of Parliament, is 
against law. 

7. That the subjects which are Protestants 
may have arms for their defense suitable to 
their conditions, and as allowed by law. 

8. That election of members of Parliament 
ought to be free. 

9. That the freedom of speech, and de- 



bates or proceedings in Parliament, ought 
not to be impeached or questioned in any 
court or place out of Parliament. 

10. That excessive bail ought not to be re- 
quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel 
and unusual punishments inflicted. 

11. That jurors ought to be duly impanel- 
ed and returned, and jurors which pass upon 
men in trials for high treason ought to be 
freeholders. 

12. That all grants and promises of fines 
and forfeitures of particular persons before 
conviction are ilregal and void. 

13. And that, for redress of all grievances, 
and for the amending, strengthening, and 
preserving of the laws, Parliament ought to 
be held frequently. 

And they do claim, demand, and insist 
upon all and singular the premises, as their 
undoubted rights and liberties ; and that no 
declarations, judgments, doings, or proceed- 
ings, to the prejudice of'the people in any of 
the said premises, ought in any wise to be 
drawn hereafter into consequence or example : 

To which demand of their rights they are 
particularly encouraged by the declaration 
of his highness the Prince of Orange, as be- 
ing the only means for obtaining a full re- 
dress and remedj^ therein : 

Having, therefore, an entire confidence 
that his said highness the Prince of Orange 
wUl perfect the deliverance so far advanced 
by him, and will still preserve them from 
the violation of their rights, which they have 
here asserted, and from all other attempts 
upon their religion, rights, and liberties : 

II. The said Lords spiritual and temporal, 
and Commons, assembled at Westminster, 
do resolve, that William and Maiy, Prince 
and Princess of Orange, be, and be declared. 
King and Queen of England, France, and 
Ireland, and the dominions thereunto be- 
longing, to hold the crown and royal dignity 
of the said kingdoms and dominions to them 
the said prince and princess during their 
lives, and the life of the sui-vivor of them ; 
and that the sole and full exercise of the re- 
gal power be only in and executed by the 
said Prince of Orange, in the names of the 
said prince and princess, during their joint 
lives ; and after their deceases, the said 
crown and royal dignity of the said king- 
doms and dominions to be to the heirs of the 
body of the said princess ; and for default 
of such issue, to the Princess Anne of Den- 
mark and the heirs of her body ; and for de- 
fault of such issue, to the heirs of the body 
of the said Prince of Orange. And the Lords 
spiritual and temporal, and Commons, do 
pray the said prince and princess to accept 
the same accordingly. 

in. And that the oaths hereafter men- 
tioned be taken by all persons of Avhom the 
oaths of allegiance and supremacy might be 
required by law, instead of them ; and that 
the said oaths of allegiance and supremacy 
be abrogated. 

I, A. B., do sincerely promise and swear 
that I will be faithful and bear true alle- 
giance to their majesties King WiUiam and 
Queen Mary : So help me God. 

I, A. B., do swear that I do from my heart 



Chap. XXVII. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



571 



abhor, detest, and abjure, as impious and 
heretical, that damnable doctrine and posi- 
tion that princes excommunicated or de- 
prived by the Pope, or any authority of the 
See of Rome, may be deposed or murdered 
by their subjects, or any other whatsoever. 
And I do declare that no foreign prince, per- 
son, prelate, state, or potentate hath, or 
ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, su- 
periority, pre-eminence, or authority, eccle- 
siastical or spiritual, within this realm : So 
help me God. 

IV. Upon which their said majesties did 
accept the crown and royal dignity of the 
kingdoms of England, France, and Ireland, 
and the dominions thereunto belonging, ac- 
cording to the resolution and desire of the 
said Lords and Commons contained in the 
said declaration. 

V. And thereupon their majesties were 
pleased that the said Lords spiritual and 
temporal, and Commons, being the two 
houses of Parliament, should continue to 
sit, and with their majesties' royal concur- 
rence make effectual provision for the set- 
tlement of the religion, laws, and liberties 
of this kingdom, so that the same for the fu- 
ture might not be in danger again of being 
subverted ; to which the said Lords spiritual 
and temporal, and Commons, did agree and 
proceed to act accordingly. 

VI. Now, in pursuance of the premises, 
the said Lords spiritual and temporal, and 
Commons, in Parliament assembled, for the 
ratifying, confimiing, and establishing the 
said declaration, and the articles, clauses, 
matters, and things therein contained, by 
the force of a law made in due form by au- 
thority of Parliament, do pray that it may 
be declared and enacted that all and singu- 
lar the I'ights and liberties asserted and 
claimed in the said declaration are the true, 
ancient, and indubitable rights and liberties 
of the people of this kingdom, and so shall 
be esteemed, allowed, adjudged, deemed, 
and taken to be, and that all and every the 
particulars aforesaid shall be firmly and 
strictly holden and obsen"ed, as they are 
expressed in the said declaration; and all 
officers and ministers whatsoever shall seiwe 
their majesties and their successors accord- 
ing to the same in all times to«come. 

VII. And the said Lords spiritual and tem- 
poral, and Commons, seriously considering 
how it hath pleased Almighty God, in his 
marvelous providence and merciful goodness 
to this nation, to provide and preserve their 
said majesties' royal persons most happily to 
reign over us upon the throne of their an- 
cestors, for which they render unto Him 
from the bottom of their hearts their hum- 
blest thanks and praises, do truly, firmly, 
assuredly, and in the sincerity of their 
hearts, think, and do hereby recognize, ac- 
knowledge, and declare, that, King James 
n. having abdicated the government, and 
their majesties having accepted the crown 
and royal dignity as aforesaid, their said 
majesties did become, were, are, and of right 
ought to be, by the laws of this realm, our 
sovereign liege lord and lady. King and 
Queen of England, France, and Ireland, and 



the dominions thereunto belonging, in and 
to whose princely persons the royal state, 
crown, and dignity of the said realms, with 
all honors, styles, titles, regalities, preroga- 
tives, powers, jurisdictions, and authorities 
to the same belonging and appertaining, are 
most fully, rightfully, and entirely invested 
and incorporated, united and annexed. 

Vin. And for preventing all questions and 
divisions in this realm, by reason of any pre- 
tended titles to the crown, and for present- 
ing a certainty in the succession thereof, in 
and upon which the unity, peace, tranquilli- 
tj', and safety of this nation doth, under 
God, wholly consist and depend, the said 
Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, 
do beseech their majesties that it may be 
enacted, established, and declared, that the 
crown and regal government of the said 
kingdoms and dominions, with all and sin- 
gular the premises thereunto belonging and 
appertaining, shall be and continue to their 
said majesties, and the survivor of them, 
during their lives, and the life of the surviv- 
or of them. And that the entire, perfect, 
and full exercise of the regal power and gov- 
ernment be only in and executed by his 
majesty, in the names of both their majes- 
ties during their joint lives; and after their 
deceases the said crown and premises shall 
be and remain to the heirs of the body of her 
majesty ; and for default of such issue, to her 
royal highness the Piincess Anne of Den- 
mark and the heirs of her body ; and for de- 
fault of such issue, to the heirs of the body 
of his said majesty : And thereunto the said 
Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, 
do, in the name of all the people aforesaid, 
most humbly and faithfully submit them- 
eelves, their heirs and posterities forever; 
and do faithfully promise that they will 
stand to, maintain, and defend their said 
majesties, and also the limitation and suc- 
cession of the crown herein specified and 
contained, to the utmost of their powers, 
Avith their lives and estates, against all per- 
sons whatsoever that shall attempt any 
thing to the contrary. 

IX. And whereas it hath been found by 
experience that it is inconsistent with the 
safety and welfare of this Protestant king- 
dom to be governed by a popish i^rince, or 
by any king or queen marrying a papist; 
the said Lords spiritual and temporal, and. 
Commons, do farther pray that it may be 
enacted that all and eveiy person and per- 
sons that is, are, or shall be reconciled to, or 
shall hold communion with, the See or 
Church of Rome, or shall profess the popish 
religion, or shall marry a papist, shall be ex- 
cluded, and be forever incapable to inherit, 
possess, or enjoy the crown and government 
of this realm, and Ireland, and the domin- 
ions thereunto belonging, or any part of the 
same, or to have, use, or exercise any regal 
power, authority, or jurisdiction Avithin the 
same; and in all and every such case or 
cases the people of these realms shall be and 
are hereby absolved of their allegiance ; and 
the said crown and government shall from 
time to time descend to, and be enjoyed by, 
such person or persons, being Protestants, 



572 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. XXVII. 



as should have inherited and enjoyed the 
same in case the said person or persons so 
reconciled, holding communion, or professing, 
or marrying as aforesaid, were naturally 
dead. 

X. And that every king and queen of this 
realm who at any time hereafter shall come 
to and succeed in the imperial crown of this 
kingdom shall, on the first day of the meet- 
ing of the first Parliament next after his or 
her coming to the crown, sitting in his or her 
throne in the House of Peers, in the presence 
of the Lords and Commons therein assem- 
bled, or at his or her coronation, before such 
person or persons who shall administer the 
coronation oath to him or her, at the time 
of his or her taking the said oath (which shall 
first happen), make, subscribe, and audibly 
repeat the declaration mentioned in the stat- 
ute made in the 13th year of the reign of 
King Charles II., intituled '•'An Act for the 
more effectual preserving the king's person 
and government, by disabling papists from 
sitting in either house of Parliament." But 
if it shall happen that such king or queen, 
upon his or her succession to the crown of 
this realm, shall be under the age of twelve 
years, then every such king or queen shall 
make, subscribe, and audibly repeat the said 
declaration at his or her coronation, or the 
first day of meeting of the first Parliament 
as aforesaid, which shall first happen after 



such king or queen shall have attained the 
said age of twelve years. 

XI. All which their majesties are content- 
ed and pleased shall be declared, enacted, 
and established lyj authority of this present 
Parliament, and shall stand, remain, and 
1)6 the law of this realm forever; and tlie 
same are by their said majesties, by and 
■with the advice and consent of the Lords 
spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in 
Parliament assembled, and by the authority 
of the same, declared, enacted, or established 
accordingly. 

XII. And be it farther declared and enact- 
ed by the authority aforesaid, that from and 
after this present session of Parliament no 
dispensation by non obstante of or to any 
statute, or any part thereof, shall be allowed, 
but that the same shall be held void and of 
no effect, except a dispensation be allowed 
of in such statute, and except in such cases 
as shall be specially provided for by one or 
more bill or bills to be passed during this 
present session of Parliament. 

XIII. Provided that no charter, or grant, 
or pardon granted before the 23d day of Oc- 
tober, in the year of our Lord 1689, shall be 
any ways impeached or invalidated by this 
act, but that the same shall be and remain 
of the same force and effect in law, and no 
other than as if this act had never been 
made. 




Medal of Queen Anne, in honor of the L'nion, struck at Leipzig. 

Obv. : ANNA D . G . MAG . ET UNIT^ BKIT^ . FRA . ET HIB . REGINA. Bust, CroWUed, to 

left. Eev. : et exteris etiam grata. Two female figures, standing, joining wreaths ; 
behind them, view of a city. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

QUEEN ANNE. A.D. 1702-1714. 

§ 1. Accession and Coronation of Anne. Influence of the Duke and Duch- 
ess of Marlborough. Campaign of 1702. Success at Vigo. § 2. Marl- 
borough made a Duke. His Intrigues. State of Parties. § 3. Cam- 
paigns of 1703 and 1704. Battle of Blenheim. Taking of Gibraltar. 
§ 4. Campaigns of 1705 and 1706. Battle of Ramillies. § 5. Union 
with Scotland. § 6. Campaigns of 1707, 1708, and 1709. Battles of 
Oudenarde and Malplaquet. § 7. Decline of Marlborough's Influence. 
§ 8. Trial of Dr. Sacheverell. Change of Ministry. Character of the 
■Times. § 9. New Parliament. Harley stabbed. Becomes Lord Treas- 
urer and Earl of Oxford. Act against occasional Conformity and Schism 
Act. § 10. Marlborough accused of Peculation, and censured by the 
Commons. Proceedings in Flanders. The Duke of Ormond withdraws 
the English Forces from the Allies. § 11. Treaty of Utrecht. § 12. 
Manoeuvres of the Jacobites and Hanoverians. § 13. Rupture between 
Oxford and Bolingbroke. Oxford dismissed. The Duke of Shrewsbury 
appointed Treasurer. Death and Character of the Queen. 

§ 1. On the demise of William, Anne, Princess of Denmark, 
immediately ascended the throne by virtue of the act of 1689, and 
was proclaimed on the 8th of March, 1702. On the 12th of April 
the late king was privately interred, and on the 23d the queen 
was crowned in Westminster Abbey. She had hitherto retained 
William's ministers, but they were now dismissed in favor of To- 
ries. Somers, Halifax, and other Whig leaders were excluded 
from the new privy council ; the Marquis of Normanby* was 

* John Sheffield, Marquis of Normanby, was created Dnke of Bucking- 
ham in 1702. The title became extinct on the death of his son in 1720. 
The present Marquis of Normanby belongs to a different family. 



574 ANNE. Chap. XXVlIf. 

made privy seal ; Lord Godolphin, lord high treasurer. Marl- 
borough", who had been the faithful friend of Anne when she was 
of little account with the nation, received the most substantial 
marks of her favor. He was made a knight of the garter, and 
captain general of all the queen's forces ; and toward the end of 
March he had proceeded to Holland in the character of extraor- 
dinary embassador. Anne was entirely governed by Lady Marl- 
borough, who, though not a woman of a very superior understand- 
ing, ruled her through the ascendency which a strong mind natu- 
rally has over a weak one. In their confidential intercourse all 
titles and ceremony were dropped ; Anne became Mrs. Morley, 
and Lady Marlborough Mrs. Freeman — a name that expressed 
the character of her influence, which was founded, not on flattery 
and dissimulation, but on the uncourtier-like qualities of habitual 
frankness and frequent dictation. Prince George of Denmark, 
who was even weaker than his consort the queen, yielded with- 
out a struggle to all these arrangements, and Marlborough and 
his wife niight almost be regarded as the de facto sovereigns of 
England. 

Soon after her accession Anne had notified to her allies abroad 
her determination to pursue the policy of the late king ; and when 
Marlborough returned from his embassy, war was at his instance 
declared against France and Spain (May 4). In July Marlborough 
assumed the command of the allied army in Flanders ; and, though 
he was disappointed in bringing the enemy to a general engage- 
ment, he finished the campaign with reputation by reducing Ven- 
loo, Ruremonde, and the citadel of Liege, by which he obtained 
command of the Meuse. 

^n Italy and Germany the campaign was not marked by any 
important event. At sea, the English and Dutch combined fleets, 
under Sir G. Rooke, with 12,000 troops on board commanded by 
the Duke of Ormond, after making an unsuccessful attempt upon 
Cadiz, proceeded to Vigo, where the Spanish galleons had just 
arrived under convoy of 30 French men-of-war. They lay up a 
narrow inlet or strait, the entrance of which was secured with a 
strong boom, while on one side it was defended with a castle, and 
on the other with a platform mounted with cannon. Ormond, 
having landed some troops, took the castle ; and Vice Admiral 
Hopson, in the Torbay, having broken the boom and advanced 
with his ships through a terrific fire, the French, seeing capture 
inevitable, burnt some of their ships. The allies, however, suc- 
ceeded in capturing six vessels ; seven were sunk, nine burnt. 
All the galleons were either taken or destroyed ; and, though the 
greatest part of the treasure had been carried off, yet the English 
and Dutch made a large booty. In the same summer Admiral 



A.D. 1702. STATE OF PARTIES. 575 

Benbow, commander of the English fleet in the West Indies, dis- 
played the most distinguished valor in sustaining for five days, 
when deserted by several of his captains, a fight against a French 
fleet of much superior force. His own ship was reduced to a 
mere wreck, he was wounded in the arm and face, and had his 
leg shot away ; but he contrived to get into Kingston, Jamaica, 
where he died soon after of his wounds. He had ordered four of 
his captains to be tried by a court-martial, two of whom were 
condemned and shot, one was cashiered, and another died pre- 
viously to his trial. 

§ 2. The new Parliament met in Octol^er ; and a committee of 
the Commons presented Marlborough, who had now returned to 
England, with the thanks of the House. The queen created him 
a duke, and settled on him for life a pension of £5000 a year, 
payable out of the revenue of the post-office. She likewise sent 
to desire the Commons to settle the pension forever on the heirs 
male of his body ; but they received the message in silence and 
astonishment, and, after a warm debate, the proposal was rejected. 
Marlborough, indeed, was highly unpopular, both from his avarice 
and meanness and for his political delinquencies. Notwithstand- 
ing his high post, he was still listening to the intrigues of the court 
of St. Germain's to obtain the repeal of the Act of Settlement ; 
and Anne herself was known not to be averse to the succession 
of the Pretender. In order to stimulate Marlborough's exertions, 
a marriage was proposed between the Prince of Wales and his 
third daughter ; while, on the other hand, the Hanoverians, hav- 
ing heard of this project, started a counter one of a marriage be- 
tween the same lady and the electoral prince. There was, indeed, 
at this period a very strong Jacobite faction in the kingdom ; and 
the court, the Tories, and the High-Church party were bent on 
defeating the succession of the house of Brunswick. The House 
of Lords were much more AYhiggish than the Commons, although, 
in order to support the court interests, Finch, Gower, Granville, 
and Seymour, four violent Tories, had been made peers, and other 
lords had been advanced to higher titles. The peers threw out a 
bill to prevent occasional conformity, and amended a bill to grant 
another year to those who had neglected to take the oath of ab- 
juration; both which measures were supported by the adherents 
of the Pretender. To the latter bill the peers added two clauses 
which the Tory party dared not openly oppose, and which secured 
the succession that the bill was intended to defeat. One of these 
clauses declared it high treason to endeavor, either directly or in- 
directly, to alter the succession as limited by law ; the other im- 
posed the oath of abjuration on the whole Irish nation, a point 
which had been neglected in the original bill. 



576 ANNE. Cmap. XXVIII. 

§ 3. In 1703, the defection of the Duke of Savoy, and of Peter 
II., King of Portugal, who joined the Grand Alliance, proved a 
great blow to the affairs of Louis, particularly as the latter event 
opened a way for the allies into the heart of Spain. On the whole, 
however, the campaign of this year went in favor of the French. 
They gained several advantages in Germany, and their allies the 
Bavarians pressed hard upon the Austrians. Marlborough was 
more fortunate. Bonn surrendered to him on the 15 th of May, 
after a siege of 12 days ; and he afterward took the fortresses of 
Huy, Limburg, and Gueldres ; but the numerous towns which 
the French had garrisoned in the Low Countries having reduced 
the strength of their army, they were cautious of taking the open 
field, and all Marlborough's endeavors to draw them into an en- 
gagement proved unsuccessful. Nothing decisive occurred in Ita- 
ly, nor was any thing worth recording done at sea. In spite of 
his ill success, the emperor, after renouncing in his own name and 
in that of his eldest son, all pretension to the throne of Spain, 
caused his second son to be crowned king of that country at Vi- 
enna, with the title of Charles III. Toward the end of the year 
the new-made monarch arrived at Spithead, and, after visiting 
the queen at Windsor, proceeded on his way to Portugal. His 
title was acknowledged by all the allies. A little previous to his 
arrival (Nov. 26) England had been visited by the greatest storm 
ever known in this country. Whole forests were uprooted, and 
the damage in London alone was estimated at £1,000,000. At 
sea 12 ships of the royal navy were cast away, besides a great 
number of merchantmen, and 1500 men in the royal navy were 
lost. 

The campaign of the last year having rendered the allies mas- 
ters of the Meuse and of Spanish Guelderland, little danger was 
to be apprehended to the frontiers of Holland ; and Marlborough 
conceived a bolder and more extensive plan of operations for that 
of 1704. Leopold, hard pressed by the French and Bavarians, 
and annoyed also by an insurrection in Hungary, sent urgent ap- 
plications for relief, for which purpose Marlborough concerted 
some masterly arrangements with Prince Eugene. Directing his 
march on Maestricht, and thence through Juliers to Coblentz, he 
crossed the Rhine at that place, and thence passing the Main and 
Neckar, was joined by Prince Eugene at Mindelsheim. Hence 
the latter proceeded to Philipsburg, to take the command of the 
army of the Upper Rhine ; and Marlborough, pursuing his march 
toward the Danube, formed a junction with the Imperialists under 
Prince Louis of Baden at Winterstellen. The allied forces, con- 
sisting of 96 battalions of foot and 202 squadrons of horse and 
dragoons, and having 48 pieces of cannon, encamped on the River 



A. D. 1703, 1704. BATTLE OF BLENHEIM. 577 

Brenz, June 28, within two leagues of the Elector of Bavaria's 
army. The enemy's force was inferior, being only 88 battalions 
and 160 squadrons; but they were much stronger in artillery, 
having 90 guns and 40 mortars and howitzers. On the 2d of 
July the allies attacked and took Donauwerth, thus separating 
the enemy's forces on the Upper and Lower Danube, and secur- 
ing a bridge over that river. The loss was great on both sides ; 
and the elector retreated toward Augsburg, followed by the allies. 
Both armies, however, soon received an accession of force, the 
Bavarians being joined by the French under Marshal Tallard, and 
Marlborough by Prince Eugene, who had followed Tallard through 
the Black Forest. The forces on both sides now amounted to 
between 50,000 and 60,000 men, but the enemy were rather su- 
perior. They were encamped on a height near Hochstadt, with, 
the Danube on their right ; and the village of Blenheim, which 
lies on the Danube, was a little in front of their right wing. 
Their left was covered by a thick wood, and considerably in ad- 
vance of their front was a rivulet and morass. Notwithstanding 
the strength of their position, Marlborough resolved to attack 
them. Marshal Tallard, who commanded the enemy's right, and 
who was opposed to Marlborough at the head of the allied left, 
conceiving that Blenheim would be the principal object of attack, 
had occupied that village with 28 battalions and eight squadrons 
of dragoons — a fatal error, by which he weakened the centre of 
his line. Marlborough passed the rivulet and morass without 
opposition ; and, directing some of his infantry to attack Blenheim 
and another village which the enemy had occupied, led his cavalry 
and the remainder of his forces against Tallard. The struggle 
was long and desperate, but at length the enemy's right was com- 
pletely routed, and numbers were put to the sword or driven into 
the Danube. All the enemy's troops that had been thi'own into 
Blenheim, being cut off fi*om the main body, were forced to sur- 
render at discretion. Prince Eugene, who commanded the right 
of the allies, could make no impression against the Elector of 
Bavaria and Marshal Marsin till after the defeat of Tallard, when 
the Bavarians made a speedy and skillful retreat in three columns. 
The French and Bavarians lost nearly half their army in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners ; and Marshal Tallard himself was cap- 
tured, together with the camp, baggage, and artilleiy. The loss 
of the allies, however, was also very great, amounting to about 
14,000 killed and wounded. The elector and Marshal Marsin 
retreated on Ulm, whence they joined Marshal Villeroi on the 
Rhine. ^ 

The consequences of this brilliant victory, which was gained on 
August 13, were most important, and decided the fate of Ger- 

Bb 



578 ANNE. Chap.XXVIII. 

many. The Elector of Bavaria, whose troops had lately alarmed 
Vienna itself, not only lost his conquests, but even his own do- 
minions fell into the hands of the emperor. The remains of the 
vanquished army were obliged to cross the Rhine ; and the vic- 
tors also entered Alsace, and took the important fortresses of Lan- 
dau and Traerbach. Marlborough himself repaired to Berlin, and 
concluded a treaty with the King of Prussia, who engaged to as- 
sist the Duke of Savoy with 8000 men, and thence proceeding to 
Hanover and the Hague, arrived in London in December, accom- 
panied by Marshal Tallard and 26 other prisoners of distinction. 
He received the thanks and congratulations of the queen, and of 
both houses of Parliament ; the royal manor of Woodstock was 
granted to him, and a splendid mansion erected upon it, which 
received the name of Blenheim Castle from the place of his vic- 
tory. 

On the other theatres of war nothing was done comparable to 
these great achievements in Germany. In Flanders the campaign 
was ^wholly defensive and unimportant ; in Italy the balance of 
success inclined for the French. In the Spanish peninsula, Phi'lip 
v., the new King of Spain, obtained some advantages in an inva- 
sion of Portugal ; while Charles III., who had landed in that 
country in March with 8000 English and Dutch troops, was re- 
pulsed by the Duke of Berwick in an attempt which he made 
upon Castile, in conjunction with the King of Portugal. But 
the English fleet under Sir G. Rooke achieved a brilliant and un- 
expected success in that quarter by the capture of Gibraltar. 
After landing Charles IH. at Lisbon, and making an unsuccess- 
ful attempt upon Barcelona, Rooke determined to attack Gib- 
raltar ; and, through the negligence and cowardice of the Span- 
iards, this strong fortress, which might be defended by a few 
hundred men against a whole army, was easily taken by his sail- 
ors and marines. Subsequently Rooke and the Dutch admiral 
Culemberg fell in, off Malaga, with a French fleet of 52 ships 
under the Count of Toulouse, which had been dispatched to assist 
the Spaniards in recovering Gibraltar. An obstinate combat en- 
sued, which ended in a drawn battle, and Gibraltar remained in 
the hands of the English. 

§ 4. It was also in Spain that the campaign of the following 
year (1705) was marked by any striking events. The Earl of 
Peterborough, having embarked with a land force on board the 
fleet of Sir Cloudesley Shovel, and being joined by a Dutch squad- 
ron under Admiral AUemonde, proceeded to the coast of Cata- 
lonia. The fortresses of Lerida and Tortosa were taken without 
a blow; Barcelona capitulated after a siege; and almost the 
whole of Valencia and Catalonia then acknowledged Charles III., 



A.D. 1705, 1706. BATTLE OF RAMILLIES. 579 

SO that the land forces of the allies took up their -vvdnter quarters 
in Spain. 

In the Netherlands, Marlborough, at the request of the Dutch, 
confined his operations to the defense of their frontier. Leopold 
died this year (May 5), and was succeeded by his son Joseph, who 
had more talents and enterprise than his father, but found it diffi- 
cult to inspire the Germanic body with his own spirit. Marl- 
borough paid him a visit toward winter at Vienna, when the prin- 
cipality of Mindelsheim was conferred upon him, with the rank 
of a prince of the empire. On the whole, the campaigns in Ger- 
many and Italy were favorable this year to the French. 

Marlborough had formed larger plans for 1706, but was again 
detained by the entreaties of the Dutch. He compensated, how- 
ever, for the inactivity of the preceding year by the brilliant vic- 
tory of Ramiltjes, near Tirlemont, gained over Marshal Villeroi, 
May 23. The forces were nearly equal on both sides ; but the 
French were totally defeated, with a loss of about 14,000 men, 
killed, wounded, or prisoners, while the loss of the allies did not 
amount to 3000. Toward night the rout of the French became 
complete, and they did not attempt to stand even at Courtray. 
They lost about 120 colors, 100 pieces of artillery, and a vast 
quantity of baggage. The consequence of this victory was the 
conquest of Brabant, and almost all Spanish Flanders. In re- 
turn for these achievements the English Parliament perpetuated 
Marlborough's titles in the female as well as the male line, and 
continued the pension of £5000 granted by the queen to his fam- 
ily forever. 

The French also sustained a terrible overthrow this year at 
Turin from Prince Eugene and the Duke of Savoy, which put an 
end to all the hopes of the Bourbons in Italy. In Spain the 
Anglo-Portuguese army, under the Earl of Galway (Ruvigny) and 
the Marquis de las Minas, penetrated to Madrid. Philip V. 
abandoned his capital and retired to Burgos ; but Galway and 
Las IVIinas, neglecting to pursue their advantages, were ultimately 
driven from the Spanish capital by the Duke of Berwick, and 
obliged to retire into Valencia. In the same vear the Engrlish 
fleet, under Sir John Leake, took Majorca and Ivica, and reduced 
them under the authority of Charles HI. 

§ 5. We must now revert for a while to the domestic affairs of 
the country, where the important project of a union with Scot- 
land was in agitation. That measure had occasionally attracted 
the attention of statesmen ever since the accession of James I. ; 
but as the period approached when the succession to the crown 
was to be diverted into a new line, the necessity for it became 
urgent, and Anne, in her speech to her first Parliament, had rec- 



580 ANNE. Chap. XXVIII. 

ommended it as indispensable to the peace and security of both 
kingdoms. WilHam had neglected to provide for the succession 
to the Scottish crown ; and a large party in that country, headed 
by the Duke of Hamilton, were in favor of the Stuarts. A bill 
for the Hanoverian succession was rejected by the Scotch Parlia- 
ment with every mark of anger and contempt ; many were for 
sending Lord Marchmont, its proposer, to the Castle of Edinburgh ; 
and it was carried by a large majority that all record of it should 
be expunged from their proceedings. The same assembly passed 
what they called an " Act of Security," by which it was provided 
that the Parliament should meet on the 20th day after the queen's 
decease to elect a successor, who should not be the successor to 
the crown of England, unless under conditions which might secure 
the honor and independence of Scotland. The queen refused her 
assent to this bill ; but in the following year (Aug. 5, 1704) she 
thought proper to allow another bill, to the same effect, to be 
touched with the sceptre, of which the main proviso was that the 
successor to the crown should be a Protestant of the royal line of 
Scotland, and at the same time not the successor to the English 
crown. As the house of Hanover was thus excluded, the Duke 
of Hamilton himself, the great promoter of the bill, seemed in a 
fair way to obtain the crown. 

This proceeding excited great alarm in England. The House 
of Peers, in order to obviate its effects, resolved, that no Scotch- 
men, not actually residing in England or Ireland, should enjoy the 
privileges of Englishmen till a union of the two kingdoms should 
be effected, or the succession made identical in Scotland and En- 
gland ; that the bringing of Scotch cattle into England, and of 
English wool into Scotland, should be prohibited ; and that the 
fleet should have orders to seize all Scotch vessels trading with 
France. These resolutions, which were almost equivalent to a 
declaration of war, were reduced into a bill ; and another act was 
passed to appoint commissioners to treat of a union. The Lords 
also addressed the queen to fortify Newcastle, Tynemouth, Car- 
lisle, and Hull, to call out the militia of the four northern coun- 
ties, and to station an adequate number of regular troops on the 
Scottish borders. The Commons rejected the proposed bill on the 
ground that the fines levied by it rendered it a money bill ; but 
they passed another to the same effect (Feb. 3, 1705), which went 
through the Lords without any amendment. 

In the following session farther steps were taken to secure the 
succession of the House of Hanover, and a regency bill was passed 
in the event of the queen's death. In April, 1706, Lord Halifax, 
accompanied by Clarencieux, king-of-arms, was dispatched to Han- 
over to present the electoral prince with the order of the garter, 



A. D. 1706, 1707. UNION WITH SCOTLAND. 581 

and to convey to his family an act of naturalization. About the 
same time commissioners appointed by the queen met to consider 
th€ articles of a union, and continued their discussions till July 
23. The following were the more important among the articles 
agreed upon : That the two kingdoms should be united under the 
name of Great Britain ; that the succession should be vested in 
the Princess Sophia and her heirs, being Protestants ; that there 
should be but one Parliament of the united kingdom, to which 16 
Scotch peers and 45 commoners should be elected; that there 
should be a complete freedom of trade and navigation throughout 
the united kingdom, and a reciprocation of all rights, privileges, 
and advantages. 

These articles were highly unpopular in Scotland ; but, without 
the succor of France, it seemed hopeless to resist them, and the 
reverses of Louis in the war put it out of his power to assist the 
Pretender. In the Parliament, indeed, where the Peers and Com- 
mons sat in one house, a spirited opposition was led by the Duke 
of Hamilton and Fletcher of Saltoun, and during the progress of 
the debates violent tumults occurred in Edinburgh. The lower 
classes of the Scotch, and especially the Presbyterians of the "West, 
were almost universally opposed to the union, and offers were 
made to Hamilton from various quarters to march to Edinburgh 
and disperse the Parliament. But that nobleman, though loud in 
debate, was timid in action. He would not listen to such vigor- 
ous counsels ; and he even shrank from an agreement which he 
had made with his adherents, to protest against the measure, and 
quit the Parliament in a body. AH the articles were eventually 
adopted by a large majority, Jan. 16, 1707. 

The Act of Union was carried through the English Parlia- 
ment with but trifling opposition, and received the royal assent 
on March 6. The union was appointed to commence on May 1, 
1707, which was made a day of thanksgiving ; and the first Par- 
liament of Great Britain was to meet on the 23d of the following 
October. 

§ 6. But to return to the war." The allies, flushed with their 
good fortune, rejected all the French king's overtures for peace, 
although so advantageous that it was made an argument against 
receiving them, that they were too good to be lasting. In spite 
of the distress to which he was reduced, Louis therefore bestirred 
himself for a vigorous resistance ; and the year opened for him 
with a^leam of success by the recapture of Majorca by the Count 
de Villars (Jan. 5, 1707). In Spain, also. Gal way and Las Minas 
were defeated by the Duke of Berwick at Almanza ; Aragon was 
again reduced under the authority of Philip V., and Charles III. 
maintained himself only in Catalonia. But in Germany the French 



582 ANNE. Chap. XXyill. 

were eventually obliged to recross the Rhine ; and by the capit- 
ulation of Milan, signed in March, they agreed to evacuate Italy. 
The latter event left Prince Eugene and the Duke of Savoy at 
liberty to invade France. They accordingly passed the Var, and, 
advancing along the coast of Provence, appeared before Toulon on 
the 26th of July, while, at the same time, Sir Cloudesley Shovel 
blockaded it by sea. The French, however, had thrown 8000 men 
into Toulon a few hours before the arrival of Prince Eugene ; and 
their vigorous defense, the advance of the Duke of Burgundy with 
a considerable force, and the ill condition of the invading army, 
compelled the allies to abandon the enterprise. 

A terrible fate overtook Sir Cloudesley Shovel and his fleet on 
their return. That admiral sailed from Gibraltar on the 20th of 
Sept. with a fleet of 15 sail of the line and some frigates. On 
Oct. 22d they arrived in the mouth of the Channel, when, by 
some mistake in the course, the admiral's ship, the Association, 
striking on some rocks to the west of the Scilly Islands, found- 
ered, and all on board perished. The Eagle, the Romney, and 
the Firebrand met with the same fate, except that the captain 
and 24 of the crew of the last were saved. Shovel had raised 
himself by his abilities and courage from the station of a common 
sailor. 

The campaign in Flanders produced no remarkable action, and, 
on the whole, the events of the year were of a checkered kind for 
France. Her counsels were no longer directed with the former 
vigor. Louis XIV. was sinking into dotage, and had surrendered 
himself to the government of Madame de Maintenon. Yet the 
resources of France were still able to inspire alarm. Early in 
1708 a squadron of frigates and small ships of war was collected 
at Dunkirk ; troops were marched thither from the surrounding 
garrisons ; and on the 6tli of March the Pretender put to sea with 
5000 men under his command for the purpose of invading En- 
gland. But his fleet was dispersed by Admiral Byng, and return- 
ed one by one to Dunkirk. The only evil occasioned by this at- 
tempt was the alarm that it created. There was a run upon the 
Bank, loyal addresses were presented to the queen by both houses, 
the Commons suspended the Habeas Corpus Act, and the country 
was alive with military preparations. 

Ghent and Bruges, disgusted with the extortions of the allies, 
in which Marlborough and Cadogan are said to have been impli- 
cated, opened their gates to the French, who then direct^ their 
march toward Antwerp, and laid siege to Oudenarde ; but Marl- 
borough, coming up, brought them to an engagement, and gave 
them a signal defeat. In this battle the electoral prince of Han- 
over, afterward George II., gave distinguished proofs of valor, and 



A.D. 1707-1710. OUDENARDE AND MALPLAQUET. 533 

led his cavalry repeatedly to the charge. The other more im- 
portant operations of this campaign, regarded as one of Marl- 
borough's most skillful ones, were the capture of Lisle, one of the 
strongest fortresses in Flanders, after a three months' siege, the 
compelling the Elector of Bavaria to raise the siege of Brussels, 
and the recovery of Bruges and Ghent. The Duke of Yendome, 
who commanded the French army, was received so coldly by 
Louis that he retired to one of his estates, being the fifth Marshal 
of France who had been driven from the service by Marlborough's 
successes. 

Sardinia was also reduced this year by the fleet under Admiral 
Leake without striking a blow, the inhabitants having been in- 
■ duced by the monks to declare for Charles III. Leake then took 
Minorca. 

The misfortunes of Louis prompted him to sue for peace, and in 
1709 conferences were opened at the Hague. The Marquis de 
Torcy, the French embassador, was instructed to offer almost any 
terms, and he at last agreed that Philip should relinquish the 
whole of the Spanish succession, with the exception of Naples and 
Sicily. But the allies would not leave him even these ; and as 
the terms which they demanded were as bad as any that could 
be dreaded from a continuance of hostilities, the pride of the 
French was roused, and they determined to resist to the utmost. 

In June (1709) Marlborough assumed the command of the al- 
lied army in Flanders, amounting to about 110,000 men. After 
taking Tournay, one of the strongest places in the Netherlands, the 
allies threatened Mons ; and in order to protect it. Marshal Vil- 
lars intrenched himself at Malplaquet, a league from the town. 
From this post he was driven by the allies after a most sanguin- 
ary conflict, in which the latter lost about 20,000 men, while the 
loss of the French did not exceed 8000. The surrender of Mons, 
Oct. 20, finished the campaign in Flanders. 

Negotiations for a peace were again opened in March, 1710. 
France was willing to make farther concessions, but the allies still 
rose in their demands, and, not satisfied that Louis should re- 
nounce Spain for his grandson, insisted that he should actually 
assist them to expel him. These negotiations did not interrupt 
the war, which was carried on with great vigor in Flanders. The 
allies took Douay, Bethune, St. Venant, and Aire, but with the 
loss of 26,000 men. In Spain Philip Y. was defeated by Count 
Staremberg at Almenara, and still more decisively at Saragossa. 
General Stanhope, with 5000 British troops, had a great share in 
this victory. But as two French armies were entering Spain, it 
was deemed prudent to retire into Catalonia. Stanhope, who 
brought up the rear, was overtaken at the village of Brihuega by 



584 ANNE. Chap. XXVIII. 

the Duke of Vendome ; and, though he defended himself with 
great spirit, yet, being surrounded on all sides, he was obliged to 
surrender at discretion. 

§ 7. Marlborough's influence at court was now completely on 
the wane, but his reputation stood too high to render safe his im- 
mediate dismissal. In order to explain this revolution, it will be 
necessary to trace a few years back the intrigues of party. 

During the period of the war Marlborough and Lord Godolphin, 
the treasurer, directed the government. In 1704 they had mould- 
ed the ministry more to their liking, by appointing Harley secre- 
tary of state in place of the Earl of Nottingham, and making Hen- 
ry St. John, a young man of great ability, secretary at war. At 
the same time the general and the treasurer were obliged to pay 
great deference to the Whigs, who formed a strong party led by 
what was called the junto, consisting of the Lords Somers, Hali- 
fax, Wharton, Orford, and Sunderland. In Harley they had in- 
troduced an enemy who ultimately upset them. Harley began 
his scheme for this purpose by undermining the Duchess of Marl- 
borough's influence with the queen. The duchess had placed a 
relative named Abigail Hill, the daughter of a bankrupt Turkey 
merchant, about the queen's person in the capacity of a bedcham- 
ber woman. Abigail was also distantly related to Harley; and 
a plan was formed between them to alienate the queen's favor 
from the duchess, of whose domineering temper indeed she was 
already weary. By assiduity and attention Abigail succeeded in 
gaining Anne's good-will, of which the queen gave a signal proof 
by being present at her marriage with Mr. Masham, an oflicer of 
the royal household. This event opened the eyes of the Marlbor- 
oughs to the altered state of the queen's favor, and impressed them 
with the necessity of making a struggle to retain their power. An 
accident afforded an opportunity for an attack upon Harley. The 
correspondence of Marshal Tallard, who was still a prisoner, pass- 
ed through Harley's ofiice ; • and as that minister did not under- 
stand French, it was read by Gregg, one of his clerks. Gregg, a 
needy Scotchman, took the opportunity to inclose in a letter of 
the marshal's one of his own, in which he made an offer to the 
French minister to betray the secrets of the country for a valuable 
consideration. The letter was intercepted, and Gregg was tried, 
condemned, and hanged at Tyburn. Attempts were made before 
his execution to procure his evidence against Harley; but he 
fully acquitted that minister, who was, indeed, entirely innocent. 
His reputation, however, suffered with the credulous and suspi- 
cious ; Marlborough and Godolphin notified to the queen their 
determination not to act with him, and absented themselves from 
the council. After a short struggle Anne was obliged to give 



A.D. 1710. TRIAL OF SACHEVERELL. 585 

way ; Harley retired from office, and was followed by St. John, 
and Sir Simon Har court, the attorney general ; and their places 
were supplied by Mr. Boyle, IVIr. Robert AValpole, and Sir James 
Montague. But this affair only served more to inflame the queen 
against the Whigs. Harley retained his secret influence, and 
awaited the opportunity of a triumphant return to power, which 
was prepared by an event that happened in 1 709. 

§ 8. Dr. Sacheverell, rector of St. Savior's, Southwark, a vain 
and bitter man of little merit, being appointed to preach before 
the lord mayor and aldermen at St. Paul's on the 5th of Nov., 
inveighed with great violence and indecency against the Dissent- 
ers and the moderate section of the Church of England, insisted 
upon the doctrine of passive obedience, and reflected in severe 
terms upon the government, and especially upon Godolphin, to 
whom he gave the name of Yolpone, a character in one of Ben 
Jonson's comedies. The majority of the court of aldermen, being 
of the Low-Church party, refused to thank Sacheverell for his ser- 
mon ; but the lord mayor, who was on the opposite side, encour- 
aged Sacheverell to print it, and present it to him in a dedication 
conceived in the same violent strain. The political passions of 
the nation were excited to the highest pitch, and 40,000 copies 
of the sermon were sold in a few weeks. The more violent of 
the ministry, and especially Godolphin, who had been personally 
attacked, were enraged against Sacheverell, and resolved to im- 
peach him for certain doctrines promulgated in his sermon. Ar- 
ticles were accordingly exhibited against him, and he was brought 
to trial in Westminster Hall, Feb. 27, 1710. The populace of 
London was at that time Tory and High-Church, and kept up a 
continual tumult during the trial. The mob escorted Sacheverell 
every day from his lodgings in the Temple to Westminster with 
vociferous cheering, pulled down several meeting-houses, and in- 
sulted those members of Parliament who took the most prominent 
part against their favorite. The Lords, however, decreed that 
Sacheverell should be suspended from preaching for a term of 
three years, and that his sermon should be burned by the hands of 
the common hangman ; and they also sentenced to the same fate 
the famous decree of the University of Oxford in 1683, on occa- 
sian of the Rye House Plot, which inculcated the doctrine of pas- 
sive obedience and non-resistance. 

The temper of the nation had been so plainly exhibited in this 
trial that the queen and the Tory party no longer hesitated to at- 
tempt a change in the ministry ; but it was slowly and cautiously 
effected. Marlborough, who pretended to the disposal of all mil- 
itary promotions, was offended by an attempt to promote Colonel 
Hill, brother of Mrs. Masham. without his approbation ; and he 

Bb2 



586 ANNE. Chap. XXVIII. 

retired into the country, threatening to resign the command of 
the army. By degrees changes began to be made in the ministry. 
In April (1710) the Duke of Shrewsbury, who had taken part 
against the ministers in SacheverelFs case, was made lord cham- 
berlain. On the 14th of June the seals were taken from the Earl 
of Sunderland, Marlborough's son-in-law, and Lord Dartmouth 
was made secretary of state in his place. On the 8th of August 
Godolphin himself was ordered to break his staff as treasurer, and 
the treasury was put in commission with Lord Powlett at the 
head ; Harley, however, who now became chancellor of the ex- 
chequer, possessed in reality the greatest share of the queen's con- 
fidence. But a thorough change in the ministry was not effected 
till September, when Lord Rochester superseded Lord Somers as 
pres-ident of the council, St. John became a secretary of state in- 
stead of Mr. Boyle, Harcourt was made lord chancellor instead of 
Lord Cowper, and the Duke of Ormond obtained the lieutenancy 
of Ireland in place of the witty and profligate Earl of Wharton. 
Other minor changes were effected, and the Dukes of Somerset 
and Newcastle were the only Whigs who retained office. Both 
Harley and St. John, who now became the leaders of the High- 
Church party, had been bred up among the Dissenters. One of 
the reasons for appointing the latter was, that he was the only 
person about the court who understood French, and might there- 
fore be useful in the expected negotiations for a peace. 

A striking characteristic of the period is the double dealing of 
the leading men of all parties. It can hardly be doubted that Har- 
ley was in favor of the Hanoverian succession, which he had zeal- 
ously labored to establish ; yet we find him at this time correspond- 
ing with Marshal Berwick, and treating for the restoration of the 
Stuarts, on condition of Anne retaining the crown for life, and se- 
curity being given for the religion and liberties of England. Marl- 
borough, on the other hand, though in favor of the Stuarts and 
himself corresponding with the court of St. Germain's, does not 
scruple to address the Elector of Hanover with assurances of his 
devotion, and to denounce Harley and his associates as entertain- 
ing a design to place the Pretender on the throne. St. John was 
the most decided and consistent Jacobite, and there were constant 
feuds between him and Harley, which were sometimes composed 
by the intervention of Swift. 

§ 9. In the new Parliament which met in Nov., 1710, the Tory 
party predominated. Sacheverell had made a sort of progress into 
Wales, and was received by the mayors and corporations of vari- 
ous towns in great state. The people came to meet him with 
white favors and sprigs of gilded laurel in their hats, and the hedges 
where he passed were decked with flowers. These were plain 



A.D. 1710, 1711. HARLEY LORD TREASURER. 587 

symptoms of the popular sentiments, and in the ensuing elections 
the Whigs were defeated wherever the popular voice was allowed 
to prevail. The queen, in her opening speech, though she inti- 
mated a desire for peace, signified her resolution of prosecuting the 
war with the utmost vigor. The Parliament responded with enthu- 
siasm, and voted during the session the large sum of more than 14 
millions. They instituted an inquiry into the conduct of the war in 
Spain ; a vote of censure was passed upon the late ministry ; and 
an attempted vote of thanks to Marlborough failed in the House 
of Lords. Marlborough, however, still retained the command of 
the army ; but he resigned all the places held by his Duchess, ab- 
sented himself from court, and in Feb., 1711, proceeded to Holland 
to conduct the campaign. 

About this time, an event that might have proved fatal to Har- 
ley served only to further his promotion. A French adventurer, 
who assumed the title of the Marquis de Guiscard, had insinuated 
himself into the favor of the preceding ministry by pretending that 
he could raise an insurrection in France. A congenial profligacy 
had recommended this man to the friendship of 8t. John, who, on 
becoming minister, procured him a pension of .£500 a year. But 
Harley incurred the hatred of Guiscard by reducing it to jC400, 
and refusing to make it permanent. Shortly afterward Guiscard 
was detected in a treasonable correspondence with France, and, 
on being brought before the council for examination, he stabbed 
Harley with a pocket-knife, the blade of which fortunately broke 
by striking the breast-bone. Unaware of this circumstance, Guis- 
card redoubled his blows, till St. John and others stabbed him in 
several places with their swords ; and being secured, he was car- 
ried to Newgate, where he soon afterward expired of his wounds. 
Harley's hurt was slight, but it procured him much sympathy. 
The Commons addressed the queen in terms the most flattering 
to that minister, and when he next appeared in his seat he was 
congratulated by the speaker in the name of the House on his for- 
tunate escape. The queen gave him more substantial marks of 
favor by creating him Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, and shortly 
after she bestowed upon him the white staff of lord high treasurer.* 

As the Tories had a decided majority in the new Parliament, 
Lord Nottingham, a vehement High-Churchman, easily persuaded 
it to pass a bill to prevent occasional conformity, as it was call- 
ed, which was the compliance of the Dissenters with the provi- 
sions of the Test Act by receiving the sacrament according to 
the rites of the Church of England in order merely to qualify 

* His son, Edward Harley, the second Earl of Oxford, was the collector 
of the celebrated Harleian MSS. now in the British Museum. The title 
became extinct in 1853. 



588 ANNK _ Chap. XXVIII. 

themselves for holding office or entering into corporations (see p. 
498). This bill was followed up by the Schism Act, which ex- 
tended and confirmed one of the clauses in the Act of Uniformity, 
which compelled all teachers to make before the bishop a declar- 
ation of conformity to the Established Church, and to obtain from 
the bishop a license for exercising that profession.* 

The new ministry were inclined to peace, as the most effectual 
means of breaking the power of Marlborough ; and the death of 
the Emperor Joseph, which occurred this year, opened the prospect 
of its attainment. Charles III., the titular King of Spain, was 
elected his successor, and thus the views of England with regard 
to the war were entirely changed, since the union of Spain and 
the empire would have revived the days of Charles V., while the 
very object of the war was to prevent the accumulation of too 
much power in the hands of a single family. The yearly cam- 
paign in Flanders, the last conducted by Marlborough, though a 
skillful one, had proved almost wholly unimportant, as the French 
stood on the defensive ; nor did any thing of consequence occur 
in other quarters. Before it had begun, communications were pri- 
vately opened with the court of France; and the States, though 
averse to a peace, were at length obliged to yield, and named 
Utrecht as the place of conference. On hearing of these nego- 
tiations, the imperial embassador became so violent that he was 
ordered to quit the kingdom. 

§ 10. A report laid before the House of Commons by the com- 
missioners of the public accounts on the 21st of Dec. contained 
the deposition of Sir Solomon Medina, a Dutch Jew, charging the 
Duke of Marlborough, and Cardonnel his secretary, with various 
peculations in the contracts for bread and bread-wagons for the 
army in Flanders. The charge would probably never have been 
heard of except for the violent part which Marlborough took 
against the ministry on the subject of the peace. The Elector of 
Hanover was for continuing the war, on the ground that the house 
of Bourbon should not be allowed to retain Spain ; and in No- 
vember his envoy, the Baron de Bothmar, had come to London in 
company with Marlborough, and, in the name of the elector, pre- 
sented a memorial against the peace. The queen and the House 
of Commons were indignant at this interference. The majority 
of the council were for apprehending Bothmar, and sending him 
out of the kingdom in custody ; but Oxford averted this violent 
step. Marlborough, however, was supported by a majority of the 
Peers in his views against the peace, and an amendment on the 

* The act against occasional conformity, and the Schism Act, were re- 
pealed in the reign of George I. (171 9). Hallam, Constitutional History, 
iii„ 333. 



A.D. 1711-1713, TREATY OF UTRECHT. 539 

address was carried. In order to overcome this opposition, Ox- 
ford persuaded the queen to create 12 new peers (31st Dec). 
They were received by the House with much derision, and the 
Earl of Wharton, in allusion to their number, inquired of them 
whether they voted individually or by their foreman. On the 
previous day the queen had also dismissed Marlborough from all 
his employments. 

The Commons proceeded to pass a vote of censure upon Marl- 
borough for unwarrantable and illegal practices in contracts, and 
for taking 2^ per cent, on the pay of the foreign troops in the En- 
glish service, and the attorney general was directed to prosecute 
him ; but this last step was never followed up. The percentage 
appears to have been a voluntary payment by the allied princes, 
and to have been expended in secret service ; the profit on the 
contracts had, long before Marlborough's time, been the usual per- 
quisite of the commander-in-chief in the Netherlands. Toward 
the close of the year Marlborough retired from England in disgust, 
and took up his residence at Antwerp. Godolphin, his former 
colleague, died in the preceding September — a useful and honest 
minister, Avhose unobtrusive manners and constant assiduity 
caused William to say of him that he was never in the way nor 
out of the way. 

Cardonnel, Marlborough's secretary, was expelled the Plouse of 
Commons on a similar accusation to that against his master. 
Robert Walpole Avas also expelled and committed to the Tower 
on a charge of taking a bribe of 1000 guineas on contracts for 
forage made by him when secretary at war. z 

Although the conferences were opened at Utrecht on the 18th 
of January, the allies, as usual, took the field in the spring. The 
British forces in Flanders were now commanded by the Duke of 
Ormond, who had received instructions to avoid a battle imless he 
perceived a prospect of very great advantage. Shortly afterward 
he separated his troops from the army of the allies, and received 
from Louis the surrender of Dunkirk, which had been stipulated 
as the condition of a cessation of arms. After the withdrawal of 
the British contingents Eugene was defeated by Marshal YiUars 
at Denain, and several other reverses followed, so that the good 
fortune of the allies seemed to have deserted them with the loss 
of the English. 

§ 11. Meanwhile the negotiations were proceeding at Utrecht, 
the plenipotentiaries for Great Britain being the Earl of Strafford 
and the Bishop of Bristol, to whom Prior, the poet, was subse- 
quently added ; and a peace, known as the Peace of Utrecht, 
was at length signed on March 31st, 1713. The principal arti- 
cles, as between France and England, were, that Louis should 



590 ANNE. Chap. XXVIII. 

abandon the Pretender, acknowledge the queen's title and the 
Protestant succession ; should raze the fortifications of Dunkirk, 
and should cede Newfoundland, Hudson's Bay, and St. Christo- 
pher's. With regard to the general objects of the alliance, it was 
agreed that the kingdom of Naples, the duchy of Milan, and the 
Spanish Netherlands should be assigned to the emperor ; that the 
Duke of Savoy should possess Sicily with the title of king ; that 
Sardinia should be assigned to the Elector of Bavaria, with the 
same title ; that the States of Holland should receive Namur, 
Charleroi, Luxembourg, Ypres, and Nieuport, in addition to their 
other possessions in Flanders, but should restore Lisle and its de- 
pendencies ; and that the King of Prussia should exchange Orange, 
and the possessions belonging to that family in Franche Compte, 
for Upper Gueldres. Great Britain was left in possession of Gib- 
raltar and Minorca. At the same time, a treaty of commerce be- 
tween France and England was also signed. Peace was not con- 
cluded between the emperor and France till the following year, 
by the treaty of Kastadt. 

As the treaty of Utrecht was only effected after s^ violent strug- 
gle between the Whigs and Tories, its merits have generally been 
viewed through the medium of party prejudice. It can hardly be 
doubted that, from the exhausted condition of France, more advan- 
tageous terms might have been exacted ; they had, in fact, been 
previously offered ; and the great object for which the war had 
been undertaken, the exclusion of the Bourbons from the throne 
of Spain, was frustrated. Louis indeed undertook that Philip 
should renounce the throne of France, but at the same time ac- 
knowledged that such an act was legally invalid ; while the recent 
death of the dauphin, of his son, and eldest grandson, left only a 
sickly infant between Philip and the crown of France. The man- 
ner in which the peace was concluded was perhaps more objec- 
tionable than the peace itself. England appeared selfishly to ne- 
gotiate a clandestine treaty, and to abandon her allies in the midst 
of a campaign, leaving their towns and armies exposed to the fury 
of the enemy. A still worse feature, perhaps, was the abandon- 
ment of the Catalans, who still contended heroically for their free- 
dom. Philip, indeed, promised them an amnesty, but it was not 
observed. On the other hand it may be remarked that it would 
have been almost as impolitic to continue the war in order to set 
Charles upon the throne of Spain, after he had become emperor, 
as to leave it in possession of Philip ; that the Spaniards were 
contented with the latter for their king, and that England had no 
right to control their inclinations ; that the burden of the war, 
which had cost England nearly 69 millions, was chiefly borne by 
her, though she had not so direct an interest in it as the other 



A.D.1714. OXFORD AND BOLINGBROKE. 59I 

powers ; and that, on the whole, the conditions exacted from 
France were not disadvantageous. In general the peace was pop- 
ular in England, and, when proclaimed on the 5th of May, was 
received with the acclamations of the populace. 

§ 12. It became evident in the winter of this year that the 
queen's health was fast declining, and the near prospect of her dis- 
solution animated the struggle between the Jacobites and the ad- 
herents of the house of Hanover. The Whigs urged the elector to 
a step which gave great offense to the queen. Schutz, the Hano- 
verian envoy, demanded for the electoral prince a writ to take his 
seat in the House of Lords, he having lately been created Duke 
of Cambridge. The queen was so enraged that she forbade Schutz 
to appear again at court, declared that she would suffer the last 
extremities rather than permit any prince of the electoral family 
to reside in England during her life, and wrote to the elector, to 
the Princess Sophia, and to the electoral prince, expressing her 
surprise at the step they had taken, and almost openly threatening 
that it might endanger their succession. Not long afterward (May 
28th) the Princess Sophia died suddenly in the garden at Herren- 
hausen, aged 83. 

§ 13. Oxford and St. John, now Viscount Bolingbroke, who had 
long been irreconcilable enemies, came this year to an open rup- 
ture. Each accused the other of being a Jacobite, and both were 
believed. Bolingbroke, in conjunction with Marlborough, laid a 
plot for the treasurer's ruin. Bolingbroke persuaded the queen 
that Oxford had privately forwarded the demand of a writ for the 
electoral prince, and on the 27tli of July he was deprived of the 
treasurer's stafi', but permitted to retain his other offices. Thus 
ended his course as a public man. He has no title to be called 
a great minister ; his policy was narrow, and he owed his rise to 
private intrigue. He had neither great natural ability nor much 
acquired learning. In temper he was reserved and distrustful ; 
in policy tenacious rather than resolute ; in manner awkward and 
undignified. 

Bolingbroke had triumphed over his rival, and seemed on the 
point of succeeding to his power. He was generally regarded as 
the future prime minister ; Marlborough hastened from the Con- 
tinent to partake his triumph, when all his hopes were disappoint- 
ed in a moment. The agitation of this political Crisis had a fatal 
effect on the queen's dechning health. A discharge from her leg 
suddenly stopped, and the gouty matter, making its way to the 
brain, threw her into a lethargy. While she lay in this state, the 
Duke of Shrewsbury,* who was both lord chamberlain and lord 
lieutenant of Ireland, concerted with the Dukes of Argyle and 

* He was the son of the 11th Earl of Shrewsbury, and was created a 



592 ANNE. Chap.XXVIII. 

Somerset a plan for defeating the schemes of Bolingbroke and his 
Jacobite confederates in the ministry. Argyle and Somerset, with- 
out being summoned, suddenly appeared in the council (July 30th), 
to offer, they said, their advice at this juncture. Shrewsbury 
thanked them ; and after ascertaining from the physicians the dan- 
gerous state of the queen, they proposed that the Duke of Shrews- 
bury should be recommended to her without delay as treasurer. 
The proposition was immediately submitted to the queen, who 
had recovered some degree of consciousness; and she not only 
gave him the treasurer's staff, but also continued him in the of- 
fices of chamberlain and lord lieutenant. 

On Sunday, August 1st, Anne expired at Kensington, in the 
50th year of her age and 13th of her reign. She was of middle 
stature, her hair and complexion dark, her features strongly mark- 
ed, the expression of her countenance rather dignified than agree- 
able. She was not deficient in accomplishments, understood mu- 
sic and painting, and had some taste for literature. She was jeal- 
ous of her authority, and sometimes sullen when offended ; and 
the good-nature and generosity which procured her the name of 
the good Queen Anne seem to have sprung as much from the in- 
dolence of her temper and the weakness of her understanding as 
from any active principle of benevolence. Her consort, Prince 
George of Denmark, had died in 1708. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1702. Accession and coronation of Queen 
Anne. 
" War of the Spanish Succession. 
1T04. Battle of Blenheim. Gibraltar taken. 
1T06. Battle of Ramillies. 
170T. Union witli Scotland. 
1T08. Battle of Oudenarde. 



A.D. 

1709. Battle of Malplaquet. 

1710. Trial of Sacheverell. 

1711. Harley (Earl of Oxford) made lord 

treasurer. Marlborough deprived of 
all his offices. 

1713. Treaty of Utrecht. 

1714. Death of Queen Anne. 



duke by WiUiam III. in 1694. The dukedom became extinct upon his 
death in 1718, but his cousin succeeded to the earldom. . 




Medal of George T. 

Obv. : GEORG LVD . D . G . M . BRIT . FR . et HIB . REX DVX B & L . S . 
R . 1 . ELEC. Bust, laureate, to right. Rev. : aCCeDens DIgnVs DIVIsos orbb 
beTtannos. The horse of Brunswick running across the map of the northwest of Eu- 
rope. Below, YNTS NON SVFFICIT ORBIS. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK — GEORGE I, A.D. 1714-1727. 

§ 1. Accession of George I. Character. New Ministry. § 2. Impeach- 
ment of Bolingbroke, Oxford, and Ormond. § 3. Mar's Rebellion. § 4. 
The Pretender lands in Scotland. Rebellion quashed. Executions. Re- 
peal of Triennial Act. § 5. Unpopularity of the King. His Favorites 
and Mistresses. Treaty with France and Holland. § 6. Hanoverian 
Politics. Sweden favors the Pretender. Change of Ministry. § 7. De- 
signs of Alberoni. Quadruple Alliance. Defeat of the Spanish Fleet at 
Cape Passaro. § 8. Projected Spanish Invasion. Vigo taken. Wal- 
pole and Townshend join the Ministry. § 9. The South Sea Bubble. 
§ 10. The South Sea Directors punished. Death of Marlborough. At- 
terbury's Plot. § 11. Disturbances in Ireland on Account of Wood's 
Halfpence. Malt Tax in Scotland. Order of the Bath. § 12. Confed- 
eracy between the Emperor and Spain. Alliance Avith France and Prus- 
sia. Death of the King. 

§ 1. George I. succeeded Queen Anne as quietly as if he had 
been the undisputed heir to the throne. No sooner had the queen 
expired than Kreyenberg, the Hanoverian resident, produced an 
instrument in the handwriting of the elector, nominating 18 peers, 
who, according to the Regency Bill, were to act as lords justices 
till his arrival. The peere selected were mostly Whigs, includ- 
ing the Dukes of Shrewsbury, Somerset, and Argyle, Lords Cow- 
per, Halifax, and Townshend ; but it created some surprise that 
neither Marlborough nor Somers was among the number. Marl- 
borough had landed at Dover on the very day of the queen's 
death. He was indignant to find himself excluded ; but he was 



594 GEORGE I. Chap. XXJX. 

in some degree consoled by the reception he met with from the 
citizens of London, where he made a sort of pubhc entry. Then, 
having taken the oaths in the House of Lords, he retired into the 
country. 

The new king was proclaimed, both in Dublin and Edinburgh, 
without opposition or tumult. On the 5th of August the lords 
justices delivered a speech to the Parliament, recommending them 
to provide for the dignity and honor of the crown ; and loyal and 
dutiful addresses were unanimously voted by both houses. George 
was immediately acknowledged by Louis XIV. and the other Eu- 
ropean powers. A British squadron had been dispatched to wait 
for him in Holland. He did not set out from Hanover till August 
31, and landed at Greenwich on September 18, bringing with bim 
his eldest son. 

The monarch who now ascended the throne of England was 54 
years of age, heavy in look, awkward and undignified in manner 
and address, without the slightest tincture of literature or science, 
but possessing that taste for music which characterizes his coun- 
try. He disliked pomp, and was even averse to popular applause ; 
and the society which he preferred was that of buffoons and per- 
sons of low intellect. His total ignorance both of the English 
manners and language added to his other disadvantages in the 
new scene in which he was to appear. Yet his own subjects part- 
ed with him with regret, for he possessed some good qualities. 
He was honorable, benevolent, and sincere ; economical even to 
niggardliness ; regular in the distribution of his time ; possessing 
both personal courage and military knowledge, yet a lover of 
peace. 

Before the king landed he sent directions to remove Bolingbroke 
from the office of secretary of state, and to appoint Lord Towns- 
hend in his place, who must now be considered as prime minister. 
The Duke of Shrewsbury resigned his offices of treasurer and lord 
lieutenant. In the latter he was succeeded by Sunderland ; the 
treasury was put in commission, with Lord Halifax at the head, 
and the office of lord treasurer was never afterward revived. Gen- 
eral Stanhope was made second secretary of state ; Lord Cowper, 
chancellor ; the Earl of Wharton, privy seal ; the Earl of Notting- 
ham, president of the council ; Mr. Pulteney secretary-at-war ; the 
Duke of Argyle, commander-in-chief for Scotland. Marlborough 
and the leading Whigs were graciously received by the king, but 
it was with difficulty that Oxford was permitted to kiss his hand. 
Marlborough was reinstated in his old offices of captain general 
and master of the ordnance ; and his three sons-in-law received 
appointments. His merits were too great to be overlooked, but ^ 
the court must have been well aware of his predilection for the 



i 



A.D. 1714, 1715. BOLINGBROKE AND ORMOND ATTAINTED. 595 

Stuarts, and he soon found that he was not trusted. Indeed, it 
appears that even now, when holding a high post under the house 
of Brunswick, he sent a loan to the Pretender which probably as- 
sisted the rebellion of 1715. The Chevalier de St. George, as the 
Pretender was frequently called, was still residing in Lorraine ; 
and having repaired to the baths of Plombieres, he published 
there, August 29, a manifesto asserting his right to the English 
crown. 

§ 2. The Parliament, which met in March, 1715, was opened 
by the king in person ; but as he was unable to pronounce En- 
glish, his speech was read by the chancellor. It soon appeared 
that the ministers were determined to impeach their predecessors. 
Bolingbroke took alarm and fled to the Continent, where he en- 
tered the service of the Pretender as secretary of state ; Oxford, 
of a more phlegmatic temperament, calmly awaited the storm ; the 
Duke of Ormond, another of the compromised, the idol of the 
mob, behaved with bravado, and in his style of living vied with 
the court itself. A secret committee was appointed by the Com- 
mons to inquire into the late negotiations ; and when the report, 
drawn up by Walpole, had been read, the three noblemen just 
mentioned were impeached of high treason. Various articles were 
alleged against them ; but the charge most relied on was the pro- 
curing Tournay for the King of France, which it was endeavored 
to bring wnder the statute of Edward III. as an adhering to the 
queen's enemies. Lord Stratford, one of the plenipotentiaries at 
Utrecht, was also accused of high crimes and misdemeanors, but 
no notice was taken of his two colleagues. Ormond now fled to 
France. Before he went he visited Oxford in the Tower, and 
counseled him to attempt his escape. The ex- treasurer refused, 
and Ormond took leave of him with the words, " Farewell, Ox- 
ford without a head !" To which the latter replied, " Farewell, 
duke without a duchy!" In fact, Ormond never returned, and 
died abroad in 1745, at the age of 80. Bills of attainder against 
him and Bolingbroke were passed without opposition. These im- 
peachments were merely the results of party animosity, and evi- 
dently could not be maintained. The peace had been approved 
by two Parliaments ; yet Oxford was detained two years in the 
Tower, till Townshend and Walpole, his greatest enemies, had both 
quitted office, when he was dismissed by a sort of collusion of the 
two houses. 

§ 3. The death of Louis XIV. (Sept. 1) was a severe blow to 
the Pretender, who was meditating an invasion. The Duke of 
Orleans, who now became regent in the minority of Louis XV., 
had different views from Louis. He could not, indeed, altogether 
reject the claims of a kinsman, but he was unwilling to compro- 



596 



GEORGE L 



Chap. XXIX. 




Medal of the elder Pretender and his wife. 
Obv. : lAcOBYS . Ill . D . G . M . B . F . ET . H . EEX. Bust armed, to right. 

mise the peace with England, and would only promise secret as- 
sistance. Meanwhile the Earl of Mar began prematurely and un- 
advisedly an insurrection in Scotland. He dispatched letters to 
the principal gentry, inviting them to meet him at a great hunt in 
Aberdeenshire on August 27. When they were assembled he in- 
veighed against the union, using other topics calculated to inflame 
his audience ; and on the 6th of September, though h« had no 
more than 60 followers, he raised the standard of the Pretender. 
His force had swelled to about 5000 men when he entered Perth, 
September 28. 

This insurrection created great alarm. The Habeas Corpus 
Act was suspended, and several noted Jacobites were arrested in 
London, Edinburgh, and other places. As the number of regular 
troops in England was but small, the Dutch contingent of 6000 
men was sent for, as stipulated by an article of the guarantee of 
sticcession. Argyle, who had been dispatched to support the 
king's cause in Scotland, had at his disposal oilly about 1000 foot 
and 500 horse ; yet Mar, who had no military talent, remained 
inactive. Serious symptoms of disaiFection appeared in the north- 
ern counties, where Mr. Forster and the Earl of Derwentwater, 
hearing that orders had been issued to arrest them, rose in arms 
and proclaimed the Pretender at Warkworth. Lord Kenmure 
did the same at Moffat ; and, being soon after joined by the Earls 
of Nithisdale, Wintoun, and Carnwath, crossed the border and 
joined Forster. The united force, amounting to 500 or 600 horse- 
men, proceeded, by Mar's directions, to Kelso, where they were 
joined (Oct. 22) by Brigadier M'Intosh Avith 1400 foot. Edin- 
burgh, which lay between the forces of M'Intosh and Mar, might. 



A. D. 1715, 1716. 



MAK'S REBELLION. 



597 




Rev. : CLEMENTrSTA . MAGNAE . BRITANNIAE . ET . G . EEG. Bllst tO left. 

easily have been taken ; but no plan of a campaign had been 
formed, and, after a senseless march along the Cheviots, M'Intosli 
determined to proceed into Lancashire. Many of his men desert- 
ed, but he nevertheless entered Lancaster without resistance, and 
proceeded to Preston, where Stanhope's regiment of dragoons and 
a militia regiment retired on his approach. Here he received an 
accession of 1200 men, but badly armed and disciplined ; and when 
General Carpenter arrived (Nov. 13) with 900 cavalry, Forster 
surrendered almost without a blow. Among the prisoners made 
on this occasion were Lords Derwentwater, Nithisdale, Wintoun, 
Kenmure, with many members of old northern families. 

On the very day of this disastrous affair a battle had been fought 
between Mar and Argyle at Sherriffmuir, near Stirling. The lat- 
ter was now at the head of between 3000 and 4000 regular troops, 
while Mar's forces had increased to 10,000 men, but badly armed 
and disciplined. The battle was singular, the right wing of each 
army having defeated their opponents ; but Argyle remained in 
possession of the field, while Mar retired to Perth, and the weather 
prevented any farther operations. 

§ 4. The rebellion having been thus unadvisedly begun, the Pre- 
tender and the Duke of Ormond felt themselves called upon to 
act, whatever might be the event. Ormond landed in Devonshire 
with about 40 officers and men, but, finding nobody willing to join 
him, returned to St. Malo. The Pretender sailed from Dunkirk 
about the middle of December, in a small vessel of eight guns, and 
landed at Peterhead on the 2 2d, accompanied by only six gentle- 
men disguised as French naval officers. Mar immediately pro- 
ceeded to pay his respects to him, and was created a duke. On 
January 6, 1716, the Pretender made his public entry into Dun- 



598 GEORGE I. Chap.XXIX. 

dee on horseback, followed by a troop of nearly 300 gentlemen. 
Thence he proceeded to Scone, performed several acts of state, and 
appointed the 2od of January for his coronation. But James was 
not the man for this conjuncture. In person he was tall and thin, 
sparing of speech, calm and composed in his behavior. Instead 
of encouraging his followers, he talked to them of his misfortunes. 
One of them says, " We saw nothing in him that looked like 
spirit. He never appeared with cheerfulness and vigor to animate 
us. Our men began to despise him ; some asked if he could speak." 

On the advance of Argyle, Perth was pronounced untenable by 
a council of the insurgent generals ; and on the 30th of January, 
a day of evil omen for the Stuarts, orders were issued to retreat 
northward. Argyle entered Perth about 12 hours after the reb- 
els had quitted it. The latter proceeded to Dundee, and thence 
to Montrose, where James stole away on the evening of February 
4, and, accompanied by Mar, embarked on board a small French 
vessel lying in the Koads, while the rebel army gradually dispersed. 
Such was the ignominious end of this ill-concerted expedition. 
James landed at Gravelines after a passage of seven days, and 
proceeded to St. Germain's. On the 24th of February Lords 
Derwentwater and Kenmure were executed on Tower Hill. Lord 
Nithisdale, who had also been sentenced to death, escaped the 
night before through the heroic devotion of his wife, who changed 
clothes with him. Of inferior criminals about 26 were executed. 

The repeal of the Triennial Act of 1694, and the enactment of 
the Septennial Act, was one of the immediate effects of this re- 
bellion. In the present state of the nation it would have been 
hazardous to dissolve the Parliament, as a Jacobite majority might 
have been returned. The bill of repeal was originated in the Lords 
by the Duke of Devonshire, and does not appear to have excited 
any discontent among the public. 

§ 5. In the summer the king proceeded to Hanover, for which 
purpose the restraining clause in the Act of Settlement was re- 
pealed. He was so jealous of his son that he would not give him 
the full authority of regent, but Avould only name him guardian 
of the realm and lieutenant, an office unknown since the time of 
the Black Prince ; and several restrictions were placed upon his 
authority. The king's foreign favorites, Bothmar, Bernsdorf, Ro- 
bethon, were suspected of taking bribes for their good offices with 
him ; and his foreign mistresses had also incurred a great share 
of odium. The principal one, the Baroness Schulenburg, was 
made Duchess of Munster in Ireland, and Duchess of Kendal in 
England. The Baroness Kilmanseck, another mistress, somewhat 
younger and handsomer, was made Countess of Darlington. Both 
were of unbounded rapacity, but neither had the smallest share 



A.D. 1716.1717. TREATY WITH FRANCE AND HOLLAND. 599 

of ability. During his absence in Hanover tlie king dismissed 
Lord Townshend from his post of secretary of state, and General 
Stanhope was appointed in his place. Townshend' s dismissal was 
very unpopular. His offense was having encouraged the Prince 
of Wales in opposition to his father's authority. However, the 
lord lieutenancy of Ireland was offered to Townshend, which he 
was at length induced to accept. 

The late rebellion made it very desirable to deprive the Pre- 
tender of all support from France. The Regent Orleans was not 
averse to an English alliance. In case of the death of Louis XV. 
he was next heir to the throne of France, Philip Y. of Spain hav- 
ing renounced his pretensions ; but as it was well known that 
Philip did not mean to abide by that renunciation, the alliance of 
England might be useful to the duke. Stanhope, who had ac- 
companied the king abroad, entered into negotiations with the 
Abbe (afterward Cardinal) Dubois, first, at the Hague and then at 
Hanover. They were subsequently prosecuted by Lord Cadogan ; 
and on the 28th of November a treaty was signed between the 
two countries. Earlier in the year, defensive alliances had been 
concluded with the emperor and the Dutch. The latter subse- 
quently acceded to the terms of the English and French alliance 
(Jan. 4, 1717), when the instrument of the previous convention 
between France and England was destroyed, in order that the 
new arrangement might appear as a triple alliance. In conse- 
quence of this treaty the Pretender was obliged to quit France, 
and resided sometimes at Rome, sometimes at Urbino. He soon 
after contracted a marriage with the Princess Clementina, grand- 
daughter of John Sobieski, the late King of Poland ; but, at the 
instance" of the British cabinet, she was arrested at Innsbruck on 
her way to Italy, by the emperor's orders, and detained till 1719, 
when her liberation was effected and the marriage consummated. 

§ 6. One of the worst evils of the Hanoverian succession was 
that it dragged England into the vortex of Continental politics, 
and made her subservient to the king's views in favor of his elect- 
orate. The bishoprics of Bremen and Verden, formerly belonging 
to Hanover, had been secularized at the peace of Westphalia, and 
ceded to Sweden ; but they had been conquered by Frederick IV. 
of Denmark after the defeat of Charles XII. at Pultawa. The 
return of that monarch, however, made the King of Denmark 
tremble for his conquests ; and in 1715 he ceded them to George, 
as Elector of Hanover, on condition of his joining the coalition 
against Sweden, and paying £150,000. In order to carry out 
these arrangements, a British squadron, under Sir John Norris, 
was dispatched to the Baltic in the autumn of 1716. But this 
was not the whole evil. Baron Gortz, Charles XII.'s minister, 



(300 GEORGE i: Chap. XXIX. 

concocted in retaliation a Jacobite conspiracy for the invasion 
of Scotland with 12,000 Swedish soldiers. Count Gyllenborg, 
the Swedish embassador, in spite of his privileges as embassa- 
dor, was arrested in London, when full proofs of his complicity- 
were discovered ; but Charles XII. would neither avow nor disa- 
vow these practices. Walpole was suspected of being concerned 
in them ; and Townshend's adherents having voted against the 
grant of supplies on account of the Swedish affair, that nobleman 
was dismissed from the lord lieutenancy of Ireland. On the fol- 
lowing morning Walpole resigned, and was followed by other min- 
isters. General Stanhope now became first lord of the treasury 
and chancellor of the exchequer, and was shortly afterward raised 
to the peerage with the title of Viscount Stanhope (1717).* Sun- 
derland and Addison, the celebrated writer, were made secretaries 
of state, and Craggs secretary-at-war. 

§ 7. Spain was at this time governed by Cardinal Alberoni, the 
son of a working gardener, who, solely by his great abilities, had 
raised himself to that height of power and grandeur. Both he 
and Philip found much cause of discontent in the state of Europe. 
Philip's title had never been acknowledged by the emperor ; while 
the latter's alliance with England, and the triple alliance between 
France, England, and Holland, seemed to isolate Spain in Europe. 
The seizure of one of his ministers by the Austrians increased the 
exasperation of Philip. He resolved upon war, seized Sardinia, 
and seemed to threaten Sicily. At the same time, Alberoni was 
intriguing with Charles XII. of Sweden, and with the Czar, in 
favor of the Stuarts, was in correspondence with the Pretender at 
Rome, and was employing agents to foment dissensions in England. 
This sta.te of things required vigorous counsels. In the summer 
Stanhope proceeded to Paris, and succeeded in concluding a new 
treaty with France and the emperor, which, after the accession of 
the Dutch, was styled the Quadruple Alliance. Its avowed object 
was the preservation of the peace of Europe. Stanhope then pro- 
ceeded to Madrid, but did not succeed in overcoming the stubborn 
hostility of Alberoni. Meanwhile the Spanish troops had landed 
in Sicily (July 1), and taken Palermo and Mes&ina, though the 
citadel of the latter place held out. Admiral Byng,t with 20 ships 
of the line, now made his appearance on the coast of Sicily ; and 
on August 11 an action, said to have been begun by the Spaniards, 
took place off Cape Passaro, ending in their total defeat, and the 
destruction of a great number of their ships. Alberoni recalled 

* He was created Eavl Stanhope in the following year (1718), and was 
the ancestor of the present earl. 

t He was created Viscount Torrington in 1721, and was the ancestor of 
the present viscount. 



A. D. 1717-1720. SOUTH SEA BUBBLE. gQl 

his minister from London, and seized all British goods and vessels 
in Spanish ports ; but no declaration of war was made till toward 
the end of the year, and then by the French and British cabinets. 

§ 8- In March, 1719, the Pretender repaired to Spain at the 
invitation of Alberoni, and was received at Madrid with royal 
honors ; but toward the end of the year Alberoni was dismissed, 
and Philip announced his accession to the Quadruple Alliance in 
January, 1720, renewing his renunciation of the French croTSTi, 
and engaging to evacuate Sicily and Sardinia within six months. 
After the death of Charles XII. the new Queen of Sweden yielded 
Bremen and Yerden to George I. 

The Stanhope administration had been eminently successful. 
Peace had been secured abroad, and the danger of domestic con- 
spiracy and rebellion lessened by the banishment of the Pretender 
from France. Early in 1720 the ministry was strengthened by 
the accession of Townshend and Walpole, who were induced to ac- 
cept subordinate places — the former as president of the council, 
the latter as paymaster of the forces. Walpole had lately dis- 
played distinguished ability in opposing and procuring the rejec- 
tion of tho Peerage Bill, intended to limit the royal prerogative 
in the creation of peers by providing that their present number 
should not be increased beyond six, except in favor of the blood 
royal. Walpole succeeded in healing the breach between the king 
and the Prince of Wales, which had proceeded to such an extent 
that, during the king's visit to Hanover in the preceding year, the 
prince had not even been mentioned in the regency, the govern- 
ment being vested in lords justices. Walpole now induced the 
prince to write a submissive letter to his father, and a reconciha- 
tion was effected. 

§ 9. In 1711 Harley had established the South Sea Company 
as a means of relieving the public burdens. The debt was thrown 
into a stock to pay six per cent, interest at the end of five years, 
and the proprietors were to have the monopoly of a trade to the 
coast of Peru. Little, however, was obtained from Spain except 
the Asiento treaty, or contract for supplying negroes, the privilege 
of annually sending one ship of less than 500 tons to the South 
Sea, and of establishing some factories ; and even these trifling 
privileges were interrupted by the Spanish war. Nevertheless, 
the company flourished from other sources, and was regarded as a 
sort of rival of the Bank of England. The government being de- 
sirous, toward the end of 1719, of getting rid of the unredeemable 
annuities granted durins; the last two reims, and amountino; to 
£800,000 per annum, these two corporations competed for the 
purchase, and at last the South Sea Company offered the enormous 
sum of 7^ millions. They had the right of paying off the annuitants, 

Co 



602 GEORGE I. Chap. XXIX. 

who accepted South Sea stock in lieu of their government stock ; 
and two thirds of them consented to the offer of 8i years' purchase. 
The example of Law's Mississippi scheme in Paris had created 
quite a rage of speculation. Large subscriptions, opened by the 
South Sea Company, rapidly filled ; its trade was regarded as a 
certain road to wealth ; and in August the stock rose to 1000 ! 
A third and fourth subscriptions, larger than the former, were 
now opened, the directors engaging that after Christmas their 
dividend should not be less than 50 per cent. At the same time 
a variety of other bubbles were started, and the whole nation 
seemed to be seized with a sort of madness. Men of all ranks, 
ages, and professions — nay, women also, flocked to 'Change Alley ; 
and the very streets were lined with desks and clerks, and con- 
verted into counting-houses. Among these bubbles were a fishery 
of wrecks on the Irish coast, a scheme to make salt water fresh, 
to make oil from sunflowers, to extract silver from lead, to make 
iron from pit-coal, and many others of a like description. One 
ingenious projector published " an undertaking which shall in due 
time be revealed," in shares of £100, with a deposit of two guineas, 
and in the evening decamped with the amount of 1000 subscrip- 
tions ! The South Sea Company itself, by proceeding against some 
of these bubble companies, gave the first alarm. The delusion was 
exposed ; but the public mind, being once aroused, turned its at- 
tention to the company's own affairs ; holders of their stock be- 
came desirous to realize, and by the end of September it had fallen 
from 1000 to 300. The news of the crash produced in Paris by 
the failure of Law's scheme completed the panic. Thousands of 
families were at once reduced to beggary; and on every side might 
be heard execrations, not only against the company, but also against 
the ministry, and even the royal family. The matter was taken 
up in both houses, and may be said to have produced the death of 
Stanhope. The young Duke of Wharton* having attacked him 
with great virulence. Stanhope replied with such heat as to occa- 
sion an apoplexy, of which he expired the following day (Feb. 5, 
1721). 

§ 10. Lord Townshend now became secretary of state, and Ais- 
labie resigned the chancellorship of the exchequer to Walpole. 
A committee of the Commons, appointed to inquire into the af- 
fairs of the South Sea Company, brought to light a scene of in- 
famous corruption. In order to procure the passing of their bill, 
the directors had distributed large bribes to the Duchess of Ken- 

* His father, the Earl of Wharton, a distinguished "Whig, mentioned in 
the reign of Queen Anne, was created a marquis in 1715, and died in the 
same year. His son was created a duke in 1718, and died in 1731, when 
the title became extinct. 



A.D. 1720-1724. DEATH OF MARLBOROUGH. 503 

dal, Madame de Platen (sister of the Countess of Darlington), and 
to several of the ministers, as Secretary Craggs, Mr. Aislabie, and 
others. The estates of the directors were confiscated, and applied 
to the benefit of the sufferers by the speculation. 

The death of Stanhope, Craggs, and Sunderland at this period, 
and the expulsion of Aislabie, placed the chief power of the ad- 
ministration in the hands of Walpole, who continued to wield it 
for a period of 20 years. The Duke of Marlborough, who had 
long labored under a paralytic attack, expired on June 16, 1722. 
He was one of the greatest generals England ever produced ; but, 
though he possessed a solid understanding, a certain degree of 
natural elocution, and a pleasing address, he was so illiterate that 
he could not write or even spell his native language correctly. 
Avarice was the great blemish of his character, which frequently 
betrayed him into meanness. 

This year a Jacobite plot was discovered, in which Atterbury, 
Bishop of Rochester, and three or four peers, were concerned. It 
was to be assisted by an invasion from Spain. On September 22 
the Pretender published at Lucca a strange manifesto, to the ef- 
fect that, if George would restore him to the throne, he, in return, 
would make George King of Hanover ! It was circulated in En- 
gland, and ordered by both houses to be burnt by the hangman, 
A bill of pains and penalties was brought into the Lords against 
Atterbury, who was found guilty and sentenced to banishment. 
At Calais he met Lord Bolingbroke, who had obtained a j)ardon 
and was returning to England. 

§ 11. In 1724 a serious tumult was excited in Ireland by the 
coinage called Wood's halfpence. A want of copper coin had long 
been felt in that country, to remedy which a patent was granted 
to William Wood, a considerable iron-master, for coining half- 
pence and farthings to the value of £108,000. Wood, according 
to the testimony of Sir Isaac Newton, then Master of the Mint, 
appears faithfully to have executed his contract ; but the Irish 
privy council and Parliament set their faces against the new coin- 
age ; a popular clamor was raised ; and Swift, who had been liv- 
ing quietly the last ten years, seized the opportunity to exert his 
unrivaled powers of sarcasm. It was on this occasion that he 
wrote the Drapier's Letters, which, though pandering to the er- 
roneous views of the Irish public, display astonishing art and 
vigor. In the midst of this storm, Lord Carteret, afterward Lord 
Granville, the new lord lieutenant, landed in Ireland, He issued 
a proclamation against the Drapier's Letters ; offered a reward of 
£300 for the discovery of the author ; and caused Harding, the 
printer of them, to be apprehended. But the grand jury threw 
out the bill against him ; and a second jury, so far from entertain- 



^04 GEORGE I. Chap. XXIX. 

ing the charge, made a presentment, drawn up by Swift himself, 
against all persons who should, by fraud or otherwise, impose 
Wood's halfpence upon the public. Under these circumstances, 
the ministry had no alternative but to withdraw Wood's patent, 
granting him a pension of £3000 as compensation. 

About the same time the imposition of a new malt-tax in Scot- 
land occasioned serious riots in Edinburgh and Glasgow. It had 
been carried through the corruption of the Scotch members, to 
whom Walpole allowed 10 guineas a week during their stay in 
London, telling them that they must make good the cost out of the 
Scotch revenue, or else " tie up their stockings with their own 
garters." It was an age of corruption. Lord Chancellor Mac- 
clesfield was this session found guilty of peculation in his high 
office, and fined £30,000. 

In June, 1725, the king revived the order of the Bath, which 
had lain in abeyance ever since the coronation of Charles II. 
Walpole and his son were made knights ; and in the following 
year Sir Robert was invested with the garter, being the only com- 
moner, except Admiral Montague, who in modern times has at- 
tained that honor. 

§ 12. Such are the vicissitudes of political friendships that the 
emperor and the King of Spain had now laid aside their quarrels, 
and by the treaty of Vienna formed a close confederacy against 
France and England. To obviate this confederacy, the English 
court concluded at Hanover a defensive alliance with France and 
Prussia (Sept. 3, 1725). No actual hostilities, however, occurred 
till 1727, when the Spaniards made an unsuccessful attack upon 
Gibraltar. A general war seemed now inevitable ; but the Dutch 
and Swedes had acceded to the treaty of Hanover; Russia had 
receded from her engagements with the emperor ; and the latter, 
who felt his weakness, determined to abandon Spain, and on May 
31, the preliminaries of a peace were signed at Paris. Spain and 
England remained in a state of semi-hostility. 

George I. had, as usual, set out for Hanover this summer, ac- 
companied by Lord Townshend and the Duchess of Kendal. On 
the road he was seized with an apoplexy ; and being carried to- 
ward the residence of his brother, the prince bishop, at Osna- 
briick, expired in his coach before he arrived. His consort, So- 
phia Dorothea of Zell, had died a few months before, after a 
confinement of 32 years in the Castle of Ahlen for a suspected 
adultery with Count Konigsmark, a Swede. It is said that in 
her last illness she intrusted to a faithful attendant a letter ad- 
dressed to the king, in which, after protesting her innocence, and 
complaining of his ill usage, she summoned him to meet her within 
a year and a day before the tribunal of God, to answer for his 
conduct. This letter was put into the king's coach as he entered 



AD. 1724-1727. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



605 



Germany, and so alarmed him that he fell into the convulsion of 
which he died. 



CHRONOLOGY OE EE:\LiRKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1T14. 
1715. 



lTl-6. 
1717. 
1713. 



Accession of George L 

To^msliend prime minister. 

Death of Louis XIY. 

Mar's rebellion. The Pretender in 

Scotlani 
The Septennial Act. 
Stanhope prime minister. 
Quadruple alliance bet-sreen England, 

France, HoUand, and the emperor. 



A.T). 

1718. The Spanish fleet defeated at Cape 

Passaro by Byng. 
" "War with Spain. 

1719. Peace ^th Spain. 
17-20. The South Sea bubble. 

1721. Death of Stanhope. "Walpole prime 

minister. 
1724. Wood's coinage in Ii'eland. Sivift's 

Drapier's Letters. 
1727. Death of the Kinsr. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



THE CONVOCATION OF THE EN- 
GLISH CHUECH. 

The Convocation vii-tually ceased to exist 
Tinder George I. ; and the follo-sving account 
of its history, abridged from HaUam, will be 
useful to students. The conyocation of the 
province of Canterbury (for that of York 
seems never to have been important) is sum- 
moned by the archbishop's writ, under the 
king's direction, along with every Parlia- 
ment, to which it bears analogy both in its 
constituent parts and in its primary func- 
tions. It coiLsists (since the Pieformation) 
of the snflfragan bishops, forming the upper 
house; of the deans, archdeacons, a proctor 
or proxy for each chapter, and two from each 
diocese, elected by the parochial clergy, who 
together constitute the lower house. In this 
assembly siibsidies were granted, and eccle- 
siastical canons enacted. In a few instances 
under Henry VTEL and Elizabeth they were 
consulted as to momentous questions affect- 
ing the national religion ; the supremacy of 
the former was approved in 1533, the Arti- 
cles of Faith were confirmed in 1562, by the 
convocation. But their power to enact fresh 
canons without the king's license was ex- 
pressly taken away by a statute of Henry 
Vni. ; and, even subject to this condition, 
is limited by several later acts of Parliament 
(such as the acts of uniformity under Eliza- 
beth and Charles H. : that confirming, and 
therefore rendering unalterable, the Thirty- 
nine Articles; those relating to non-resi- 
dence and other Cliurch matters), and still 
more, perhaps, by the doctrine gradually 
established in Westminster Hall, that new 
ecclesiastical canons are not binding on the 
laity, 30 greatly that it will ever be impossi- 
ble to exercise it in any effectual manner. 
The convocation accordingly, with the ex- 
ception of 160.3, when they established some 
regulations, and of 1610 (an unfortunate pre- 
cedent), when they attempted some more, 
had little business but to grant subsidies, 
which, however, were from the time of Hen- 
ry VlLL always confirmed by an act of Par- 
liament; an intimation, no doubt, that the 
Legislature did not wholly acquiesce in their 
power even of binding the clergy in a mat- 



ter of property. This practice of ecclesias- 
tical taxation was silently discontinued in 
1664, and fi-om this time the clergy have 
been taxed at the same rate and in the same 
manner with the laity. [See p. 4S5.] It was 
the natural consequence of this cessation of 
all business that the convocation, after a few 
formalities, either adjourned itself or was 
prorogued by a royal writ ; nor had it ever, 
with the few exceptions above noticed, sat 
for more than a few days, tUl its supply could 
be voted. But about the time of the Revo- 
lution of 16SS the party most adverse to the 
new order sedulously propagated a doctrine 
that the convocation ought to be advised 
with upon all questions affecting the Church, 
and ought even to watch over its interests 
as the Parliament did over those of the king- 
dom. The Commons had so far encouraged 
this faction as to refer to the convocation the 
greAt question of a reform in the Liturgy for 
the sake of comprehension; but it was not 
suffered to sit much during the rest of Wil- 
liam's reign. The succeeding reign, how- 
ever, began under Tory auspices, and the 
convocation was in more activity for some 
years than at any former period. The lower 
house of that assembly distinguished itself 
by the most factious spirit, and especially by 
insolence toward the bishops, who passed in 
general for ViTiigs, and whom, while pre- 
tending to assert the divine rights of episco- 
pacy, they labored to deprive of that pre-em- 
inence in the Anglican synod which the ec- 
clesiastical constitution of the kingdom had 
bestowed on them. 

The government of George I. at first per- 
mitted the convocation to hold its sittings ; 
but, in consequence of the attack which they 
made on Hoadly, Bishop of Bangor, a warm 
supporter of the principles of religious liber- 
ty, and wMch gave rise to the celebrated 
Bangorian controversy, the convwation was 
prorogued by government in 1717, and never , 
sat again for business till the reign of Queen 
Victoria, when the High-Church party pre- 
vailed upon government to allow convocation 
to assemble for a few days at the beginning 
of each session. — Hallam, Comtiiutioiial 
History^ iii, 324, scq. 




Medal of George II. 
Obv. : GEOF.GIVS . II . D : G : mag. bri : fea : et . h : kes . F. p. Bust to right. 

Below, L. NATTEK. F. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

GEORGE II. A.D. 1727-1760. 

§ 1. Accession of George II. His Character. Ministry. § 2. Treaty of 
Seville. The royal Family. Rupture with Spain. § 3. Rise of Pitt. 
Decline of Walpole's Power. § 4. Attack on Porto Bello and St. Jago. 
Anson's Voyage. § 5. Resignation of Walpole. New Ministry. Inquiry 
into Walpole's Administration. § 6. War of the Austrian Succession. 
Campaigns of 1742 and 1743. Battle "of Dettingen. § 7. Pelham's 
Ministry. Threatened Invasion of the Pretender. The French Fleet 
dispersed. § 8. Ministerial Arrangements. War with France. Battle 
of Fontenoy. § 9. The Pretender Charles Edward in Scotland. His 
Character. The Raising of the Standard and March to Edinburgh. § 10. 
Battle of Preston Pans. March to Derby. § 11. Retreat of the Pre- 
tender. Battles of Falkirk Muir and Culloden. Flight of Prince Charles 
and others. Executions. § 12. Change of Ministry. Treaty of Aix-la- 
Chapelle. § 13. Accoimt of the Pretender. Halifax settled. Death of 
Frederick, Prince of Wales. § 14. Newcastle's Ministry. Hostilities 
between France and England. The French take Minorca. § 15. Trial 
and Execution of Admiral Byng. Pitt Prime Minister. § 16. Expedi- 
tion to Rochefort. Seven Years' War. Convention of Kloster Seven. 
§ 17. Campaign of 1758. Conquest of Cape Breton. Cherbourg de- 
stroyed. § 18. Campaign of 1759. Naval Victories. Battle of Minden. 
Conquest of Canada. Death of General Wolfe. Death of George II. 

§ 1 . GrEORGE II. was 44 years of age at the time of his acces- 
sion. In temper he was not so shy and reserved as his father, 
and he was subject to violent gusts of anger ; but his ruling pas- 
sion was avarice. His mind was narrow and little cultivated; 
he had no taste for literature ; in short, he had scarcely a royal 



A.D. 1727. 



CHARACTER OF GEORGE II. 



607 




Eev. : OPTIMO pelncipi. Tetrastyle temple. Below, cioioccxxxxr. 

quality, except that he loved justice and was personally courageous. 
His habits of life were temperate and regular, but exceedingly dull 
and monotonous. His speaking English with fluency gave him 
an advantage over his father, who had been obliged to converse 
with Walpole in Latin, which the latter had almost forgotten, and 
which the king had never perfectly leamt. In 1705 George II. 
had married the Princess Caroline of Anspach, who at that time 
possessed considerable beauty. Her manners were graceful and 
dignified, and her conduct marked with propriety and good sense. 
Her influence over her husband was unbounded, and during ten 
years she may be said to have ruled England. The issue of this 
marriage were two sons (Frederick, Prince of Wales, born in 
1707; William, Duke of Cumberland, born in 1721) and four 
daughters. 

When the news of his father's death reached the palace at Rich- 
mond, George II. had retired to bed for his customary afternoon's 
doze. Sir Robert Walpole knelt down, kissed his hand, presented 
Townshend's letter announcing his father's death, and, in the full 
expectation that he should be retained in his office, inquired who 
should draw the necessary declaration to the privy council. To 
his surprise and mortification, the king selected Sir Spencer Comp- 
ton, one of his favorites when Prince of Wales ; but Compton was 
so ignorant that he could do nothing without Walpole's advice 
and assistance. Queen Caroline was in favor of Walpole, who in 
a few days triumphed over the king's prejudices, and the old min- 
isters were reappointed. 

§ 2. The first ten or twelve years of George II.'s reign are mark- 
ed by few events of importance. Walpole was employed in main- 



608 GEORGE II. Chap. XXX. 

tainirig his power by his skillful Parliamentary tactics, and the na- 
tion was peaceable and prosperous. In the spring of 1728 the 
King of Spain notified his desire for peace ; but the negotiations 
were long protracted, and the treaty of Seville was not finally 
concluded till November 9, 1729. By this a defensive alliance 
was established between England, Spain, and France, to which 
Holland subsequently acceded. The English trade to America 
was placed on its former footing ; all captures were restored, and 
the Asiento confirmed to the South Sea Company. Gibraltar was 
tacitly relinquished by Spain, and the strong lines of St. Eoque 
across the isthmus were now constructed. A few months after 
this treaty Lord Townshend resigned, after an open rupture with 
WaljDole. The two secretaries of state were now Lord Harring- 
ton and the Duke of Newcastle. 

When, by a residence of some years, Frederick, Prince of Wales, 
had become acquainted with the English language and manners, 
he began to cabal against his parents, as George H. had caballed 
against George I. Though stubborn, he was weak and vain, and 
easily led by flatterers. He affected to patronize literature, prob- 
ably because his father despised and neglected it; and his resi- 
dence was frequented by all the men of wit and genius, especially 
by Bolingbroke, whose '' Patriot King" was composed in anticipa- 
tion of his future reign, and as a sort of satire on that of his father. 
In 1737 the difference between Frederick and his parents came 
to an open rupture. The prince was ordered to leave St. James's, 
and took up his residence at Norfolk House, St. James's Square ; 
and persons who visited there were forbidden to appear at court. 
Frederick had now married (1736) the Princess Augusta of Saxe 
Gotha. The separation of the royal family was followed in a few 
weeks by the death of Queen Caroline (Nov. 20). On his next 
trip to Hanover George II. brought over with him, as his mistress, 
Sophia de Walmoden, who was created Countess of Yarmouth. 
This is the last instance in England of a royal mistress being 
raised to the peerage ; but the quiet and retiring character of the 
countess stripped it of much of its offensiveness. 

Events were now rapidly tending to a war with Spain. The 
Spaniards complained of infringements of the treaty of commerce ; 
the English cried out against the abuse of the right of search, and 
the hardships endured in loathsome Spanish dungeons ; and there 
was likewise a question between the two countries respecting the 
boundaries of Georgia, a new settlement in America named in hon- 
or of the king. The tale which most excited the public was that 
which Burke afterward characterized as the fable of Jenkins's ears. 
Jenkins was the master of a small trading sloop in Jamaica, which 
seven years before had been overhauled by a Spanish guardacosta, 



A.D. 1727-1739. RUPTURE WITH SPAIN. qqq 

the commander of which, finding nothing contraband, tore off one 
of Jenkins's ears, bidding him cany it to King George, and tell 
him that, had he caught him, he would have served him in the 
same manner. This ear (which, however, some afhrmed he had 
lost in the pillory) Jenkins carried about with him, wrapped up 
in cotton. He was now produced at the bar of the House of 
Commons, in order to excite the public indignation ; and on being 
asked by a member what were his feelings at the moment of the 
outrage, Jenkins answered, " I recommended my soul to God, and 
my cause to my country." These words ran through the nation 
like a watchword. Though averse to war, Walpole felt that 
something must be done to appease the public feeling. A fleet 
of 10 sail of the line was dispatched to the Mediterranean ; letters 
of marque and reprisal were issued ; troops and stores were sent 
to Georgia; and the British merchants in Spain, in case of a rup- 
ture, were recommended to register their goods before notaries. 
These vigorous measures extorted from the Spaniards (Jan. 14, 
1739) a convention, the terms of which appear to have been tol- 
erably favorable, and which the king announced, in his opening 
speech to the Parliament, " with great satisfaction." But the na- 
tion was not satisfied. The compensation agreed to be paid by 
Spain was deemed inadequate ; above all, the obnoxious right of 
search was still retained, and Walpole carried the address on the 
king's speech only by a small majority. 

§ 3. Among the ranks of the opposition, William Pitt, afterward 
Lord Chatham, was now rising into eminence. He was the 
grandson of Thomas Pitt, Governor of Madras, and was born 
in 1708. William was educated at Eton and Trinity College, 
Cambridge ; but an hereditary gout compelled him to leave the 
university without taking a degree. He was, nevertheless, an ex- 
cellent scholar, and his education was completed by a tour on the 
Continent. Having obtained a cornetcy in the Blues, he entered 
Parliament, as member for Old Sarum, in 1735, and joined the 
opposition against Walpole. His figure was tall and striking, his 
features noble, his nose aquiline, his eye fiery and expressive, his 
voice at once harmonious and powerful. His style of ^oratory 
was grand and imposing, yet deficient in simplicity and ease, so 
that his impromptu speeches were frequently the best. His con- 
duct was disinterested, his views lofty and patriotic ; but his tem- 
per^, owing perhaps to his bad health, was sometimes causelessly- 
bitter, wayward, and impracticable. His patrimony was but £100 
a year ; his cornetcy he lost through some ardent speeches against 
the minister. He was then taken into the service of the Prince 
of Wales, and continued to inveigh against Walpole. 

Not only Pitt, but also nearly all the men of the greatest abil- 

Cc2 



610 GEORGE II. Chap. XXX. 

itj, were on the side of tlie opposition. Walpole's best supporters 
were in the House of Peers — the Duke of Newcastle, a ready de- 
bater, and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke ; but even these were not 
cordial with him on the Spanish question. King George himself 
was for vigorous measures against Spain ; and Walpole found it 
necessary to choose between a war which he disapproved, and re- 
tirement from office. He determined on the former. The Span- 
iards having evaded the peremptory demands made upon them, 
war was declared on October 19, 1739, and was received with 
great public rejoicings. 

§ 4. A squadron had already been dispatched to the West Indies 
under Admiral Vernon, and on the 20th of November he appeared 
off Porto Bello, in the Isthmus of Darien. The Spaniards were 
unprepared, and the place was captured without much resistance; 
but little treasure was found. In the following year Vernon was 
re-enforced by a large armament commanded by Sir Chaloner 
Ogle, with a military force under Lord Cathcart. When the arm- 
ament assembled at Jamaica, it was found to consist of 115 ships, 
30 of which were of the line, carrying 15,000 sailors and 12,000 
troops. Vernon resolved to attack Carthagena, the strongest Span- 
ish settlement in America, having a garrison of 4000 men with 
300 guns. It was not till March 4, 1741, that the British fleet 
appeared before it. The harbor was entered after considerable 
resistance, and Vernon dispatched a ship to England to announce 
his approaching victory. The troops were landed and a night as- 
■sault planned, which, though conducted with determined bravery, 
was repulsed with great loss. It is said that Vernon, out of jeal- 
ousy, did not cordially co-operate with Wentworth, who had suc- 
ceeded to the command of the troops on the death of Lord Cath- 
cart. Shortly after a fatal sickness broke out among the soldiers, 
and in a few days their effective force was reduced to one half. 
Under these circumstances it was resolved to return to Jamaica, 
all the damage done to the Spaniards being the destruction of their 
forts. Vernon afterward proceeded to St. Jago in Cuba, but on 
reconnoitring thought it prudent to withdraw. 

Another squadron, under Commodore Anson, had been dis- 
patched in September, 1740, to sail round Cape Horn and attack 
Peru. The sufferings and adventures of Anson and his crews on 
this expedition, which lasted nearly four years, and in which he 
circumnavigated the globe, having returned by the Cape of Good 
Hope, and arrived at Spithead in the Centurion, his only remain- 
ing ship, in June, 1744, have been detailed in a separate and well- 
known narrative, and are too long to be here recorded. As far as 
the war is concerned, the expedition resulted only in the capture, 
plunder, and destruction of the town of Paita, and in the taking 



A. D. 1739-1742. WAR WITH SPAIN. 611 

of several prizes, of which the most important was one of the 
great Manilla galleons, having on board silver coin and ingots 
worth a million and a half. 

§ 5. The elections of 1741 went against Walpole, and it soon 
appeared that he would be in a minority in the House. He was 
defeated in the election of a chairman of committees, and again 
on the question of the Westminster election, where it was alleged 
that the government candidates had been brought in through the 
interference of the military. Another defeat on the Chippenham 
election petition determined him reluctantly to resign (1742). The 
king parted with him with all the marks of the greatest regret, 
and created him Earl of Orford. The country had prospered and 
grown rich under his long and peaceful administration. He never 
afterward took much part in politics, and died in 1745. 

The king now sent for Pulteney, one of the most distinguished 
statesmen of that time, and, though not possessing the brilliant 
abilities of Pitt, yet older and more experienced. Pulteney would 
accept no place himself, but only a seat in the cabinet, and a peer- 
aofe with the title of Earl of Bath. He consented that the king's 
old favorite, Sir Spencer Compton, now Lord Wilmington, should 
be at the head of the treasury ; and he named Mr. Sandys chan- 
cellor of the exchequer. Lord Carteret secretary of state, and the 
Marquis of Tweeddale as secretary for Scotland. Lord Hard- 
wicke, the chancellor, and several other ministers, retained their 
posts. Carteret was in reality the prime minister. Walpole had 
endeavored to procure a promise from Pulteney that no proceed- 
ings should be instituted against him ; but Pulteney refused, and, 
before he proceeded to the House of Peers, supported a motion of 
Lord Limerick's in March, 1742, for an inquiry into the last ten 
years of Walpole' s administration. The motion was carried by a 
small majority, and a secret committee of 21 persons was named. 
Yet, though all but two were opponents of Walpole, and some of 
them inflamed by personal animosity, their discoveries did not 
seem sufficiently important to form the foundation of a charge. 
There can, however, be no doubt that Walpole was accustomed 
to distribute laro;e sums among the Commons from the secret 
service money ; but this practice was usual at that period, and 
does not appear to have ceased till toward the close of the Amer- 
ican war. 

§ 6. Meanwhile England had taken part in the war of the Aus- 
trian succession. The Emperor Charles VI. had died October 
20th, 1740. The succession of his daughter Maria Theresa to his 
Austrian dominions was guaranteed by the Pragmatic Sanction, 
to which England was a party, but it was also claimed by the 
Elector of Bavaria, whose. pretensions were supported by France, 



612 GEORGE IL Chap. XXX. 

and consequently by the Bourbon king of Spain. Frederick II. 
of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great, resolved to profit by 
the conjuncture, and, entering Silesia at the head of 30,000 men, 
defeated the Austrian s at Molwitz (1741). A French army pour- 
ed into Bavaria ; and having inaugurated the elector as Duke of 
Austria, he marched against Vienna, while Maria Theresa took 
refuge among the Hungarians, who acknowledged her as their 
queen. The English Parliament was zealous in the cause of Ma- 
ria Theresa, and voted her a subsidy of £500,000, and a sum of 
five millions for carrying on the war (1742). A body of 16,000 
men, under the veteran Earl of Stair, was dispatched to co-operate 
with the Dutch, and was re-enforced by 6000 Hessians, and sub- 
sequently by 16,000 Hanoverians, in British pay. It excited gre*at 
indignation that Hanover, though more interested in the war than 
England, had contributed nothing to its expenses, and Pitt de- 
clared that this great kingdom had become a mere province of 
that despicable electorate. The king, however, afterward furnish- 
ed 6000 Hanoverians, paid by his electoral dominions. But, ow- 
ing to the sluggishness of the Dutch, nothing was done this year ; 
and Maria Theresa was obliged to propitiate the King of Prussia 
by ceding Silesia. 

In the following year (1743), the British army under Lord 
Stair, which, after being joined by the Hanoverians and Hessians, 
amounted to nearly 40,000 men, advanced into Germany, and 
took up a position at Hochst, between Mentz and Frankfort. 
Stair, who had never been a great general, was now falling into 
dotage. Having ascended the right bank of the Main, with the 
view of communicating with the Austrians, Marshal Noailles, by 
seizing the principal fords on the Upper and Lower Main, not 
only cut him off from his anticipated supplies in Franconia, but 
also from his own magazines at Hanau. George II. had, as usual, 
gone to Hanover in the spring, attended by his son, the Duke of 
Cumberland, and by Lord Carteret. Thence he proceeded to the 
army, which he joined on the 19th of June, and found it in the 
most critical position, cooped up in a narrow valley between 
Mount Spessart and the Main, extending from AschafFenburg, on 
that river, to the village of Dettingen. Forage was beginning 
utterly to fail, and it was resolved to march back to Hanau, where 
the magazines and re-enforcements were — a most dangerous oper- 
ation in the face of a superior enemy. On June 27th the army 
began its march from Aschaffenburg in two columns, the king 
bringing up the rear, which, from the supposed movements of the 
enemy, was esteemed the post of danger. But meanwhile the 
French had occupied in force a strong position at Dettingen, cov- 
ered by a morass and ravine, which was not discovered till the 



A. D. 1742, 1743. BATTLE OF DETTINGEN. ^13 

advanced guard of the British was repulsed at that place. As- 
chaffenburg had been occupied bj 1 2,000 French immediately it 
was evacuated ; and as the French batteries on the other side of 
the Main began to play on the flank of the British, it became nee- « 
essary to force a way through Dettingen at whatever risk. For- 
tunately Noailles had intrusted the force at that place to his 
nephew the Duke de Grammont, who, burning to distinguish him- 
self, and thinking that he had before him only part of the allied 
army, quitted his vantage ground and crossed the ravine to give 
battle — a movement which also compelled the French batteries to 
suspend their fire, for fear of damaging their own friends. The 
king, who, as well as the Duke of Cumberland, displayed the high- 
est courage, now put himself at the head of a dense mass of Brit- 
ish and Hanoverian infantry, and, charging the enemy, soon put 
them completely to the rout. The French lost about 6000 men, 
the British only half that number ; the latter then resumed their 
march, and arrived safely at Hanau. This was the last battle in 
which a king of England took a personal share. In consequence 
of this victory, and of the advance of Prince Charles of Lorraine, 
the French were obliged to evacuate Germany. 

§ 7. Lord Wilmington having died in July of this year, the king 
named Henry Pelham, brother of the Duke of Newcastle, first lord 
of the treasury. Since the time of Walpole, who had for so long 
a period exercised that office with absolute power, the head of the 
treasury began to be regarded as prime minister. Previously the 
chief authority had been enjoyed by one of the secretaries of state. 
Pelham's abilities were only moderate, yet far superior to his 
brother's. 

The king lost all the popularity which his victory was calcu- 
lated to procure by the partiality which he displayed for the Han- 
overians. Lord Stair resigned, and the Duke of Marlborough and 
many other English officers threw up their commissions. Even in 
loyal companies the toast of " No Hanoverian king" was not unfre- 
quent, and the very name of Hanoverian became a reproach. Yet 
it was necessary to keep a large force on foot. The French were 
determined to act no longer as mere auxiliaries, but to declare war 
both against England and Austria, and to take the field with a 
large army. Cardinal Tencin, who had succeeded to the power 
of the pacific Fleury, was a warm friend of the house of Stuart, 
to whom he owed many obligations ; and the discontents in En- 
gland inspired the hope of effecting a successful Jacobite invasion. 
Prince Charles Edward, grandson of James H., was to be the 
liero of this enterprise, for age had deprived his father James even 
of the little spirit that he ever possessed. The latter signed at 
Rome a proclamation to be published on landing, and a commis- 
sion declaring his son Charles resent in his absence. 



614 GEORGE II. Chap. XXX. 

Prince Charles set out from Rome January 9, 1744, and pro- 
ceeded to Gravelines, living in a private manner under the assumed 
name of the Chevalier Douglas. At Dunkirk 15,000 French vet- 
erans had been collected under the command of Marshal Saxe, as 
Charles's lieutenant ; transports had been prepared for them, and 
18 sail of the line appointed for their convoy. They put to sea 
in February, and neared the English fleet under Admiral Norris, 
off Dungeness. As it was growing dark, Norris put off an en- 
gagement till the following day. But then a dreadful storm arose, 
which committed frightful havoc on the French fleet. Some of 
the largest transports foundered with all on board ; others were 
wrecked on the coast of Flanders ; the remainder of the armament 
reached Dunkirk in a crippled state. In consequence of this mis- 
fortune the French ministry relinquished the expedition, and 
Prince Charles returned to Paris. 

§ 8. There was still a British resident in that capital, w^ho loud- 
ly complained of the encouragement given to the Pretender. The 
French replied by a declaration of war, couched in the most offens- 
ive terms (March 20th), and in May Louis XV. entered Flanders 
in person, with 80,000 men commanded by Marshal Saxe. Fred- 
erick of Prussia, in open violation of his treaties with Maria The- 
resa, broke into Bohemia and Moravia ; but, before the winter, 
Maria Theresa, with the help of the Hungarians, drove the Prus- 
sians out of Bohemia. 

In November of this year, Carteret, now become Earl Gran- 
ville* by the death of his mother, resigned his post of secretary of 
state, and was succeeded by the Earl of Harrington. Lord Win- 
chelsea and other persons of inferior note also retired. Pelham 
opened negotiations with Pitt ; but he would accept no office ex- 
cept that of secretary at war, and the ministry were not yet pre- 
pared to part with Sir William Yonge. The king had a strong 
aversion both to Pitt and Chesterfield. The latter became Lord 
Lieutenant of Ireland, as the king would not allow him to be made 
a secretary of state. Pitt promised Pelham his support, whose 
administration now became a very strong one. It fell, however, 
into the same courtly or Hanoverian policy for which Granville 
had been denounced. In January, 1745, a quadruple alliance was 
formed by England, Holland, Austria, and Saxony; and the sub- 
sidy to the Queen of Hungary was increased to half a million, in 
which Pitt and Chesterfield acquiesced. About the same time 
the Emperor Charles VII. died at Munich, and thus one obstacle 
to a peace was removed. In the following September the hus- 

* This title became extinct in 1776. The present Earl Granville is the 
son of the youngest son of the Marquis of Stafford, who was created Earl 
Granville in 1833. 



A.D. 1743-1745. BATTLE OF FONTENOY. 615 

band of Maria Theresa was elected emperor with the title of 
Francis I. 

The most memorable event in the campaign of this year was 
the battle of Fontenoj, May 11th. The French army of 76,000 
men under Marshal Saxe occupied a strong position near that 
place ; the allied army numbered only about 50,000, of whom 
28,000 were English and Hanoverians. Nevertheless, the French 
lines Avould have been carried by the British and Hanoverians, 
under the Duke of Cumberland and Lord Ligonier, his military 
tutor, but for the shameful flight of the Dutch. The British re- 
treated in good order to Ath, and the French then took Tournay, 
Ghent, Bruges, Oudenarde, Dendermond, and Ostend. In Amer- 
ica the British arms were more successful, where Louisbourg, the 
capital of Cape Breton, was taken from the French (June 15 th) 
after 49 days' mege. 

§ 9. The defeat of the British at Fontenoy appeared to Prince 
Charles to afford a favorable opportunity for renewing his attempt 
at an invasion. His friends in Scotland told him indeed that they 
could do nothing for him unless he brought at least 6000 men 
and 10,000 stand of arms, and those it was impossible to obtain, 
for the French had abandoned their efforts in his cause. Yet 
Charles determined to persevere, without the knowledge and sanc- 
tion either of his father or of the French court. By pawning his 
jewels and borrowing from his friends he raised the sum of 4000 
louis d'or, with which he purchased arms and ammunition; and 
he even contrived, by means of some English merchants settled at 
Nantes, to procure the service of two French men-of-war. On 
board one of these, the Elizabeth of 67 guns, he shipped his arms, 
and he himself, disguised as a student of the Scotch college at 
Paris, embarked in the other, the Doutelle, a fast-sailing brig of 
18 guns (July 2, ,1745). Four days after leaving Belleisle they 
fell in with the Lion, a British man-of-war of 58 guns, when an 
engagement ensued, in which the Elizabeth was so crippled that 
she was obhged to put back. The Doutelle, which had taken no 
part in the action, pursued her voyage ; and, though chased by 
another man-of-war, Charles arrived safely in the Western Isles 
of Scotland, and landed at Moidart, in Inverness-shire. Several 
of the Highland chieftains remonstrated against his enterprise as 
impracticable and insane ; for his arms he had lost, and the only 
adherents who landed with him were his tutor Sir Thomas Sher- 
idan ; the Marquis of Tullibardine ; Sir John Macdonald, an offi- 
cer in the Spanish service ; Kelly, a nonjuring clergyman ; Francis 
Strickland, an English gentleman; -ZEneas Macdonald, a banker 
in Paris ; and Buchanan, who had been sent messenger to Rome 
by Cardinal Tencin. These were afterward called " the seven 
men of Moidart." 



QIQ GEORGE 11. Chap. XXX. 

Charles, or, as he was called, the Chevalier, relied for success 
on his captivating manners. In person he was tall, well formed, 
and active ; his face eminently handsome, his complexion fair ; his 
eyes blue ; his hair fell in natural ringlets on his neck. His ad- 
dress, at once dignified and affable, was calculated to win attach- 
ment, yet his misfortunes had rendered him somewhat jealous of 
his dignity. He possessed courage and a romantic sense of honor ; 
he was decisive and resolute, yet without much ability as a leader. 
His letters breathe both energy and affection, but they were ill- 
spelled, and written in the scrawling hand of a schoolboy ; for his 
education had been shamefully neglected. In politics and religion 
he retained all the bigoted notions of the Stuarts. He thus pos- 
sessed many of the qualities of a hero of romance ; attractions 
which, combined with a feeling of ancient loyalty, proved to many 
irresistible, especially as he had adopted the Highland dress, and 
learned a few words of Gaelic. Cameron of Lochiel was gained 
over to his cause, though he plainly saw all the difficulties of the 
attempt ; and other chieftains followed. 

Charles now began his march toward the desolate and seques- 
tered vale of Glenfinnan, about 15 miles from Fort William, which 
had been selected for the meeting of the clans and the raising of 
the royal standard. He arrived early in the morning, accompa- 
nied by some of the M'Donalds, but found the glen in its native 
solitude. At length Lochiel and the Camerons appeared, about 
600 in number. They were badly armed, but they brought with 
them a company or two of English soldiers, whom they had cap- 
tured on their road. This omen of success gave animation to the 
elevation of the standard, which was erected on a little knoll in 
the midst of the vale, the Highlanders shouting and tossing up 
their bonnets. Other parties subsequently arrived, and when 
Charles began his march on August 20th his little army amount- 
ed to about 1600 men. 

On the same day Sir John Cope, the commander-in-chief in 
Scotland, marched from Stirling with 1500 foot, which were more 
than half of his whole disposable force ; for the government was 
ill-prepared and wholly uninformed of the Pretender's move- 
ments. Cope directed his march toward Inverness, to join the 
well-affected clans, in the hope that the insurgents, with such a 
force in their rear, would not venture to proceed southward. But 
Charles descended into the lowlands, and at Blair Athol, where 
he remained two days, was joined by several gentlemen of note. 
Lord Lovat, to whom he had dispatched his patent as Duke of 
Fraser, with pressing solicitations to join him, sent his prayers. 
On September 3d Charles made his public entry into Perth amid 
loud acclamations. Here he was joined by Drummond, titular 



A.D. 1745. INVASION OF THE PRETENDER. 617 

Duke of Perth, and Lord George Murray. The town presented 
him with £500, a welcome gift, as his last louis d'or was spent. 
The march was now directed upon Edinburgh. At the dawn of 
day one of the gates was surprised by the Camerons ; and on Sep- 
tember 17th Charles took possession of Holyrood House, where a 
splendid ball was given in the evening. The heralds were com- 
pelled to proclaim King James VIII., and to read the royal declara- 
tion and commission of regency. But the castle was still held by 
King George's troops. 

§ 10. Charles remamed only a day at Edinburgh, and having 
obtained an accession of force, as well as a supply of 1000 muskets 
and other stores, he marched out to give Sir John Cope battle, 
who had landed his forces at Dunbar, and was advancing toward 
the capital. Charles had now about 2500 men, but only 50 horse, 
and a single iron gun, of no use except for signals. Cope had 
about 2200 men and six pieces of artillery. The two armies met 
near Preston Pans. The first day both remained inactive, being 
separated by a morass ; but a path having been discovered, Charles 
approached the enemy during the night, and early in the morning 
the Highlanders attacked, each clan separately, with terrific yells. 
In the space of a few minutes Cope's artillery was captured, his 
dragoons routed, and the line of his infantry broken. Of the lat- 
ter only about 170 escaped, the rest being either slain or made 
prisoners. The loss on the side of the insurgents Avas only about 
100 killed and wounded. Sir J. Cope and the horse fled in the 
greatest disorder, first to Edinburgh, then to Coldstream and Ber- 
wick. At the last place Lord Mark Kerr received him with the 
sarcastic remark that he believed he was the first general who had 
ever brought the news of his own defeat ! 

After this victory Charles was desirous of pushing on to Lon- 
don, in which he would probably have succeeded in the state of 
feeling that prevailed in England. The people were lukewarm in 
the Hanoverian cause. They did not, indeed, take part in the re- 
bellion, but they did not seem much disposed to repress it ; and 
Henry Fox, one of the ministers, observes in a letter of this period, 
that, if 5000 French had landed in any part of the island, the con- 
quest would not have cost them a battle. But the court of France 
lost the only favorable opportunity that ever occurred of restoring 
the Stuarts. They were not hearty in the cause ; and on the news 
of Charles's success they contented themselves with sending him 
some small supplies of arms and money. George II., who had re- 
turned in alarm from Hanover, sent a requisition to the Dutch for 
6000 auxiliaries. 

After the victory at Preston Pans many of the Highlanders had 
returned home with their booty ; and as Charles could now muster 



61g GEORGE II. Chap. XXX. 

ODly about 1500 men, he was advised to wait and recruit his army. 
He therefore returned to Holyrood House. He might now be con- 
sidered master of all Scotland, except some of the country beyond 
Inverness, the Highland forts, and the castles of Edinburgh and 
Stirling. James VIII. was proclaimed in most of the towns ; and 
in Glasgow, the least disposed to the Jacobite cause, an extraor- 
dinary levy of .£5000 was made. In a few weeks his army was 
raised to nearly 6000 men ; and some French ships brought him, 
besides money, 5000 stand of arms, six field-pieces, and several 
French and Irish officers. Lord Lovat still hesitated, and at last 
adopted the dastardly expedient of sending his son, with 700 or 
800 of the clan, at the same time protesting that it was done against 
his will and orders. 

Charles now determined to March into England, much against 
the will of most of his followers, who were of opinion that he 
should content himself with the conquest of Scotland ; but Charles 
wisely thought that he should not be able to hold the one with- 
out the other. The English government, however, "was now bet- 
ter prepared. The Commons had voted loyal addresses and lib- 
eral supplies ; the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended ; the mili- 
tia was raising; Marshal Wade had an army of nearly 10,000 
men at Newcastle, and another under the Duke of Cumberland 
was assembling in the midland counties. 

Charles began his march on November 1st. It was resolved to 
proceed through Cumberland, where the mountainous country is 
better suited to the Highland mode of fighting. Carlisle was en- 
tered on the 17th, after a slight show of resistance, the garrison 
being allowed to withdraw on delivering up their arms and horses. 
On the 20th the insurgents proceeded in two separate columns, 
which united at Preston ; and the next day they crossed the Eib- 
ble. In these difficult marches in bad weather the chevalier re- 
signed his carriage to the aged and infirm Lord Pitsligo, and 
marched on foot, in Highland dress, at the head of one of the clans. 
At Manchester he was received with enthusiasm ; and 200 En- 
glish volunteers who had joined were called the Manchester regi- 
ment. But his prospects were not encouraging. Marshal Wade 
was advancing against him through Yorkshire ; the Duke of Cum- 
berland lay at Lichfield with 8000 men ; a third army was form- 
ing at Finchley ; Admiral Vernon was cruising in the Channel to 
prevent any alarm from France ; and Admiral Byng was block- 
ading the east coast of Scotland. Many of Charles's officers were 
for retreating, but Lord G-. Murray persuaded them to advance as 
far as Derby, promising that, if they were not then joined by a 
considerable force, he would, as general, advise and enforce a re- 
treat. They reached that town in safety. The chevalier was in 



A. D. 1745, 1746. BATTLE OF CULLODEN. 619 

high spirits. He had evaded both the English armies, and noth- 
ing obstructed his march to the capital. London was in a perfect 
panic. There was a run upon the Bank of England ; all busi- 
ness was suspended and the shops shut. The day was long re- 
membered as Black Friday. Even the king himself is said to have 
ordered his yachts to the Tower stairs, and to have embarked 
some of his most precious effects. But the alarm was soon at an 
end. The day after their arrival Murray and the other generals 
insisted on a retreat, on the ground that there had been neither 
an Eno-lish risino; nor a French invasion ; and Charles, after ex- 
hausting arguments, threats, and entreaties, was forced to comply. 

§ 11. The Duke of Cumberland, having mounted 1000 of his 
infantry, came up with the retreating Scots at Penrith, and a skir- 
mish took place at night on Clifton Moor. The English were 
repulsed with considerable loss, and the retreat was not again mo- 
lested. The Scots passed the Esk on December 20th, the prince's 
birthday, and entered Glasgow on the 26th, having marched 600 
miles in 56 days, many of which were days of halt. 

The chevalier arrived at Stirling January 3d, 1746, and having 
received large re-enforcements, as well as some artillery from 
France, he resolved to besiege the castle. General Hawley, to 
whom the Duke of Cumberland had delegated the command, at- 
tempted to raise the siege, but was defeated with great loss at 
Falkirk Muir, and made a precipitate and disgraceful flight to 
Edinburgh. But the siege was badly conducted by a French 
engineer named Mirabelle ; his batteries were silenced ; and the 
chevalier's chief officers now insisted on going home for the re- 
mainder of the winter, promising to return in the spring with 
10,000 men. The heavy guns were spiked, and the retreat begun 
toward Inverness, February 1. The Duke of Cumberland, who 
had resumed the command, and who had been re-enforced with 
5000 Hessians, pursued the Scots, but could not overtake them. 

On April 8th, the duke, with 8000 foot and 900 horse, marched 
from Aberdeen to attack Inverness. Charles, though his troops 
had dwindled to 5000 men, resolved to surprise the duke at Nairn 
by a night march of 12 miles. Lord G. Murray led the first col- 
umn, Charles himself the second ; but the marshy nature of the 
ground delayed their progress so much that all hopes of a surprise 
were abandoned, and they took up a position on Culloden Moor. 
The Duke of Cumberland drew up his army with great skill in 
three lines, with cavalry on each flank, and two pieces of cannon 
between every two regiments of the first line. His artillery did 
great execution, while that of the Scots was ill directed. Murray 
therefore requested permission to attack, and made a furious charge 
with the right wing and centre. They broke the first line of the 



620 



GEORGE II. 



Chap. XXX. 



English ; but the second, three deep, the first rank kneeling, the 
second stooping, received them with a murderous fire, which threw 
them into disorder. The English then charged, and drove the 
clans before them in one confused mass. The left wing was not 
engaged. About 1000 of the Scots fell; of the English hardly a 
third of that number. This defeat put an end to all Charles's 
hopes. From the field he rode to the residence of Lord Lovat, 
their first and only meeting. Lovat hardly behaved with common 
civility, and they parted with mutual displeasure. Some attempt 
was made to rally the army at Ruthven ; but Charles sent a mes- 
sage thanking the leaders, and bidding them consult their own 
safety. They accordingly dispersed, and the rebellion was extin- 
guished. The Duke of Cumberland fixed his head-quarters near 
Fort Augustus, and seems to have permitted every sort of outrage 
and cruelty, in which he was well seconded by General Hawley. 
This brutality obtained for him the nickname of the Butcher. When 
in July he returned to London, he was hailed as the deliverer of 
his country ; a pension of £25,000 per annum was settled on him 
and his heirs, and he was presented with the freedom of numerous 
companies. 




Medal of the young Pretender. 

Obv. : CAKOLUS WALLi^ PRiNCEPS. Bust to right. Below, 1745. Rev. : amor et spes. 

Britannia standing on the sea-shore : two ships arriving. Below, biutannia. 

Lord Gr. Murray and several other leaders escaped abroad. The 
government succeeded in capturing the Earl of Kilmarnock, Lord 
Balmerino, Secretary Murray, and Lord Lovat. The last was dis- 
covered in a little island in a lake in Liverness-shire, wrapped up 
in a blanket, and concealed in a hollow tree. Charles wandered 
about the country till September, undergoing during these five 
months a variety of hardships and dangers ; yet, though his secret 
was intrusted to several hundreds of persons, he was not betrayed, 
notwithstanding a reward of £30,000 had been offered for his cap- 



A. D. 1746-1751. REFORMATION OF THE CALENDAR. ^21 

ture. Among all these acts of loyalty the heroic devotion of Flora 
Macdonald is conspicuous, and is too well known to need descrip- 
tion here. At last, on September 20th, Charles got safely on 
board a French vessel in Lochnanuagh, and on the 29th landed 
near Morlaix in France. 

A great number of prisoners were brought to trial for this re- 
bellion, of whom about one in twenty were executed, and the rest 
were transported. The ancient and barbarous ceremony of dis- 
emboweling and burning the heart and intestines was not omitted 
on this occasion, and was received with the shouts of the populace. 
The Earl of Kilmarnock and Lords Balmerino and Lovat were 
executed on Tower Hill. The last met his fate with a strano;e 
compound of levity and courage. 

§ 12. Lord Harrington having resigned the seals of secretary 
of state, October 29th, 1746, they were transferred to Philip Dor- 
mer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, the Lord Lieutenant of L^e- 
land, in which ofiice he was succeeded by Lord Harrington. Ches- 
terfield, who is commonly regarded as a fine gentleman, had also 
a large fund of wit and wisdom, and was one of the most accom- 
plished orators of his day. Being conversant with foreign lan- 
guages as well as history, he had distinguished himself as a diplo- 
matist, and had discharged with reputation two embassies to Hol- 
land. His government of Ireland had been wise and finn, and at 
the same time liberal. Chesterfield's defects were a want of gen- 
erosity, a proneness to dissimulation, a passion for gambling, and 
a laxness of religious principle. 

During the years 1746 and 1747 the French were successful in 
arms, but in the latter year the English gained two naval victo- 
ries, one by Anson near Cape Finisterre, the other by Admiral 
Hawke ofi*Belleisle. The French, as well as a large party in En- 
gland, were desirous of a peace ; but Maria. Theresa and the Prince 
of Orange were not satisfied with the results obtained, and their 
views were adopted by George II. and the Duke of Cumberland. 
Chesterfield was a warm advocate for peace ; and finding his coun- 
sels disregarded and himself treated with coldness by the king, he 
resigned the seals February 6th, 1748, and was succeeded by the 
Duke of Bedford. Chesterfield never afterward took office ; but 
he did not altogether withdraw from public life, and in 1751 he 
introduced a most useful measure, the reformation of the calendar. 
The Julian year, or Old Style, as it is called, had been corrected by 
Pope Gregory XIII. in 1582, and had been adopted by every coun- 
try on the Continent of Europe except Sweden and Russia. The 
error of the Old Style, which had now gi'own to 11 days, was uni- 
versally admitted. In preparing the bill for the refonnation of 
the calendar, Chesterfield was assisted by the Earl of Macclesfield 



622 GEORGE 11. Chap. XXX. 

and Mr. Bradley, two of the ablest mathematicians in Europe. 
By this bill the year was to commence on January 1st instead of 
March 25th, and eleven days in September, 1752, were to be nom- 
inally suppressed, in order to bring the calendar into unison with 
the actual state of the solar year. The great body of the people, 
however, regarded the reform as an impious and popish measure, 
and numbers were of opinion that they had been robbed of eleven 
days. Sweden followed the example of England in 1753 ; but 
Russia and those countries which belong to the Greek Church 
still follow the Old Style. 

The continued success of the French, who had invested Maes- 
tricht in the spring of 1748, increased the desire for peace ; and 
even the Dutch, who now saw an invasion imminent, signified their 
willingness to treat. In October a definitive treaty was signed by 
all the belligerents at Aix-la-Chapelle. The only gainer by it 
was the King of Prussia, who secured Silesia. The article for the 
mutual restitution of all conquests was very unpopular in England, 
and the more so that France demanded and obtained two hostages 
for the delivery of Cape Breton. The Earl of Sussex and Lord 
Cathcart were sent to Paris in that capacity. 

§ 13. By one of the articles of this treaty the French court un- 
dertook to expel the Pretender from France, and they offered him 
an establishment at Friburg, in Switzerland, with a guard and the 
title of Prince of Wales ; but Charles, regarding such a course as 
a mean compliance with orders from Hanover, obstinately refused 
to quit Paris. At length it became necessary to use force. Charles 
was seized in his coach while going to the opera, bound hand and 
foot, and carried to the dungeon of Vincennes. After a few days' 
confinement he was conveyed to Pont de Beauvois on the front- 
iers of Savoy, and abandoned to his lonely wanderings. He ap- 
pears to have now visited Venice and Germany, to have resided 
some time secretly in Paris, and even to have paid two visits to 
England. After the death of his father, James, in 1766, he re- 
turned to Rome, and in his later years fell into habits of drunk- 
enness. In 1772, at the age of 52, he married the Princess Lou- 
isa of Stolberg, a girl of 20. They subsequently lived at Flor- 
ence under the title of the Count and Countess of Albany. But 
the union was unhappy ; he was harsh, she faithless ; and in 1780 
she eloped with Alfieri, the dramatic poet. Charles died at Rome, 
January 30th, 1788. 

One of the results of the war was the founding of Halifax in 
Nova Scotia, named after the Earl of Halifax, president of the 
Board of Trade. To relieve the great number of discharged sol- 
diers and sailors, they were encouraged to emigrate by a grant of 
50 acres to each, a free passage, and immunity from taxes for a 
period of ten years. 



\ 



A.D. 1751-1754. DEATH OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. 623 

For some years after the peace of Aix-la-Cliapelle nothing of 
importance occurred. On March 20, 1751, Frederick, Prince of 
Wales, expired — an event which, from his weak and fickle char- 
acter, did not occasion much regret. He left eight children, and 
his consort pregnant with another. George, his eldest son, was 
now made Prince of Wales ; and as he was only 12 years of age, 
while the king was 67, it became necessary to appoint a regency 
in the event of a demise of the crown before the prince should at- 
tain his majority. After considerable debate, a bill was passed 
appointing his mother, the Dowager Princess of Wales, guardian 
of his person and regent of the kingdom ; but subject, in the lat- 
ter capacity, to the control of a council composed of the Duke of 
Cumberland and the nine principal officers of state at the time of 
the king's decease. The influence of John Stuart, Earl of Bute, 
now became predominant at Leicester House, the residence of the 
princess dowager. Bute was an accomplished man, with literary 
tastes, but no great abilities. He had a fine person, and scandal 
was soon busy respecting the favor he enjoyed. 

§ 14. On the death of Pelham (March 3, 1754) the Duke of 
Newcastle resolved to be first lord of the treasury himself, and to 
make Henry Legge, son of the Earl of Dartmouth, his chancellor 
of the exchequer. For the leadership of the House of Commons 
his choice wavered between Pitt, Fox, and Murray. The last, 
however, conveyed a hint that his ambition was directed to the 
bench. He was the fourth son of Lord Stormont, and had distin- 
guished himself by his eloquence both at the bar and in the House 
of Commons. The character of Pitt has been already described. 
Besides being personally disliked by the king, he was now laid up 
at Bath with the gout. The seals were therefore offered to Henry 
Fox, younger son of Sir Stephen Fox, a brother of the first Earl 
of Ilchester. Fox had had some experience in business as secre- 
tary at war, possessed wit and discernment, and, without much 
eloquence, was a ready debater ; but he had not the patriotic dis- 
interestedness of Pitt. The negotiation was broken off by a dis- 
agreement respecting the disposal of the secret-service money, and 
the seals were at last given to Sir Thomas Robinson, a man of no 
ability, but entirely at Newcastle's command. That such a man 
should be set up to lead the House of Commons excited the indig- 
nation both of Pitt and Fox, and they united to attack and ridi- 
cule him. 

Quarrels had long prevailed, both in the East Indies and in 
North America, between the French and English settlers, which 
threatened to produce hostilities between the mother countries. 
A large French armament, equipped at Brest, was watched by 
Admiral Boscawen, who had orders to attack them in case their 



624 GEORGE II. Chap, XXX. 

destination should be the Bay of St. Lawrence. At a signal from 
the admiral, two English vessels had captured two French ones 
off Newfoundland, and some skirmishing had also occurred on the 
Ohio and near Lake George. The king had, as usual, gone to 
Hanover, and these events threw the regency into great perplex- 
ity. The Duke of Cumberland was for declaring war immediate- 
ly ; others were for waiting ; and the premier, as customary with 
him, vacillated between both opinions. At length Sir Edward 
Hawke, who was in command of a powerful fleet, received orders 
to take and destroy every French ship that he could find between 
Cape Ortegal and Cape Clear — an act which, as no declaration 
of war had been made, was justly censured as piratical. 

This state of things caused George great alarm for his electoral 
dominions, which he suspected would be seized by his nephew 
Frederick of Prussia whenever a war should break out ; and he 
therefore concluded with the Landgrave of Hesse, and subsequent- 
ly with the Empress of Russia, subsidiary treaties of the same sort 
as had already created so much disgust in England. Newcastle's 
ministry began to totter. In order to support it he applied to 
Pitt ; but that statesman disdained the seals at the price of sub- 
serviency to Hanoverian policy. Fox was not so delicate ; he 
engaged to support the treaties ; Robinson was dismissed with a 
pension, and Fox became secretary of state. 

The French meanwhile were making vast naval preparations ; 
they threatened a descent upon England, but their real object was 
Minorca, secured to the English by the treaty of Utrecht. It is 
at such a juncture that the character of a minister is brought out 
in full relief. The Duke of Newcastle could not be persuaded of 
the designs of the French ; he neglected all necessary precautions 
till it was too late, and then he sent out in a hurry 10 ships badly 
equipped, under Admiral Byng, second son of Viscount Torring- 
ton. On April 18, 1756, a French fleet of 12 ships of the line, 
and a large number of transports, having 16,000 troops on board, 
appeared off Minorca, and threatened Mahon. The Castle of St. 
Philip, which commands the town and harbor, was a strong for- 
tress ; but the garrison had been reduced to 3000 men, and Lord 
Tyrawley, the governor, as well as a great many officers, were ab- 
sent. The defense of the place therefore fell upon General Blake- 
ney, a brave officer, but old and invalided. 

When Byng hove in sight of St. Philip's on May 19, the British 
flag was still flying there. On the following day the French ad- 
miral, De la Galissoniere, bore down with his whole force. Byng 
ranged his ships in line of battle ; and Admiral West, the second 
in command, engaged with his division and dispersed the ships op- 
posed to him; but Byng kept aloof. On the following morning 



A.D. 1754-1757. LOSS OF MINORCA. g25 

the French were out of sight. Bjng then called a council of war, 
expressed his determination to retreat, as his force was so inferior 
to that of the enemy, and, sailing to Gibraltar, left Minorca to its 
fate. Nevertheless, St. PhiHp's held out till June 27, when, some 
of the outworks having been carried, the garrison were obliged to 
capitulate, but marched out with all the honors of war, and, in 
conformity with the terms, were conveyed to Gibraltar. 

§ 15. At this loss the popular indignation was uncontrollable. 
The cry was loud against the ministry, but louder still against 
Byng. Either treachery or cowardice was universally imputed to 
him, and he was burnt in efRgy in all the great towTis in the king- 
dom. The Duke of Newcastle was willing to make Byng the 
scapegoat. Admiral Sir Edward Hawke was sent out to super- 
sede him, and to send home both him and West as prisoners. 
West was immediately liberated, but a court-martial was held on 
Byng in the following December, at Portsmouth, by which he was 
acquitted of cowardice or treachery, but condemned, by the 12th 
article of war, of not having done all in his power to relieve St. 
Philip's and defeat the French fleet. At the same time he was 
unanimously recommended to mercy. But the popular clamor 
was too great to allow this recommendation to prevail. He was 
shot on the quarter-deck of the Monarque (March 14, 1757), and 
met his fate with courage. 

Before this event the unpopularity incurred by the national dis- 
graces, the resignation of Fox, who shrank from the impending 
storm, and the loss of Murray's services in the Commons, who, on 
the death of Sir Dudley Ryder, had been made lord chief justice, 
and obtained a peerage with the title of Lord Mansfield, compelled 
Newcastle to resign. The king was now reluctantly compelled to 
have recourse to Pitt ; but he had held the seals as secretary of 
state only a few months when the Duke of Cumberland persuaded 
the king to dismiss him and recall Newcastle. The latter noble- 
man, however, found it impossible to form a ministry without 
Pitt's assistance. The nation was in a ferment at his dismissal, 
and most of the principal towns in the kingdom sent him their 
freedom in gold boxes. The king, after some vain attempts to 
form a ministiy with Fox and Lord Waldegrave, was at length 
obliged to submit to Pitt's terms. Newcastle returned to the 
treasury, but without one of his own party at the board, and with 
Legge as chancellor of the exchequer ; Pitt became secretary of 
state ; his brother-in-law, Temple, privy seal ; and Fox conde- 
scended to accept the lucrative office of paymaster of the forces, 
without a seat in the cabinet. Thus was Pitt's first ministry 
formed (June 29). 

§ 16. It was too lat^ in the season to attempt much of import- 



(326 GEORGE II. Chap. XXX. 

ance; and an expedition dispatched against Rochefort, consisting 
of 16 ships of the line, with frigates and transports, commanded 
by Sir Edward Hawke, and having on board 10 regiments of foot 
under General Sir John Mordaunt, proved abortive through the 
irresolution of the latter. But England had now another war on 
hand. In the previous year France and Austria had leagued 
themselves for the partition of Prussia by the treaty of Versailles 
(May 1, 1756), to which Russia, Saxony, and Sweden afterward 
acceded. Frederick of Prussia, having been apprised of this con- 
federacy through the treachery of a clerk in the Saxon service, 
was the first to strike a vigorous blow by seizing Dresden. Such 
was the origin of what has been called the Seven Years' Wak. 

Frederick now drew closer his alliance with England ; and in 
April, 1757, the Duke of Cumberland proceeded to the Continent 
to fight in his cause and to defend the electorate. Frederick had 
this year made an incursion into Bohemia, and gained a victory 
near Prague ; but he was in turn defeated at the heights of Kolin, 
and obliged to retire. The French, advancing with a large army, 
compelled the Duke of Cumberland to retreat before them, and 
overran all Hanover. The duke took refuge under the guns of 
Stade, supported by those of four British men-of-war in the Elbe ; 
but he was mancBuvred out of this position by the Duke de Riche- 
lieu, the French general ; and he was compelled to enter into the 
convention of Kloster Seven, by which he agreed to dismiss his 
auxiliaries, to withdraw his troops over the Elbe, and disperse 
them in contonments, leaving only a garrison in Stade. Thus 
Hanover was lost. George II. was as indignant at this failure as 
Frederick himself, and received his son on his return with the 
greatest coldness. Offended by this treatment, the victor of Cul- 
loden threw up all his employments, and lived in comparative ob- 
scurity till 1765, when he died at the age of 45. Frederick seem- 
ed reduced to the last extremity, but he recovered his afiairs by 
the victories of Rossbach and Leuthen. This success made him 
very popular in England, where he was regarded as the Prot- 
estant hero ; and when, early in 1758, Pitt proposed a new con- 
vention, and a subsidy of £670,000, it was carried almost unan- 
imously. 

§17. In 1758 the war raged in all quarters of the world. In 
Africa, the island of Goree was wrested from the French. In 
America, Pitt projected the conquest of Cape Breton and St. 
John's ; and a fleet and army were dispatched under Admiral 
Boscawen and General (afterward Lord) Amherst. At the same 
time Wolfe, who had attracted Pitt's notice during the Rochefort 
expedition, was sent out as second in command, with the title of 
brigadier general. In these appointments Pitt, neglecting the 



A.D. 1757-1759. PITT'S ADMINISTRATION. 627 

claims of seniority, as well as those of aristocratic and Parliament- 
ary interest, was guided by merit alone ; and this was the secret of 
the success with which our arms were at this period attended. 
The armament was composed of 150 ships and 12,000 soldiers. 
Louisburg capitulated after a siege of two months, in which Wolfe 
distinguished himself. After the fall of the capital the whole of 
Cape Breton submitted ; and soon after the island of St. John 
did the same. The name of the latter was changed to Prince 
Edward's Island, in honor of the next brother of the Prince of 
Wales. 

In India, Clive had taken the French settlement of Chanderna- 
gore in 1757. In the following year Lally Tollendal, the new 
French governor, captured and razed Fort St. David, but failed in 
an attempt upon Madras. 

In Europe, a secret expedition against Cherbourg was planned 
by Pitt, under Commodore Howe and Lord Anson, with 20,000 
soldiers and marines, commanded by Charles, second Duke of 
Marlborough, and Lord George Sackville. The attempt failed, 
but was renewed with more success in August, under General 
Bligh, accompanied by Prince Edward. When the troops landed 
the town was found to be deserted. The forts and basins were 
destroyed, together with 170 pieces of iron cannon, and 22 brass 
guns were carried off. The troops were then landed near St. 
Malo ; but the Duke d' Aiguillon coming up with superior forces, 
they were obliged to hurry their re-embarkation, and 1000 men 
of the rear guard were either killed or made prisoners. 

These exploits were not very splendid, yet, by diverting the 
attention of the French, they proved favorable to the campaign in 
Germany. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick not only drove the 
French out of Hanover, but even over the Ehine, whither he fol- 
lowed them, and gained on the left bank a victory at Crefeld ; but 
the advance of the Prince de Soubise obliged him to fall back on 
Miinster. Frederick had achieved brilliant successes, checkered, 
however, by a disastrous defeat inflicted on him at Hochkirchen 
by the Austrian generals Daun and Laudohn (Oct. 14). 

§ 18. In 1759 the arms of England were successful both upon 
sea and upon land. The French, though scarcely able to defend 
their own coasts, were talking of an invasion, and were making 
preparations in Havre, Toulon, and other ports ; but in July Ad- 
miral Rodney bombarded Havre two or three days, doing great 
damage to the town, and destroying many of their flat-bottomed 
boats, while the Toulon fleet was dispersed with some loss by 
Admiral Boscawen, off Lagos, in Algarve. Another fleet, under 
Sir Edward Hawke, blockaded Brest, and a squadron of observa- 
tion hovered near Dunkirk. Hawke gained a signal victory (Nov. 



628 GEORGE II. Chap. XXX. 

20) near Quiberon, over a French fleet under De Conflans, con- 
sisting of 21 sail of the line and four frigates. Hawke's fleet, 
which was rather stronger, sunk four of the Frenchmen and cap- 
tured two ; the others, all more or less damaged, succeeded in get- 
ting into the River Vilaine. 

Frederick sustained a terrible defeat this year at Kunersdorf, 
near Frankfort-on-the-Oder ; but, from want of cordiality between 
the Austrians and Russians, its consequences did not prove very 
disastrous. On the other hand, Prince Ferdinand, who had in 
his army 10,000 or 12,000 English troops under Lord G. Sack- 
ville, was more fortunate. He failed, indeed, in an attack on the 
French position at Bergen, but he more than retrieved this re- 
verse by the brilliant victory of Minden, which would have been 
still more complete had Sackville, who commanded the cavalry, 
obeyed the orders to charge the routed enemy. The clamor was 
justly loud against Lord George both in England and Germany, 
and Pitt dismissed him from all his employments. 

But the chief success this year was achieved in Canada, where 
the plan of the campaign was sketched out by Pitt himself. The 
French had colonized that province in the reign of Francis I., but 
it was not till the following century that the cities of Quebec and 
Montreal arose. Pitt's plan of invasion was by three separate 
divisions to unite at Quebec. One of these, composed of colonists 
and Indians under General Prideau and Sir William Johnson, was 
to advance to Oswego, on Lake Ontario, and, after reducing Fort 
Niagara, at the mouth of the Niagara River, proceed down the 
lake and the St. Lawrence to Montreal ; another of 8000 men, 
under the command of General Wolfe, was to proceed up the St. 
Lawrence, and lay siege to Quebec ; while in the centre, the main 
army under General Amherst was to attack Ticonderoga, secure 
the navigation of Lake Champlain, and, proceeding by the River 
Richelieu, to form a junction with Wolfe. 

The first and last of these expeditions succeeded as far as they 
went ; Niagara and Ticonderoga were captured, but it was too 
late in the season to form a junction with Wolfe. The fleet of 
Admiral Saunders carried Wolfe safely to the Isle of Orleans, op- 
posite Quebec, where the army disembarked on June 27. Wolfe 
formed a lodgment on the westernmost point of the island, where 
Quebec rose on his view, strong in its natural position, but with- 
out artificial defenses. It is washed on two sides by the Rivers 
St. Charles and St. Lawrence, whose banks are almost inaccess- 
ible, while a little below the town the Montmorency falls into the 
St. Lawrence ; the entrance of the harbor is defended by a sand- 
bank ; the Castle of St. Louis commanded the approaches ; and 
behind the city rise the rugged steeps called the Heights of Abra- 



A.D. 1759, 1760. CONQUEST OF CANADA. g29 

ham. Quebec at that time contained a population of about 7000 ; 
but it had a cathedral, a bishop's palace, and other public build- 
ings. The Marquis de Montcalm, the French governor of Canada, 
a distinguished officer, lay with an army of 10,000 men, chiefly 
Canadian colonists or native Indians, outside the city, on the line 
called Beauport, between the Kivers St. Charles and Montmoren- 
cy. The ground was steep ; in his front lay the Montmorency : 
his rear was protected by dense woods, and every open space had 
been fortified. All Wolfe's attempts to draw Montcalm from this 
position having failed, it only remained to attack him in his in- 
trenchments. An assault on July 31 having been repulsed, 
Wolfe determined on the hazardous exploit of proceeding up the 
St. Lawrence and scaling the Heights of Abraham, though, through 
deaths, sickness, and the necessary detachments for securing im- 
portant points, he could muster only about 3600 men. On the 
night of September 13 th the army was conveyed silently up the 
river in boats to a small cove, now called Wolfe's Cove, overhung 
by lofty rocks. As they rowed along to this place Wolfe repeat- 
ed in a low voice to the officers in the boat with him Gray's beau- 
tiful Elegy in a Country Church-yard, adding at the end, " Now, 
gentlemen, I would rather be the author of that poem than take 
Quebec." Wolfe himself was one of the first to leap ashore. 
The precipitous path was climbed ; an outpost of the enemy fled 
in alarm ; and at daybreak the British army stood arrayed upon 
the heights, but without cavalry, and having no more than a sin- 
gle gun. Montcalm was now obliged to abandon his position and 
advance to give battle. The English, by Wolfe's direction, re- 
served their fire till the enemy were within 40 yards, and then 
delivered a well-directed and destructive volley. Many fell, the 
rest wavered ; Wolfe, though wounded in the wrist, seized the fa- 
vorable moment, and, springing forward, ordered his grenadiers to 
charge. At this instant he was struck by another ball in the 
groin, and shortly after by a third in the breast, which caused him 
to fall, and he was conveyed to the rear. Before he breathed his 
last an officer who was standing by exclaimed, " See how they 
run !" " AVho run?" eagerly cried Wolfe. "The enemy," cried 
the officer. "Then God be praised!" said Wolfe; "I shall die 
happy :" and immediately expired. Thus fell this gallant officer 
at the early age of 33. Montcalm, the French commander, was 
also slain. Quebec capitulated on September 18 ; the French 
garrison was conveyed by agreement to the nearest French 
port ; and in the following year the conquest of all Canada was 
achieved. 

This event threw a lustre over the close of the reign of George 
II., which in other respects had not been inglorious. He died sud- 



630 



GEORGE II. 



Chap. XXX. 



denly on October 25, 1760, at the age of 77, from the bursting of 
the right ventricle of the heart. 



CHEONOLOGY OF KEMAEKABLE EVENTS. 



A.©. 

1727. 
1739. 
1740. 



1741. 



1743. 

1744. 
1745. 



Accession of George n. 

War declared against Spain. 

Failure of the expedition against Car- 

tliagena in America. 
Anson begins his voyage. 
Accession of Maria Theresa to the 

Austrian dominions. The English 

support her against Frederick the 

Great of Prussia. 
Eetirement of Walpole. 
Compton (Lord Wilmington) at the 

head of the treasury, but Carteret 

in reality prime minister. 
Battle of Dettingen. 
Pelham prime minister. 
France declares war against England, 
Quadruple alliance between England, 

Holland, Austria, and Saxony. 
Battle of Fontenoy. 



A.D. 

1745. The Pretender Charles Edward in 

Scotland. 

1746. Battle of Culloden, Defeat of the Pre- 

tender. 
1748. Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. 

1751. Death of Frederick, Prince of Wales. 

1752. Eeformation of the calendar. 

1754. Death of Pelham. Duke of Newcastle 
prime minister. 

1756. War with France. Minorca captui'ed 

by the French. 

1757. Execution of Admiral Byng. 
"■ Pitt's first administration. 

" Commencement of the Seven Years' 
War. 

1758. Cherbourg destroyed. 

1759. Hawke's victory at Quiberon. Quebec 

taken. Death of General Wolfe. 

1760. Canada conquered. Death of George 

n. 




Medal commemorating Battle of Plassy, 
Obv. : viCTOET . AT . PLASSY CLiYE . coMMANDEE. Victory witliout •rings, bearing 
trophy and palm, seated on elephant, to left. BeloT^, ^^ 



MBCCLVIII. 

soc . p . A . c. 

Eev. : UOTEIES . ATTONED . PEIVXLEGE . AVGMESTTED . TERRITORY . ACQTIEED. Clive, in 

a soubah given to bengal 
mdcclthi 
(in imitation of the eex paethis datcs, and the like, of the Eoman imperial coinage). 



Eoman costume, giving a sceptre to an Indian. Belo^, 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

GEOEGE in. FROM HIS ACCESSION TO THE RECOGXITION OF AMERICAN IN- 
DEPENDENCE, AND THE PEACE OF VERSAILLES. A.D. 1760-1783. 

§ 1. Accession of George III., and Settlement of the Goyernment. King's 
MaiTiage and Coronation. § 2. State of the Campaign. Negotiations. 
Pitt resigns. § 3. "War with Spain. Lord Bute's Administration. Peace 
of Fontainebleau. § 4. Rise and Progress of the Indian Empire. § 5. 
Unpopularity of Lord Bute. Wilkes and the North Briton, No. XLV. 
General Warrants. § 6. Grenville's American Stamp Act. § 7. Lord 
Rockingham Prime Minister. Succeeded by Lord Chatham. Lord 
North's American Taxes. § 8. Proceedings against Wilkes. Disturb- 
ances in America. Lord North Prime Minister. Royal Marriage Act. 
§ 9. Effect of the Tea Duties in America. Commencement of the Rebel- 
lion. Skirmish at Lexington. Battle of Bunker's Hill. § 10. Attempts 
at Conciliation. American Independence. Progress of the War. § 11. 
La Payette. Philadelphia taken. Capitulation of Saratoga. Treaty 
between France and the Americans. § 12. Death of Chatham. § 13. 
The French Fleet in America. Actions in the Channel. Spain joins the 
French and Americans. Paul Jones. § 14. Lord George Gordon's 
Riots. § 15. Rodney's Victory at Cape St. Vincent. The " Armed Neu- 
trality." American Campaign. Battles of Camden and Eutau Springs. 
Capitulation of Yorktown. § 16. Naval Engagements, Losses and Dis- 
asters. Lord Rockingham's second Ministry. Independence of the Irish 
Parliament. Parliamentary Reform. § 17. Rodney's Victory in the West 
Indies. Lord Shelburne's jNIinistry. Foundering of the Royal George. 
Siege of Gibraltar. § 18. Treaty with America, and Recognition of 
American Independence. Peace of Versailles. 

§ 1. The young prince who now ascended the throne of his 



632 GEORGE III. Chap.XXXL 

grandfather with the title of George III. was 22 years of age. 
His person was tall and strongly built, his countenance open and 
engaging. In his first address to the Parliament he inserted, with 
his own hand, a paragraph stating that " he gloried in the name 
of Briton" — an expression which could not but awaken a cordial 
echo in a country which, during the greater part of a century, had 
been governed by foreigners. His conduct answered to his pro- 
fessions. The party distinctions which had prevailed during the 
reign of his grandfather seemed to be forgotten ; the Jacobites, 
who had absented tliemselves, returned to court, and some of the 
princii3al of them obtained places in the royal household. The 
old ministers were retained ; but it was soon evident that the Earl 
of Bute would be the king's principal adviser, and both he and 
Prince Edward were made privy councilors. After the dissolu- 
tion of the Parliament the seals of secretary of state were trans- 
ferred from Lord Holderness to Lord Bute — a step in which Pitt 
acquiesced, though he had not been consulted. At the same time 
Legge vacated the chancellorship of the exchequer, and was suc- 
ceeded by Lord Barrington ; and Lord Henley, who, after the res- 
ignation of Lord Hardwicke, had been made lord keeper only, now 
became lord chancellor. The vigorous administration of Pitt had 
nearly annihilated all party feeling : in the Commons he reigned 
supreme, and was regarded with a kind of awe. 

In the following year the king concluded a marriage with Char- 
lotte, second sister of the Duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz, then only 
17 years of age. In person she Avas short, thin, and pale ; but 
she was sensible, cheerful, and good-tempered. George is said to 
have been captivated by a spirited letter which, she wrote to the 
King of Prussia, beseeching him to spare her country. She ar- 
rived at St. James's September 8, 1761, and the marriage was cel- 
ebrated on the same day. The coronation followed, September 
22. 

§ 2. During the last two or three years the campaign in Ger- 
many had proceeded with various success, and, on the whole, the 
contending parties stood much in the same position. The British 
contingents, under the Marquis of Granby and General Conway, 
had made some atonement for the disgrace of Lord Sackville at 
Minden. The losses sustained by France had made her sincerely 
desirous of peace. The affairs of that country were now conduct- 
ed by the Duke de Choiseul, always, however, under Madame de 
Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV. A conference at Augs- 
burg was agreed to by all the belligerents ; but between France 
and England Choiseul preferred a separate negotiation, with which 
view M. de Bussy was accredited to London, and Mr. Hans Stan- 
ley to Paris. In order to strengthen his negotiations, Pitt sent 



A.D. 1760-1762. RESIGNATION OF PITT. ^33 

an expedition under Commodore Keppel, with 9000 troops under 
General Hodgson, against Belleisle, a barren island, but stroiigly^ 
fortified, on the coast of Brittany. Belleisle was taken ; and it 
was considered that it might be set off against Minorca, not for 
its importance, but as a point of honor in the sight of France. 
Good news also arrived from other quarters. The island of Do- 
minica had been reduced by Lord Rolls ; and in the East Pondi- 
cherry had been captured, the last of the French strongholds in 
India. 

Choiseul might probably have yielded all the points demanded 
by Pitt had not the court of France been supported by that of 
Madrid. Ferdinand VI. had died in 1 759, and his brother Charles, 
formerly King of Naples, now ruled Spain and the Indies with 
the title of Charles III. Naples he had been obliged to relinquish 
to his third son Ferdinand, as by the treaty of Vienna the crowns 
of Spain and Naples could not be united on the same head. 
Charles naturally regarded the French Bourbons as the head of 
his house ; he was desirous of acting with them, and he had, be- 
sides, several causes of complaint against England. He now pro- 
posed that the contemplated peace between England and France 
should be guaranteed by Spain, and that, at the same time, cer- 
tain claims of Spain on England should be adjusted. Pitt at once 
refused to mix up the claims of France and Spain ; and the latter 
court was informed that no negotiations could be opened with it 
through the medium of France. The consequence of this refusal 
was what has been called the Family Compact, concluded Au- 
gust 15, 1761, by which France and Spain mutually agreed to re- 
gard for the future the enemy of either as their common enemy, 
and to guarantee their respective dominions. The King of Na- 
ples, as a Bourbon, also acceded to this alliance. A secret con- 
vention was also entered into, that in case England and France 
should be still at war on May 1, 1762, Spain should declare war 
against England, in consideration of which France was to restore 
Minorca to Spain. 

As soon as Pitt obtained certain intelligence of this agreement, 
he strongly advised that the Spanish declaration should be antici- 
pated, and war at once begun against Spain. He urged the im- 
portance of striking the first blow, and he showed that expense 
would be saved by taking the Spaniards unawares, and seizing 
their merchantmen and treasure-ships ; but he could find none to 
second him in this bold yet prudent counsel, except his relative 
Temple, and they therefore tendered their resignation, which was 
received by the king with many gracious expressions toward Pitt. 
Thus fell the renowned administration of Pitt, which had raised 
England to a great pitch of elory. He was ofi^ered the governor- 

" D I) 2 



g34 GEORGE III. Chap.XXXI. 

ship of Canada, without residence, and £5000 a year; or the 
duchy of Lancaster, with about the same emolument. These of- 
fers he rather haughtily refused, but he accepted the title of 
Baroness Chatham for his wife. Lady Hester Pitt, and a pension 
of jC3000 per annum for three lives — his own. Lady Chatham's, 
and their eldest son's. Pitt's retirement paved the way for the 
ascendency of Lord Bute. 

§ 3. The Spanish business turned out precisely as Pitt had fore- 
told. No sooner were the Spanish West Indiamen safe in harbor 
than the Spaniards began to alter their tone, and before the close 
of the year the embassadors on both sides were dismissed from 
London and Madrid. The Spanish minister, before his departure, 
inveighed against Pitt by name, in an angry memorial which he 
presented to Lord Egremont, the new secretary. War was de- 
clared against Spain, January 4, 1762. Shortly afterward France 
and Spain made a joint demand on Portugal to renounce her 
neutrality, and large bodies of Spanish troops were collected on 
the Spanish frontiers to enforce it. The King of Portugal gave a 
spirited refusal, and applied to England for assistance, which Bute, 
in spite of his pacific policy, could not, of course, refuse. 

The Duke of Newcastle still continued at the head of the treas- 
ury, though Bute had the chief share of power. The latter, how- 
ever, having refused to support the King of Prussia and with- 
drawn the subsidy, Newcastle tendered his resignation, and was 
somewhat surprised to find it accepted. Bute immediately named 
himself first lord of the treasury ; George Grenville became secre- 
tary of state in his stead, and Sir Francis Dashwood was made 
chancellor of the exchequer. Bute owed his rapid promotion not 
to any merit of his own, but to the ascendency he possessed over 
the king. Wilkes, who was now beginning to emerge into notice, 
directed the popular indignation against him in the North Briton 
and other papers, and he was assisted by his friend and fellow- 
satirist Churchill. 

The thoughts of Bute were constantly directed toward peace, 
though the arms of Great Britain and her allies had been on ev- 
ery side successful. In Germany, Frederick and Prince Fer- 
dinand had been victorious. Li Portugal, the British troops un- 
der Burgoyne arrested the progress of the Spaniards. In the 
West Indies, an armament under Admiral Rodney and General 
Monckton had taken Martinico in January. Grenada, St. Lucia, 
and St. Vincent subsequently surrendered ; Guadaloupe had been 
taken in 1759, and thus the whole of the Caribbees were now in 
the power of England. The Havana also capitulated after a des- 
perate siege, where the booty, in treasure and merchandise, was 
computed at three millions. About the same time, in the eastern 



A.D.1762,1T63. RISE OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE. 635 

hemisphere, the Philippine Islands were taken, and several rich 
Spanish prizes were made at sea. 

In spite of these brilliant successes, overtures for a peace were 
made through the neutral court of Sardinia, and eagerly caught 
at by France. Bute seems to have been alarmed at the great in- 
crease of the national debt, which had doubled during the war, 
and now amounted to £122,600,000. A treaty was concluded 
at Paris (Feb. 10, 1763). The peace of Paris put an end to the 
Seven Years' War. By this treaty jNlinorca was exchanged for 
Belleisle ; the provinces of jSTova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Can- 
ada were ceded to England ; the irslands of Guadaloupe, Martin-" 
ico, and St. Lucia were restored ; but Tobago, Dominica, St. Vin- 
cent, and Grenada were retained. These were the principal pro- 
visions with regard to the interests of England. By a clause in 
the treaty, all conquests made in any part of the world during the 
negotiations were to be given up. This involved the cession of 
the Havana and of the Philippine Islands, the conquest of which 
w^as not yet known. Bute seemed inclined to yield them without 
an equivalent ; and it was only at the pressing instance of George 
Grenville and Lord Egremont that Florida or Porto Rico was de- 
manded in return. The former was readily yielded. 

§ 4. Among the places restored to the French was also Pon- 
dicherry in the East Indies; but they could never recover their 
lost influence in that country, and soon after their East India 
Company w^as dissolved. The courage and genius of Ciive had 
now converted an association of traders into the rulers of a large 
and magnificent empire. Though established in the latter part 
of Elizabeth's reign, it was not till the time of Charles 11. that the 
East India Company made any considerable advances in wealth 
and power. Charles granted them a new charter, conveying 
many exclusive rights and privileges, and also ceded to them the 
settlement of Bombay, which he had received as a marriage por- 
tion with Catherine of Braganza. Fort St. George and the town 
of Madras had already been founded in the Carnatic. The first 
Eno-lish factories were at Bantam and Surat, but these were sub- 
sequently abandoned. At the period of the Revolution a new 
company was instituted, the rivalship of which produced much 
mischief, till in 1702 they were both united. In 1698 a grant of 
land on rent having been obtained from Aurungzebe, the Mogul 
emperor, at Chuttanuttee, on the River Hooghly, Fort William 
was erected, under shelter of which ultimately expanded the town 
of Calcutta, the magnificent capital of modern India. Thus, bs- 
fore the accession of the house of Hanover, the three presidencies 
of Madras (Fort St. George), Calcutta (Fort William), and Bom- 
bay had already been erected ; but no central government yet ex- 



636 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXI. 

isted ; these settlements had but little territory attached to them, 
and often trembled for their own safety. 

The French, who had established an East India Company in 
the reign of Louis XIV., were the only formidable rivals we pos- 
sessed in India. The Portuguese were our allies, and their power 
was but small ; the Dutch chiefly confined their attention to Java 
and the neighboring islands. The French had two important set- 
tlements : Chandernagore, on the Hooghly, higher up than Fort 
William, and Pondicherry, on the coast of the Carnatic, about 80 
miles south of Madras. They also possessed two fertile islands in 
the Indian Ocean, the Isle of Bourbon, and Mauritius, or the Isle 
of France. The wars of the mother countries extended to these 
colonies. In 1746, the French under La Bourdonnais took Ma- 
dras ; and Dupleix, Governor of Pondicherry, in violation of the 
capitulation, carried the principal inhabitants to that town, and 
paraded them through the streets in triumph. Madras was re- 
stored at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. During the peace, Du- 
pleix, by intrigues with the native princes, endeavored to extend 
the French empire in India at the expense of the English ; but he 
was encountered by the superior genius and valor of Clive, a 
writer, or clerk, who had been among the captives of Madras. 
The taking of Arcot, the victory over Eajah Sahib at Arnee, the 
capture of the Great Pagoda, and the other wonderful exploits of 
that merchant-soldier, our limits will not permit us to detail. 
After a two years' visit to England for the sake of his health, 
Clive returned to India in 1755 with the rank of lieutenant colonel 
in the king's service, and the appointment from the company as 
governor of Fort St. David. 

Clive's abilities were soon called into action. The Surajah 
Dowlah, Viceroy of Bengal, had taken Calcutta, and thrust the 
English inhabitants, to the number of 146, into a small and loath- 
some dungeon known as the Black Hole, where in one night the 
greater part of them were stifled (June 20, 1756). But a signal 
vengeance w^s soon taken. In the following January Clive re- 
took Calcutta, with an army of 900 Europeans and 1500 sepoys, 
kept at bay the surajah's army of 40,000 men, and compelled him. 
to make peace. Shortly after Clive took Chandernagore, as be- 
fore related. His next exploit was to defeat the Surajah Dowlah 
at Plassy (1757). The nabob had 50,000 men and 40 pieces of 
cannon, Clive only 1000 Europeans and 2000 sepoys, with eight 
field-pieces and two howitzers; yet the rout was complete, and 
the surajah lost all his artillery and baggage. This victory de- 
cided the fate of India, and laid the foundation of our empire. 
Meer Jafiier, a rebellious vassal of the surajah's, was installed in 
the capital of Moorshedabad as nabob of Bengal, Orissa, and Bu- 



A,D. 176i. WILKES AND THE "NORTH BRITON." (J37 

har ; his predecessor was put to death, and the new nabob ceded 
to the English all the land within the Mahratta ditch or fortifica- 
tion round Calcutta, and all the country from Calcutta to the sea. 
Clive was now made Governor of Bengal by the East India Com- 
pany. In return for Clive's assistance against the Emperor of 
Delhi, Meer Jaffier presented him with a domain worth £27,000 
a year. In 1760 Clive returned to England, having previously 
defeated an attempt of the Dutch upon Calcutta. He received an 
Irish peerage as Lord Clive and Baron Plassy, and obtained a seat 
in the House of Commons. 

The hostilities between the French and English in India, after 
the declaration of war in 1758, have already been related, to which 
it may be added that the defeat of Lally ToUendal by Sir Eyre 
Coote, at Wandebash (Jan. 22, 1760), secured the Carnatic. The 
farther history of India will be resumed lower down. 

§ 5. The difference of opinion between George Grenville and 
Lord Bute respecting the cession of the Havana occasioned the 
resignation of the seals by the former, but he still retained office 
as first lord of the admiralty. The Earl of Halifax took Gren- 
ville's place ; and the leadership of the Commons, with a seat in 
the cabinet, was given to Mr. Fox, who still remained paymaster 
of the forces. The peace was very unpopular out of doors, and 
Lord Bute was hissed and pelted ; but, in spite of an eloquent 
speech against it by Pitt, the address was carried by a large ma- 
jority in the Commons. Another cause of Lord Bute's unpopu- 
larity was his almost exclusive patronage of his Scotch country- 
men. "Wilkes branded him with the epithet oi favorite. In some 
of the rural districts he was burnt under the effigy of a jack-hoot, 
a rustic pun on his name (John, Earl of Bute); and Avhen he 
walked the streets he was followed by a gang of prizefighters 
hired to protect him. These symptoms of popular dislike fright- 
ened him into a resignation (April 8), to the surprise both of king 
and people. At the same time Fox was raised to the Upper 
House with the title of Lord Holland, still, however, retaining 
his office. Bute was succeeded by George Grenville, who became 
first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer. The 
two secretaries of state were Lords Egremont and Halifax. 

A few days afterward the king closed the session by a speech, 
in which he adverted to the late peace as honorable to the crown 
and beneficial to the people. This was immediately attacked in 
the next and last number of the North Briton (April 23), the cel- 
ebrated No. 45. Grenville was bold and impolitic enough to 
order its prosecution, to which circumstance it owes its notoriety, 
for it does not equal, either in ability or virulence, many of the 
preceding numbers. On April 30 Wilkes was arrested in his own 



538 GEORGE 111. Chap. XXXI. 

house by virtue of what was called " a general warrant," that is, a 
warrant not specifying any particular person, but directed against 
" the authors, printers, and publishers" of the obnoxious paper. 
At the same time Wilkes's papers were seized, and he was com- 
mitted to the Tower; but a few days afterward the judges, waiv- 
ing the question of the legality of general warrants, pronounced 
him entitled to his discharge by virtue of his privilege as a mem- 
ber of Parliament. He was again imprisoned, however, during 
the recess. 

In the next session warm debates ensued in the Commons on 
the subject of the paper ; and they at length decided that No. 45 
was a false, scandalous, and malicious libel, and ordered it to be 
burnt by the hangman. Some delay was produced in the measures 
against Wilkes from his having been wounded in a duel by Mr. 
Martin, who challenged him on account of a libel in some former 
numbers of the North Briton ; but at length he was expelled from 
the House by a unanimous vote. 

The attempt to burn No. 45 in the Royal Exchange produced a 
serious riot. A jack-boot and a petticoat, the latter denoting the 
Princess of Wales, were thrown into the fire prepared for the pa- 
per, the mob shouting " Wilkes and liberty forever !" A few days 
after he recovered £1000 damages against Mr. Wood, the under 
secretary of state, for the forcible entry of his house. A verdict, 
however, was obtained against him for No. 45, as well as for a 
piece called an Essay on Woman, an obscene and scurrilous libel 
in parody of Pope's Essay on Man, in which Lord Sandwich and 
Bishop Warburton had been reflected on and ridiculed. Wilkes 
now thought proper to go abroad ; and, not appearing to receive 
judgment, was outlawed. Wilkes's case derives its chief import- 
ance from the question which it raised respecting the legality of 
general warrants. Chief Justice Pratt and all the most eminent 
lawyers of the day declared them illegal from their form, their 
tenor being to apprehend all persons guilty of a certain crime, 
thus assuming a guilt which remained to be proved. For the 
present, however, the government had influence enough to post- 
pone a resolution to that effect being carried in the Commons. 

§ 6. Another impolitic step of Grenville's, but attended with far 
more momentous consequences, was the extending of the Stamp 
Act to the North American colonies. The late war had been 
very expensive ; and, as it had been partly undertaken for the de- 
fense of those colonies, it occurred to Grenville, in an evil hour, 
that they might not unjustly be called upon to bear part of the 
burden. He consulted the agents of the several North Amer- 
ican colonies in London upon his project, inquired whether any 
other tax would be more agreeable, and gave a year's notice of 



A.D. 1763-1765. AMEEICAN STAMP ACT. g39 

his plan by a resolution entered in the Journals of the Commons 
in 1764. 

These colonies had been continually increasing in strength and 
prosperity, and at this time consisted of 13 states, with a popula- 
tion of about two millions of whites and half a million of colored 
people. They were, 1. The New England colonies, settled by 
the Puritans, consisting of the four states of Massachusetts, New 
Hampshire, Connecticut, and Ehode Island ; 2. New York ; 3. 
New Jersey ; 4. Pennsylvania ; 5. Delaware ; 6. Maryland ; 7. 
Virginia ; 8. The two states of North and South Carolina ; and, 
9. Georgia. Each of these colonies was governed on the English 
model, and had a House of Assembly elected by the people. There 
was also a governor appointed by the crown, and a council. In 
Connecticut the governor was elective. 

Hitherto the mother country and her colonies had lived in tol- 
erable harmony ; but at this time the American colonists were in 
a distressed and irritable condition. They were suffering from 
the eifects of a terrible border war with the Indians ; they con- 
sidered themselves aggrieved by some new duties which had been 
imposed on their foreign trade, as wxll as by the stringent regu- 
lations by which their illicit traffic was repressed. All of them 
were decidedly opposed to a stamp act, which from its nature was 
far more obnoxious than any custom-house duties. The latter 
might be regarded as imperial, the former was a sort of local ex- 
cise. Nor would they suggest any substitute, but based their op- 
position on the broad constitutional principle that- there should be 
no taxation without representation, and that they were not repre- 
sented in the House of Commons. They intimated, however, a 
wish that, as in former instances, a letter from the secretary of 
state, in the king's name, requiring contributions for his service, 
should be laid before the different Houses of Assembly ; and there 
seems little reason to doubt that, if this course had been pursued, 
the minister w^ould have raised at least as much as he expected 
from the Stamp Act, the produce of which was estimated at less 
than £100,000 a year. 

In 1765, however, the measure passed through Parliament with 
little debate or opposition. Pitt was absent from illness, only one 
or two of his party made a slight resistance, and it attracted no 
public notice whatever. Nobody suspected that this little spark 
would burst out into a vast and inextinguishable flame. Even 
Dr. Franklin, the agent for Pennsylvania, one of the chief and 
ablest representatives of the views of the colonists, expected noth- 
ing but acquiescence from his countrymen, which he inculcated.* 

* This is an error, originating doubtless in a statement made in a pam- 
phlet written by Dean Tucker at that time. Franklin opposed the Stamp 



Q4:0 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXI. 

Far different was the spirit which it excited in America. The 
act was reprinted, with a death's head at top in place of the king's 
arms, and was hawked about under the title of " The Folly of 
England and Kuin of America." The vessels in Boston harbor 
hoisted their colors half-mast high, and the muffled bells of the 
churches tolled out a death-knell. The Virginian House of Assem- 
bly, roused by the eloquence of Patrick Henry, took the lead in 
opposition, and drew up a series of resolutions, accompanied with 
a petition to the king, denying the right of the mother country to 
tax the colonists without their consent. Most of the other assem- 
blies followed this example, and a general Congress was appointed 
to meet at New York in October, when resolutions and petitions, 
much the same as those of Virginia, were adopted. In some parts 
associations were formed against the importation or use of British 
manufactures ; and presently a small party began to appear who 
promulgated their views of a united republic. When the ships 
arrived with the stamps it became necessary to put them away in 
some place of safety. Nobody would use them, and the persons 
who had been appointed distributors resigned their posts. 

§ 7. While these things were going on the author of the mis- 
chief had been compelled to resign his office. George III. had 
this year been attacked with a severe illness, accompanied with 
symptoms of that dreadful malady which darkened his later years. 
He himself was the first to propose a regency. The ministers 
wished to leave out his mother's name, and surprised the king's 
consent ; but he afterward repented, and it was restored by the 
House of Commons. This was the cause which chiefly alienated 
the king's mind from Grenville ; and when he recovered, for his 
illness was but short, he entered into negotiations with Pitt and 
Temple. These, however, went off; and resort was then had to 
a confederacy of the great Whig houses, with the Marquis of Rock- 
ingham at their head. That nobleman, who was descended, on 
the female side, from Lord Strafford, and inherited the honors of 
Wentworth, now became first lord of the treasury. He was one 
of the greatest landowners in England. He had no great ability, 
but his judgment was sound and his character honorable. His 
chief passion was horse-racing. Under him the Duke of Grafton 
and General Conway became secretaries of state ; Mr. William 
Dowdeswell, chancellor of the exchequer ; and the veteran Duke 

Act from its first inception. To Charles Thompson he wrote from London, 
on the 11th of July, 1765: "Depend upon it, my good neighbor, I took 
every step in my power to prevent the passage of the Stamp Act." And 
when asked by a committee of Parliament whether the Americans would 
pay the stamp duty, he said, emphatically, "No, never, unless compelled 
by force of arms. "-^ Am. Ed. 



A.D. 1763-1766. AMERICAN STAMP ACT. (341 

of Newcastle was propitiated with the privy seal. Pitt was con- 
ciliated by raising his confidential friend Chief Justice Pratt, to 
the peerage, with the title of Lord Camden. 

The state of America was a very embarrassing question for the 
new ministry. To withdraw the Stamp Act would be an ill prec- 
edent and a confession of weakness ; to press it by force would 
be painful, and might lead to the most dangerous consequences. 
The vigor and eloquence with which Pitt denounced Grenville, 
and attacked this measure, in the session of 1766, decided the 
wavering cabinet. Adoptmg the advice of the "great common- 
er," they brought in two bills : one to repeal the Stamp Act, the 
other declaring the power of Parliament over the colonies to be 
supreme. Both were carried. The majority of the colonists were 
still loyal, and the news of the repeal of the obnoxious act was re- 
ceived with great joy and satisfaction in America. It was not, 
however, in human nature, but that some soreness should be left 
behind, as well as a still more dangerous feehng of secret triumph 
at the recognition of their strength. 

Lord Rockingham adopted other measures of a popular nature. 
A silk bill, introduced by the late ministry, had occasioned serious 
riots the preceding year among the Spitalfields weavers ; siege had 
been laid to the Duke of Bedford's house in Bloomsbury Square, 
and it became necessary to disperse the rioters by means of the 
military. Rockingham now restrained the import of foreign silks. 
He also repealed the unpopular cider-tax, obtained a resolution 
of the House of Commons declaring general warrants illegal, and 
another condemning the seizure of papers in cases of libel. The 
ministry however was tottering through internal dissensions ; Lord 
Northington, the chancellor, told the king at the end of the ses- 
sion that they could not go on, and advised him to send for Mr. 
Pitt. This time Pitt accepted, and succeeded in forming a minis- 
try ; but, to the surprise of all, he reserved for himself the office 
of privy seal, with a peerage ! The king signed his warrant as 
Earl Chatham on July 29. Pitt named the Duke of Grafton as 
head of the treasury ; Charles Townshend became chancellor of 
the exchequer ; General Conway continued secretary of state and 
leader of the House of Commons, with the Earl of Shelburne* as 
his colleague ; and Lord Camden was made chancellor. 

The prospect of Pitt's support in the House of Commons had 
been the chief inducement with most of the ministers to take 
ofiice, and they w^ere naturally much disappointed to find them- 
selves deprived of it by his elevation to a peerage. But their dis- 

* The Earl of Shelburne, an Irish peer, became prime minister in 1782 
(see p. 659), and was created Marquis of Lansdowne in 1784 : father of the 
present marquis. 



642 GEORGE III. Chap, XXXI. 

appointment did not end here. Constant fits of the gout allowed 
Lord Chatham to appear but seldom even in the Lords ; and in 
the spring of 1767 a mysterious malady, arising apparently from 
suppressed gout, prostrated him to such a degree that he would 
neither see any body nor open any papers on business^ Edmund 
Burke, who was now rising into eminence, adverted to him in one 
of his speeches as a great invisible power — a being so immeasur- 
ably high that not even his own cabinet could get access to him. 
Aifairs went wrong in his absence. The opposition carried a mo- 
tion to reduce the land-tax, by which the revenue lost half a mill- 
ion. In order partly to repair this loss, Charles Townshend, in 
spite of the warning so recently received, resolved to raise some 
supplies in America by small taxes on tea, glass, paper, and paint- 
ers' colors, the whole amount of which would not exceed .£40,000 
a year. For such a sum did he risk the fidelity of those magnifi- 
cent colonies. In the following September Townshend died, and 
Lord North accepted the vacant office of chancellor of the ex- 
chequer. Soon after some changes occurred in the ministry, and 
the new office of colonial secretary was established, in which the 
Earl of Hillsborough* was installed. At this time the name 
alone of Lord Chatham supported the administration. 

§ 8. In the elections for a new Parliament in 1768, Wilkes, who 
was still under a sentence of outlawry, though rejected by the city 
of London, contrived to obtain his return as member for Middle- 
sex, chiefly through the intimidation of the mob. He surrender- 
ed in the court of King's Bench, when Lord Mansfield pronounced 
the outlawry void, from a technical flaw in the proceedings ; but 
the original verdicts were confirmed, and Wilkes was sentenced to 
two years' imprisonment, computed from the day of his arrest, and 
to pay two fines of £500 each for No. 45 and the Essay on Wom- 
an. This sentence occasioned a riot. The mob rescued Wilkes's 
carriage, dragged it to a tavern in Cornhill, and insisted on his re- 
maining at liberty ; but he slipped out at the back door, and sur- 
rendered himself at the King's Bench prison. Some desperate 
riots ensued, and on the day of the meeting of Parliament sev- 
eral persons were killed and wounded by the military in St. 
George's Fields. 

In the session of 1769 the House of Commons pronounced 
Wilkes guilty of an insolent libel in publishing a letter of Lord 
Weymouth's, now secretary of state, to the magistrates of Sur- 
rey, accompanied with some caustic remarks ; and on the motion 
of Lord Barrington he was expelled the House. Wilkes's popu- 
larity, however, had gone on increasing. In the city he had been 

* Wills Hill, first Earl of Hillsborough, created Marquis of Downshire in 
Ireland in 1789 : ancestor of the present marquis. 



A.D. 1766-1770. DISTURBANCES IN AMERICA. 643 

elected alderman of Farringdon Without ; and when the election 
for Middlesex came on, he was again unanimously returned. 
Three times the House declared him incapable of sitting, and 
three times was he re-elected. On the third occasion, however, 
the ministers provided another candidate. Colonel Luttrell; and 
the House pronounced him to have been duly elected. But, though 
the ministers carried their point, they had rendered Wilkes the 
idol of the nation. In the autumn he brought an action against 
Lord Halifax for having seized his papers, and obtained £-4000 
damages. 

We must now revert to the more momentous disturbances in 
the North American colonies, where Townshend's ill-advised taxes 
had revived all the animosity occasioned by the Stamp Act. The 
State of Massachusetts took the lead in the opposition. A vio- 
lent altercation arose between the House of Assembly and Ber- 
nard, the governor of that state. The latter, in the exercise of 
his prerogative, finally dissolved the Assembly, July 1, 1768. 
Eiots of the most serious description ensued at Boston. The other 
American states, though not so violent, displayed a sort of passive 
resistance. Associations were formed calling themselves " Sons 
of Liberty," and even "Daughters of Liberty," to enter into non- 
importation agreements, and to forbear the use of tea. Subse- 
quently it became customary to strip those who would not enter 
into these agreements, and to cover them with tar and feathers.* 

The cabinet now deemed it prudent to repeal the obnoxious 
taxes ; but Lord North, on the suggestion of Lord Hillsborough, 
carried an exception in favor of the tea-duties. Lord Hillsborough 
communicated the determination of the ministry in a circular to 
the governors of the North American colonies, drawn up in harsh 
and ungracious terms, which increased the irritation occasioned by 
a merely partial concession. Lord Chatham, who had never 
taken any active part in the administration, had resigned in Oc- 
tober, 1768. In the spring of the following year a return of the 
gout restored him to health and society, and in July he attended 
the king's levee, a sort of apparition from the dead. When the 
Parliament was opened in January, 1770, he appeared in his place, 
and denounced in severe terms both the foreigrn and the Amer- 
lean policy of the ministers. Shortly afterward the Duke of Graf- 
ton resigned, when the king prevailed upon Lord North to accept 
the place of first lord of the treasury, in addition to that of chan- 
cellor of the exchequer, and he thus became prime minister. 

During the following year or two nothing of much importance 

* This statement implies that this kind of argument was common. On 
the contrary, such acts of cruelty were very rare, and were indulged in by 
violent persons of both parties. — Am. Ed. 



^44 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXL 

occurred. Two of the king's brothers, the Dukes of Cumberland 
and Gloucester, having degraded themselves by private marriages, 
the former with Mrs. Horton, sister of Colonel Luttrell, the latter 
with an illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole, George 
caused the Royal Marriage Bill to be introduced into the House 
of Lords, by which every prince or princess, the descendant of 
George II., except only the fssue of princesses married abroad, 
was prohibited from marrying without the king's consent before 
attaining the age of 25. After that age they might be relieved 
from the king's veto by consent of the privy council and both 
houses of Parliament. This statute is still in force. 

§ 9. With the exception of some disturbances in Massachusetts, 
aiFairs had been going on pretty quietly in America. The tea- 
duty, which was only 3cl. per pound, seemed to be acquiesced in, 
when in 1773 an act was committed which, though far from being 
so intended, finally estranged the American colonies. The East 
India Company had contracted a large debt, but they had also an 
enormous stock of tea in their warehouses, for which they could 
find no sale. Lord North, in order to relieve them by finding a 
market for their stock, now proposed that the tea exported to 
America, which had a drawback of only 3-5 ths of the duty paid in 
England, should have a drawback of the whole duty, thus leaving 
it subject only to the Scl duty in that country. This appeared to 
be a boon not only to the East India Company, but also to the 
American colonists, as it would enable them to purchase their tea 
cheaper than they could even before the del. duty was imposed. 
Accordingly, the East India Company freighted several ships with 
tea, and appointed consignees in America for its sale. But mean- 
time a circumstance had occurred which embittered the feeling 
against England. Mr. Thomas AYhately, Grenville's private sec- 
retary, and under secretary of state to Lord Suffolk, had been en- 
gaged in a private correspondence with Hutchinson, Governor of 
Massachusetts, Oliver, the lieutenant governor, and other officers 
of the crown in that province. Whately having died, these let- 
ters were purloined, and came into the possession of Dr. Franklin, 
who, finding that they contained expressions inimical to the lib- 
erty of the colonies, sent them to America, but with strict injunc- 
tions of secrecy, and that they should not be permitted to circulate 
beyond a few of his friends. Such a caution, as might have been 
foreseen, turned out quite nugatory ; the letters found their way 
into the House of Assembly of Massachusetts, were voted sub- 
versive of the Constitution, and petitions were drawn up for the 
removal of Hutchinson and Oliver. The whole matter was sub- 
sequently referred to the privy council, where Wedderburn, the 
solicitor general, attacked Franklin for his breach of confidence 



A.D. 1770-1775. AMERICAN TEA DUTIES. 545 

in a most biting and sarcastic speech. The privy council decided 
that the petition was founded on false and erroneous allegations, 
and that it was groundless, vexatious, and scandalous. Two days 
after Franklin was deprived of his post as deputy postmaster gen- 
eral in America. 

Meanwhile, the arrival of the tea-ships in America — nay, the 
very anticipation of their arrival — had caused a violent outburst 
of popular feeling. It was given out that they were only the fore- 
runners of farther taxation ; some said that the ships were laden 
with fetters instead of tea. The consignees were threatened and 
obHged to fling up their engagements. At Charleston the teas 
were allowed to be landed, but not to be sold, and were stowed 
in cellars, where they perished from damp. The Boston people 
went farther. On December 16, 1773, a body of men, disguised 
as Mohawk Indians, boarded the tea-ships and scattered their car- 
goes in the water, to the value, it is computed, of jG18,000. 

By way of punishment, Lord North now transferred the Boston 
custom-houses to Salem, another port of Massachusetts, and also 
made some important alterations in the charter granted to that 
state by King AVilliam. This last step excited the jealousy and 
alarm of the other states. Even the most moderate men began to 
tremble for their liberties ; and they were encouraged to resist- 
ance by finding that they were supported by a powerful party in 
the British Parliament, which numbered in its ranks Chatham, 
Burke, Charles Fox, son of Lord Holland, and other eminent men. - 
Virginia, where the popular feeling was directed by Patrick Henry 
and Thomas Jefferson, was one of the first provinces to give in its 
adhesion to Massachusetts. The conduct of the English Puritans 
in Charles's reign was taken as a model, and a combination was 
set on foot with the ominous title of the " Solemn League and 
Covenant." Committees of correspondence were established, and 
a congress summoned at Philadelphia. Delegates from twelve 
colonies met in September, and debated with closed doors. The 
assembly drew up a Declaration of Rights, claiming all the liber- 
ties of Englishmen, and adopted resolutions to suspend all trade 
between England and America till their gTievances were redress- 
ed. Addresses were prepared to the people of Great Britain, the 
people of Canada, and to the king ; and after appointing another 
Congress for May 10th, 1775, the meeting quietly dispersed. 

When the Parliament met in January, 1775, Lord Chatham de- 
nounced the attempts which were making to coerce the Amer- 
icans as pregnant with the most fatal consequences, and foretold 
their utter failure. But all his warnings were disregarded. 
Meanwhile a militia had been raised in Massachusetts, called 
Minute Men, because they were to be ready at a roinute's notice ; 



g46 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXI. 

arms also were provided and deposited at Concord, a town about 
16 miles from Boston. General Gage, commandant at Boston, 
dispatched a few hundred light troops on the night of April 18th, 
on a secret expedition to destroy these stores. The secret, how- 
ever, had oozed out ; and the van, on reaching Lexington, a place 
about three miles from Concord, found about 70 militiamen under 
arms, and drawn up on the parade. A collision took place, about 
the manner of which accounts vary ; but several Americans were 
killed and wounded. The troops then proceeded to Concord, 
spiked three guns, and destroyed some stores. Meanwhile, how- 
ever, the whole country had been roused; the British were sur- 
rounded and galled on every side by an incessant fire, and before 
they got back to Lexington their retreat had become a perfect 
rout. Had not General Gage dispatched some re-enforcements, 
the whole body would have been annihilated. Their loss was 273 
killed, wounded, and prisoners, while the Americans did not lose 
a third of that number. This victory, if such it can be called, 
excited the ardor of the Americans. A force of 20,000 men was 
raised in the New England provinces, and blockaded General 
Gage in Boston ; while a party of Connecticut men marched to 
Lake Champlain, and surprised and captured forts Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point. 

On the appointed day the Congress met at Philadelphia. They 
prohibited the export of provisions to any British colony, the sup- 
ply of necessaries to the British army and navy, the negotiation 
of bills drawn by British officers, etc. They took measures for 
providing supplies of men and money, and they appointed, as com- 
mander-in-chief. Colonel George Washington, who had distin- 
guished himself in the wars with the French. On June 21st he 
set out to take the command of the army blockading Boston. 
The English then had been re-enforced by divisions under Gen- 
eral Burgoyne, General William Howe, brother of Lord Howe, 
and General Sir Henry Clinton, which raised their whole force to 
about 10,000 men. A considerable body of Americans, having 
been sent to occupy Bunker's Hill, proceeded by mistake to Breed's 
Hill, which also forms part of the peninsula on which Charlestown 
stands ; and as that frontier overlooks Boston, from which it is 
separated only by an arm of the sea about as broad as the Thames 
at London, it became necessary to dislodge them. But this was 
not effected till after three assaults, and with the loss of 1000 
men, while the Americans did not lose half that number. This 
was called the battle of Bunker's Hill. 

§ 10. A civil war seemed to be now fairly kindled ; yet on July 
8th the Congress signed a petition to the king, expressing their 
loyalty and their desire of a reconciliation, and sent it over to Lon- 



A.D. 1775, 1776. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 547 

don. This petition they called the " Olive Branch," and they de- 
termined that it should be their last appeal. The king, hoAvever, 
declined to answer it, on the ground that he could not recognize 
the Congress, a self-constituted body that had taken up arms 
against him ; and in his opening speech to Parliament in October 
he expressed his determination to put down the rebellion by force. 
This occasioned several changes in the ministry, and especially the 
American secretaryship was transferred to Lord George Ger- 
maine, formerly Lord Sackyille, of Minden notoriety (see p. 628), 
a man of ability, but of a violent temper. 

In November Lord North obtained a repeal of the acts respect- 
ing the port of Boston and the Massachusetts charter ; but, on the 
other hand, all commerce with the insurgent colonies was strictly 
forbidden so long as they remained in a state of rebellion, and the 
capture of American goods and vessels was authorized. The 
burning of the town of Falmouth (now Portland), in Maine, and 
soon after of Norfolk, in Virginia, farther incensed the Americans. 
They had this year invaded Canada, and laid siege to Quebec, 
which they blockaded during the winter; but in the following 
summer they were forced to evacuate the province. 

As Boston did not afford a good point for entering the country, 
and as they were surrounded by a superior force, the British evac- 
uated Boston in March, 1776, by a sort of tacit convention with 
the '• Select Men," that, if their embarkation was not molested, 
the town should not be injured. They proceeded by sea to Staten 
Island, and Boston was immediately occupied by Washington's 
troops. The recovery of this place was regarded as a sort of 
triumph by the Americans. The inhabitants of Staten Island 
were loyally disposed, and admitted the British without resist- 
ance. 

About this time the question of independence began to be agi- 
tated in Congress. As is usual in such cases, the views of the 
Americans had expanded with the progress of the rebellion. At 
first they had merely contemplated a redress of grievances ; now, 
a large party was inclined to a separation and an independent re- 
public. These sentiments were kept alive by a host of writers, 
and especially by Thomas Paine, an Englishman settled in Amer- 
ica. A committee of five was appointed to draw up a Declaration 
of Independence, which was written by Jefierson, corrected by 
Adams and Franklin, and subsequently amended by the Congress. 
It was signed on July 4th, 1776,* as the act of the whole Amer- 
ican people, though three or four of the colonies did not agree to 

* It was signed by John Hancock, the president of Congress, only, on 
that day. It was copied on parchment, and all but two of the signer-s af- 
fixed their names a few weeks afterward. — Am. Ed. 



648 GEORGE in. Chap. XXXI. 

it ; and the United Colonies were declared free and independent 
states. Only a few hours after the proclamation of Independence, 
Lord Howe arrived oif Sandy Hook, furnished with full powers 
to treat.* He dispatched a friendly letter to Franklin, to which 
a hostile answer was returned. He then sent a tlag of truce and 
a letter to Washington, who had gone with his army to Brooklyn 
in Long Island ; but as the letter was addressed to Gr. Washing- 
ton, Esq., instead of General Washington, he refused to receive it. 

The British government had collected a body of about 17,000 
German troops, for which they paid enormous subsidies to the 
Landgrave of Hesse, the Duke of Brunswick, and other petty 
German sovereigns. Having received re-enforcements of these 
men, General Howe sent over in August a detachment of 8000 to 
Long Island, and compelled the Americans to evacuate it. In this 
affair the American general Sullivan had been captured, through 
whom Lord Howe induced Congress to send three members to 
Staten Island to discuss an accommodation in the character of 
private gentlemen. The Congress deputed three members known 
to be most inimical to the British connection, namely, Dr. Frank- 
lin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge, of South Carolina ; and 
as these gentlemen at once declared that the colonies could enter 
into no peace except as independent states, the conference was of 
course abortive. 

In September General Howe crossed the water and attacked 
New York, which was abandoned on his approach.! A great por- 
tion of the inhabitants were loyally disposed. During the autumn 
the Americans gradually retired before the British, till they had 
crossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania. Howe had been very 
remiss in following up the advantages which he gained, and he 
now ordered Lord Cornwallis, who was conducting the pursuit, 
not to attempt to follow the enemy over the Delaware, but to 
disperse his troops in winter-quarters through the Jerseys. Wash- 
ington, on the other hand, recrossed that river, and by some skill- 
ful manoeuvres recovered nearly the whole of the Jerseys. These 
successes produced a great moral effect on the Americans, and the 
Congress which met at Baltimore conferred extraordinary powers 
upon Washington. 

§ 11. The American cause was very popular in France, out of 
hatred to this country. Franklin and Silas Deane had been sent 
as envoys to Paris, to solicit the support of the French ; and, 

* His arrival occurred several days afterward. — Am. Ed. 

f Howe did not attack New York. After a severe engagement on Long 
Island, he crossed, with the larger portion of his troops, to Manhattan or 
York Island, on which the city stands, when the Americans evacuated it, 
and the British took possession. — Am. Ed. 



A.D. 1776, n77. AMERICAN WAR. (349 

though the latter were not yet prepared to declare openly in favor 
of the Americans, they gave them secret assistance. Many French 
officers proceeded to America to offer their services, among whom 
the most distinguished by rank and fortune Avas the young Marquis 
de la Fayette, who was not yet 20 years of age. The Americans 
gave him the rank of major general, and he undertook to serve 
without emolument. In England, Chatham again appeared in 
the House of Lords this summer, and made an eloquent appeal 
for conciliating America, but without success. The exertions of 
Chatham in this cause were noble, enlightened, and patriotic ; but 
there was a class of turbulent demagogues, to whom it served as 
an occasion to excite sedition and disturbance. The Rev. Mr. 
Home, better known by his subsequent name of Home Tooke, 
was convicted before Lord Mansfield of a libel, for having, in ad- 
vertising for subscriptions for the relief of the Americans, stigma- 
tized the affairs at Lexington and Concord as inhuman murders; 
and he was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. 

In 1777 Howe abandoned the design of reaching Philadelphia 
through the Jerseys, and, withdrawing his troops, embarked them 
at New York with the intention of proceeding by water. Find- 
ing the banks of the Delaware well fortified, he proceeded up the 
Chesapeake and landed his men at the head of Elk. Midway be- 
tween that place and Philadelphia runs the stream called the 
Brandy wine, where the Americans occupied a strong position. 
But they were defeated and completely routed (Sept. 11th), and 
the British vanguard took possession of Philadelphia without re- 
sistance. In an attempt to recover it the Americans were re- 
pulsed at Germantown. These successes were more than counter- 
balanced by reverses in the north. General Burgoyne, who had 
more talent for writing plays than commanding armies, was di- 
rected to operate on the Hudson in order to prevent any farther 
attempts on Canada. Two advanced divisions, consisting chiefly 
of Germans, which he had thrown across the Hudson, were de- 
feated at Bennington by General Stark ; but, after collecting pro- 
visions, Burgoyne again crossed that river and advanced beyond 
Saratoga.* He defeated the Americans at Bemis's Heights (Sept. 
19), but gained no advantage by the victory ; and he was himself 
defeated shortly afterward, near the same spot, by Arnold. | Bur- 
goyne was now obliged to retreat to Saratoga, where he found 
himself almost surrounded by the enemy ; and as his provisions 

* Burgoyne and his army were all on the east side of the Hudson, and 
"^none of them had yet crossed. Bennington is 35 miles eastward from that 
river. — Am. Ed. 

t Gates was in chief command of the Americans opposed to Burgoyne, 
but to Arnold, more than to him, belongs the honor of the victory. — Am. Ed, 

E E 



^50 GEORGE HI. Chap. XXXI. 

were nearly exhausted, while at the same time no news arrived 
from Sir H. Clinton, by whom he expected to be joined, he found 
himself compelled to enter into convention with General Gates, 
by which he agreed to lay down his arms (Oct. 17). His fight- 
ing men had been reduced to 3500, while Gates had upward 
of 13,000 fit for duty.* The capitulation of Saratoga was the 
turning-point in the American war. It was not faithfully ob- 
served by the Americans, who, because the English soldiers had 
retained their cartouche-boxes, which they pretended came under 
the description of "arms," detained them several years at Boston 
as prisoners.f 

The news of Burgoyne's disaster raised a patriotic spirit in En- 
gland. Voluntary subscriptions were opened, and a sum was 
raised sufficient to maintain 15,000 soldiers without the aid of 
government. In France the news had a decisive effect. It was 
officially announced to the American envoys that Louis XVI. was 
prepared to acknowledge the independence of America; and two 
treaties of commerce and alliance with that country were signed 
at Paris, February 6, 1778. 

Now, when it was too late. Lord North attempted measures of 
conciliation. He formally renounced the right of the British Par- 
liament to tax America ; he appointed five commissioners with the 
most ample powers, who were instructed to raise no difficulties 
respecting the rank or legal position of those who might be ap- 
pointed to treat with them ; and it seemed to be intimated that 
any terms short of independence would be conceded. The bills 
were received by Parliament with astonishment and dejection ; 
but no opposition was made, and they received the royal assent 

* The exact number of prisoners surrendered was 5791, of whom 2412 
were Germans. — Am. Ed. 

f Gates made generous terms with Burgoyne, and the Congress at first 
ratified them ; but circumstances soon afterward made them suspicious that 
the terms would not be complied with on the part of the British.- Burgoyne 
was required to furnish a complete roll of his army, the name and rank of 
every officer, and the name, age, etc., of every non-commissioned officer 
and private soldier. He murmured and hesitated. At the same time, Gen- 
eral Howe was very illiberal in the exchange of prisoners, and exhibited 
much duplicity. Under these circumstances, the Congress resolved not to 
allow any of the captives, except Burgoyne, to leave America until a formal 
ratification of the convention at Saratoga should be made by the British 
government. The troops were accordingly marched from Boston into Vir- 
ginia, to await the action of the two governments, and were well provided 
for. On account of this prudential measure, the British ministry charged 
the Congress with actual perfidy. The latter retorted by charging the min- 
isters with meditated perfidy ; and subsequent correspondence between a 
New Jersey and Pennsylvania Tory (Isaac Ogden and Joseph Galloway) 
proved the suspicions of the Congress to be just and their measures wise. — 
Am. Ed. 



A.D. 1777, 1778. ^ DEATH OF LORD CHATHAM. C51 

March 11, 1778. Two days after the Marquis de Noailles, the 
French embassador, delivered a note, couched in ironical and in- 
sulting terms, announcing the treaties concluded between France 
and the United States. And now, in the hour of danger. Lord 
North deserted his post. On the very next day he tendered his 
resignation to the king, and advised him to send for Lord Chat- 
ham ; but the king's mind was embittered against that statesman 
by the invectives which he continued to utter, often groundless, 
it must be confessed, as when he inveighed against Bute's secret 
influence, which had long ceased to exist. The king expressed his 
determination not to accept the services of " that perfidious man," 
except in a subordinate post, which it was well known Chatham 
would not accept. 

§ 12. But the days of that great statesman were drawing to a 
close. On April 7, although so extremely ill that he was obliged 
to be supported, nay, almost carried into the House by his second 
son, William, and his son-in-law. Lord Mahon, Chatham went 
down to oppose a motion of the Duke of Richmond's for an ad- 
dress to the king recommending peace at any price, even the recog- 
nizing of American independence ; for, though Chatham had al- 
ways been the warm advocate of conciliation, he regarded such a 
step with the utmost abhorrence, as a dismemberment of the em- 
pire, and especially under present circumstances, when it would 
seem to be taken at the dictation of France. He made a speech 
against the motion, in which, though traces of faltering were some- 
times visible, all his former glowing eloquence seemed to be re- 
vived as for some grand and last occasion. He was answered by 
the Duke of Richmond, and, stung by some of his remarks, he 
rose to reply ; but his strength had been overtasked : he staggered 
and fell back in convulsions. The peers crowded round him with 
marks of the deepest sympathy. He was carried to a neighbor- 
ing house, where, with the aid of a physician, he in some degree 
rallied ; thence he was carried to his house at Hayes, where, after 
lingering a few weeks, he expired on May 11, in the 70th year of 
his age. A public funeral was voted, with a monument in West- 
minster Abbey, an annuity of £4000 attached forever to the Earl- 
dom of Chatham, and a sum of £20,000 to discharge his debts. 

The king now prevailed upon Lord North to continue in office ; 
and the ministry was strengthened in the House of Lords by con- 
ferring the great seal upon Thurlow. 

§ 13. The Americans had been encouraged by the French alli- 
ance, and by the retreat of Sir Henry Clinton from Philadelphia 
to New York ; and Congress refused to hold any conference with 
Lord North's commissioners, unless the British fleets and armies 
were first withdrawn from America, or, at all events, the inde- 



G52 GEORGE III. - Chap. XXXI. 

pendence of the United States acknowledged — conditions which 
were, of course, inadmissible, and all communications were con- 
sequently broken off. In July a French fleet of 12 ships of the 
line and 6 frigates, under the Count d'Estaing, appeared off the 
coast of America. Sir Henry Clinton reduced this summer nearly 
the whole province of Georgia, the inhabitants of which were loy- 
ally inclined. By orders from home, 5000 of. his troops had been 
dispatched to the West Indies, and effected the conquest of St. 
Lucia, St. Pierre, and Miquelon ; but, on the other hand, the 
French took Dominica. 

Several actions were fought in the Channel, where Admiral 
Keppel commanded the English fleet. In July a general engage- 
ment took place off Ushant. The French fleet, under D'Orvil- 
liers, was much superior in force : but the action was indecisive, 
and the respective fleets retired to Brest and Plymouth. Keppel 
had signaled Sir Hugh Palliser, his second in command, to bear 
up with his squadron and renew the combat ; but Palliser's ship 
being much crippled, he was unable to comply. Both admirals 
were in Parliament, and political adversaries ; and they now began 
to criminate each other. Keppel was brought to a court-martial 
on some charges made against him by Palliser, and after a trial of 
32 days was honorably acquitted. As he was the popular favorite, 
all London was illuminated on his acquittal, while Palliser was 
burned in efflgy. The latter, having demanded a court-martial on 
himself, was also acquitted. 

In the next summer (1779) Spain joined France in the war 
against England, and manifest'oes were published, both at Paris 
and Madrid, containing long statements of alleged grievances. In 
answer to the former, Gibbon the historian drew up a Memoire 
Justificatif^ or justifying memorial, which, though not exactly offi- 
cial, was circulated in the different courts of Europe as a state 
paper. The combined Spanish and French fleets amounted to 66 
sail of the line, besides frigates and other smaller vessels. The 
French began to threaten an invasion, and 50,000 men were spread 
along the coast of France, from Havre to St. Malo. The threat, 
as usual, created considerable alarm in England, which was per- 
haps all that was contemplated. Sir Charles Hardy, who now 
commanded the English fleet, had only 38 ships, and was there- 
fore obliged to remain on the defensive ; but dissensions broke 
out between the enemy's admirals about the mode of conducting 
the war, and, the Spanish commander having retired into port, it 
became necessary for the French admiral to follow his example. 
It was at this time that Paul Jones, a Scotchman by birth, but 
holding a commission in the American service, appeared off the 
eastern coast of Scotland with three small ships of war and one 



A. D. 1778-1780. LORD GEORGE GORDON RIOTS. (353 

armed brigantine. He attacked our Baltic fleet, captured the 
Serapis and the Scarborough that were convoying it, and carried 
his prizes to Holland. He then appeared in the Frith of Forth, 
and filled Edinburgh with alarm and humiliation, till a steady- 
west wind blew him out of the Frith. 

The war was now raging in various quarters of the globe. The 
Spaniards formed the siege of Gibraltar ; the French made an at- 
tempt upon Jersey, took Senegal in Africa, but lost Goree. In 
the AVest Indies, D'Estaing, in the absence of Admiral Byron, re- 
duced St. Vincent and Grenada ; but an attempt which he made, 
in conjunction with some American land-forces, on Savannah, the 
capital of Georgia, was repulsed. 

§ 14. The year 1780 is memorable for the No Popery riots ex- 
cited by Lord George Gordon. To explain their origin it will be 
necessary to go back a year or two. In 1778 Sir George Saville 
had procured the repeal of a very severe act against the Koman 
Catholics, passed in 1700 in consequence of the number of priests 
that came over to England after the peace of Ryswick. By this 
law priests or Jesuits exercising their functions, or teaching, were 
liable to imprisonment for life ; and all Catholics who within six 
months after attaining the age of 18 refused to take the Oaths of 
Allegiance and Supremacy, and to subscribe the declarations 
against transubstantiation and the worship of saints, were de- 
clared incapable of purchasing, inheriting, or holding landed prop- 
erty. The very severity of this law had rendered it inoperative, 
yet its repeal excited among the more bigoted Protestants, espe- 
cially in Scotland, and among the English populace, a feeling of 
the most violent animosity against the Roman Catholics. Prot- 
estant associations were formed both in England and Scotland ; 
and Lord George Gordon, a younger son of the Duke of Gordon, 
a young man of a turbulent temper, fond of notoriety, but with- 
out either ability or principle, had put himself at the head of the 
movement. He made many silly and violent speeches in the 
House of Commons, and even went so far as to insinuate that the 
king himself was at heart a Roman Catholic. On June 2 he as- 
sembled a vast mob in St. George's Fields, to accompany him to 
the House wdth a petition against the recent changes in the penal 
laws. Many of the members of both houses were insulted and ill 
treated ; the mob broke into the lobby of the House of Commons, 
and, knocking violently at the door, shouted out "No Popery!" 
while Lord George appeared now and then at the top of the gal- 
lery stairs to encourage and incite them. There was then no or- 
ganized police ; but Lord North, who displayed the utmost cour- 
age and firmness, privately sent for a detachment of the Guards. 
Colonel Murray, a kinsman of Lord George's, drew his sword and 



554 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXI 

threatened to run him through the body if a single man of the 
mob entered the House. The Guards arrived and cleared the 
lobby. Lord Gordon's proposal for immediate deliberation was 
rejected by an immense majority; and the rioters dispersed, but 
not before they had burned the chapels of the Sardinian and Bava- 
rian legations. On the following day (Saturday) the mob was 
tolerably quiet, but on Sunday the blue cockades reassembled in 
great numbers, and burned two or three Catholic chapels. On Mon- 
day more chapels were burned, as well as the house of Sir G. Sa- 
ville in Leicester Fields. On Tuesday, Lord George having ap- 
peared in the House with a blue cockade, Colonel Herbert desired 
him to remove it, or threatened to do so himself, upon which he 
submitted rather tamely. For two or three days the mob were 
in possession of London. Fiercer spirits had now appeared — men 
who thirsted for plunder and revolution. On Tuesday evenings 
Newgate was broken open, the prisoners to the number of 300 
released, and the' building, lately rebuilt at a cost of £140,000, re- 
duced to a heap of smouldering ruins. Clerkenwell was also en- 
tered, and the houses of three or four magistrates were destroyed. 
Toward midnight the mob proceeded to the residence of Lord 
Mansfield, in Bloomsbury Square, destroyed all his furniture, and 
his valuable library, containing letters which he had been collect- 
ing nearly 50 years, with a view to write the history of his times. 
Lord and Lady Mansfield had barely time to escape by the back 
door. On the 7th the riot was at its height. All the shops were 
shut, the mob were uncontrolled masters, and most of the prisons 
were forced and their inmates released. The magistrates seemed 
paralyzed ; and Kennett, the lord mayor, displayed a great dere- 
liction of duty, for which he was afterward prosecuted and con- 
victed ; while Alderman Wilkes, on the contrary, was active in 
suppressing the tumult. The king himself showed the greatest 
resolution on this occasion. Having assembled a council, he 
caused a proclamation to be issued warning the people to keep 
within doors, and intimating that the military had instructions 
to act without waiting for orders from the civil magistrates. 
That night London bore the aspect of a place taken by storm. 
In various quarters parties of soldiers were firing upon the mob, 
and the fire was sometimes returned ; people were seen removing 
their goods in haste and alarm from the numerous houses which 
had been set on fire ; and the streets resounded with the groans 
and yells of the wounded and the drunken. Nearly 500 persons 
were killed or wounded. But the riot was at an end : next day 
London was tranquil. Lord George Gordon was apprehended on 
the 9th, and committed to the Tower on a charge of high treason ; 
and shortly afterward 60 or 70 of the rioters were convicted, of 



A. D. 1780. THE "ARMED NEUTRALITY." 655 

whom 21 were executed. On this occasion, Wedderburn, the so- 
licitor general, was made chief justice of the Common Pleas, with 
the title of Lord Loughborough, his predecessor De Grey having 
resigned in alarm. 

§ 15. Admiral Sir Gr. Kodney gained a signal victory this year 
(Jan. 16) over the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent. Eight 
Spanish ships were taken or destroyed, and only four of their fleet 
escaped into Cadiz. He had previously captured a rich Spanish 
convoy in the Bay of Biscay. But the Spaniards amply avenged 
their losses by intercepting, off the Azores, our East and West 
India fleets, which had been sent to sea with a convoy of only 
, two men-of-war. These escaped ; but nearly 60 sail of merchant- 
' men, freighted with valuable cargoes, were carried into Cadiz. 
Besides her declared enemies, England had now to contend with 
the neutral powers, who, under cover of their flags, supplied our 
enemies with warlike stores. Our first quarrel on this account 
was with the Dutch ; and in February the Empress Catherine of 
Kussia issued a declaration to the belligerent courts, in which it 
was insisted that free ships make free goods ;• that no goods are 
contraband except those declared such by treaty ; and that block- 
ades, to be acknowledged, must be effective. This declaration 
became the basis of the " armed neutrality" subsequently estab- 
lished between Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, to which Holland 
and Prussia, and eventually Spain and France, also acceded. Its 
object was to support the claims of neutrals, if necessary, by force 
of arms. Thus all the most powerful nations of Europe seemed 
arrayed against England, if not actively, at all events in a sort of 
sullen and indirect hostility ; and before the end of the year the 
Dutch were added to the number of her active enemies. On 
board an American packet that had been captured there was 
found among the papers of Mr. Laurens, an envoy to Holland, 
the plan of an alliance between Holland and America, dated as 
far back as September, 1778. Remonstrances and negotiations 
. ensued; and on December 20, 1780, war was declared against 
the Dutch. 

With regard to this year's campaign in America, Sir Henry 
CHnton, after a rather long siege, succeeded in taking Charleston. 
All the American naval force at that place was destroyed or seized 
by Admiral Arbuthnot, and 400 guns and a great quantity of 
stores were captured. On the news that a French fleet, with a 
considerable number of troops on board, had sailed for New En- 
gland, Clinton re-embarked for New York with a portion of his 
force, leaving Lord Cornwallis, with about 4000 men, to hold 
Charleston and South Carolina, and, if possible, to annex North 
Carolina. General Gates was now approaching with a consider- 



(556 ^ GEORGE III. Chap. XXXI. 

able army ; and on August 16 an engagement ensued at Camden, 
in which the Americans were completely routed and dispersed, 
with the loss of all their baggage. The French expedition against 
New England appeared off Rhode Island in July ; but Admiral 
Arbuthnot, having been re-enforced by Admiral Graves, blockaded 
the French in Newport harbor the remainder of the year.^ Sir 
H. Clinton had now arrived at a just appreciation of the war. 
He perceived that his force was not strong enough, by some 
thousands, eifectually to reduce the revolted provinces, and he 
wrote home to that effect, at the same time tendering his resigna- 
tion of the command. 

The campaign in America ceased in the next year (1781), though 
the war was not absolutely terminated. The last action, at Eutaw 
Springs, about 60 miles from Charleston, fought on September 8, 
was one of the sharpest of the whole war. The American artil- 
lery was taken and retaken several times, and several hundreds 
were slain. The English, who were commanded by Colonel Stew- 
art, remained masters of the field ; yet, in spite of their apparent 
victory, they were obliged to retreat to Charleston Neck, and 
the Americans recovered the greater part of South Carolina and 
Georgia. 

At this juncture the Count de Grasse arrived from the West 
Indies with 28 sail of the line and about 4000 troops. Sir Samuel 
Hood had followed him with only 1 4 ships ; but, being re-enforced 
by Admiral Graves with five ships, the French were brought to 
an action off the coast of Virginia, September 5. It proved in- 
decisive, and both fleets then retired — the English to New York, 
the French to the Chesapeake Bay- 
Meanwhile, Lord Cornwallis, with a force of 7000 men, had 
taken up a position at Yorktown, an ill-fortified place, m which 
he was soon surrounded by an army of 18,000 men, with 50 or 60 
pieces of artillery, and commanded by Washington and Rocliam- 
beau, assisted by La Fayette and other French officers. The 

* The French fleet that arrived at Newport on the 10th of July, 1780, 
was not " an expedition against New England," but a naval armament sent 
to assist tlie Americans, and bearing a large French land force, under the 
Count de Rochambeati. The English fleet on the American stations at- 
tempted to blockade the French fleet in Narraganset Bay, but failed. Three 
French frigates went out the 20th of July to attack the advance sail of the 
British fleet, when, falling in with nine or ten ships, they retreated to the 
harbor. Shortly afterward Sir Henry Clinton, lately returned from Charles- 
ton, sailed from New York with 8000 troops .to drive the American forces 
and their allies from Rhode Island, but proceeded no farther than Hunting- 
ton Bay, in Long Island Sound, having been informed of the strong posi- 
tion of the French at Newport, the rapid gathering of the militia at the call 
of General Heath, and the approach of Washington toward New York. 
The expedition was abandoned. — Am. Ed. 



A.D. 1780-1782. LOSSES AND DISASTERS. 657. 

bombardment commenced on October 9 ; by the 14th two re- 
doubts had been carried, and the town more closely invested. As 
all relief or escape was impossible, Cornwallis was now obliged to 
capitulate, and obtained certain honors of war. With this capitu- 
lation the American war, which had been conducted without any 
adequate plan or vigor, may be said to have ceased ; at all events, 
there were no military operations afterward. 

§ 16. In other quarters the British were more successful. 
Among the feats of arms this year was the relief of Gibraltar by 
Admiral Darby. In the Channel the immense superiority of the 
combined fleet, 49 sail of the line to 21, compelled Admiral Dar- 
by to retire into Torbay, and remain on the defensive. Here the 
enemy dared not to attack him, and in September they were dis- 
persed by some boisterous weather. About the same time Ad- 
miral Hyde Parker, convoying a fleet from the Baltic, fell in with 
a Dutch fleet and convoy off the Dogger Bank ; but, though the 
Dutch admiral, Zeuthman, was beaten, and bore away for the Texel, 
Parker was in no condition to pursue. In the West Indies Ad- 
miral Rodney captured the Dutch island of St. Eustatia, with an 
immense amount of property and ships. The Dutch shipping in 
the rivers Demerara and Essequibo was also captured by En- 
glish privateers, and these settlements were surrendered to the 
Governor of Barbadoes. On the other hand, the French took 
Tobago. 

In the next session of Parliament the ministers intimated their 
intention of confining their attempts to the retaining of certain 
ports and harbors in America. The tidings of fresh disasters add- 
ed to the depression of the nation. Before the close of the year 
the Marquis de Bouille had retaken the island of St. Eustatia. 
Shortly afterward we lost Demerara and Essequibo, together with 
St. Kitt's, Nevis, and Montserrat ; so that, of all the Leeward Isl- 
ands, England retained only Barbadoes and Antigua. A little 
previously an attempt which we made upon the Dutch settlement 
at the Cape of Good Hope had been frustrated. All these mis- 
fortunes were crowned by the surrender of Minorca (Feb. 5, 1782), 
after an heroic defense, and when, chiefly from the ravages of dis- 
ease, only about 700 men were left fit for duty. 

On February 27, 1782, General Conway carried a resolution in 
the House of Commons against any farther attempts to reduce 
the insurgent colonies, and subsequently an address to inform the 
sovereign that those who should advise the prosecution of the war 
would be regarded by the House as enemies of their king and 
country. On March 15, the ministry having escaped a vote of 
non-confidence, proposed by Sir John Rous, only by a majority of 
9, Lord North announced his resignation. His administration had 

Ee2 



658 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXI. 

lasted 12 years, and had been characterized by harsh and rigorous 
measures, though he himself was eminently gentle and good-tem- 
pered. The Marquis of Rockingham now became again prime 
minister, with Lord John Cavendish as chancellor of the excheq- 
uer, Admiral Viscount Keppel first lord of the admiralty, the Duke 
of Richmond master of the ordnance, the Earl of Shelburne and 
Mr. Fox secretaries of state, and General Conway commander-in- 
chief. The Tory chancellor. Lord Thurlow, retained the seals. 
Burke was not admitted into the cabinet, but was made paymas- 
ter of the forces ; and a small appointment was given to his son. 

In the preceding year two young men of distinguished ability 
had entered on the career of public life ; Richard Brinsley Sheri- 
dan, and William Pitt, the second son of Lord Chatham. Sheri- 
dan's maiden speech was a failure ; but he was not discouraged, 
and soon retrieved his reputation. Pitt's first address, on the con- 
trary, seemed to be that of a practiced orator, and was received 
with applause and warm congratulations even by Fox and the op- 
position. Sheridan accepted the place of under secretary of state 
in the new ministry ; and a choice of some of the smaller posts 
was offered to Pitt, but, though only 23 years of age, he had al- 
ready declared in the House of Commons that he would not ac- 
cept any subordinate situation. 

The ministry were embarrassed at the very outset by the state 
of Ireland, where great discontent prevailed on account of some 
alleged commercial grievances. The Catholic question had not 
yet arisen, but the question of the independence of the Irish Par- 
liament was agitated with great warmth. The eloquent Henry 
Grattan, the leader of the opposition, was a Protestant. On April 
1 6 he carried an address to the crown declaratory of the legisla- 
tive independence of the Irish houses. Such an independence was 
clearly an anomaly which might lead to the greatest practical in- 
convenience : as, for instance, if the Irish Parliament should vote 
for peace with a foreign country against which England had de- 
clared war. The English ministers could not but perceive this 
glaring evil ; but the present state of the country rendered a breach 
with Ireland highly inexpedient, and Fox carried a motion (May 
17) which, by repealing the act 6 Geo. I., acknowledged the inde- 
pendence of the Irish Legislature. The gratitude of the Irish was 
unbounded. They immediately passed a vote to raise 20,000 sea- 
men, and they prevailed upon Grattan to accept £50,000 for him- 
self. 

The question of Parliamentary reform had now begun to excite 
considerable attention in England. Lord Chatham had been its 
warm advocate ; and Pitt, who took up his father's views on this 
subject, moved for a committee to inquire into the state of the 



A.D.1782. LORD SHELBURNE'S MINISTRY. 559 

representation. Opinions were divided in the cabinet, but the 
motion was negatived by 20 votes. Some measures of reform 
were, however, introduced by the ministry, such as a bill to pre- 
vent revenue officers from voting at elections, and another forbid- 
ding contractors to sit in the House of Commons. A great many 
useless offices were abolished, the pension list was reduced, and 
the amount of secret service money limited. 

§ 17. About this time the disgraces of England were in some 
measure retrieved by a brilliant naval victory. On April 12 Ad- 
miral Rodney succeeded in bringing the French fleet under De 
Grasse to an engagement, which, with a large body of troops on 
board, had sailed from Martinico to attack Jamaica. Each fleet 
consisted of upward of 30 ships of the line. The action lasted 
nearly 11 hours, and was desperately contested, but ended in the 
decisive victory of the English. The Ville de Paris, carrying Ad- 
miral de Grasse's flag, the largest ship in the French navy, togeth- 
er with four more first-rate vessels, was taken, and another was 
sunk. Admiral Hood captured two more that were retreating. 
Owing to the French vessels being crowded with troops, they are 
said to have lost 3000 killed and 6000 wounded, while the loss 
on the side of the English did not exceed 900. On board the 
Ville de Paris were 36 chests of money to pay the soldiers, and 
their whole train of artillery was on board the other captured ships. 
The remainder of the French fleet were scattered, and could not 
contrive to reunite. Thus was Jamaica saved. The ministry had 
just previously recalled Rodney, with every mark of coolness and 
disgrace; but they now found themselves called upon to reward 
him with a barony and a pension. An Irish barony was bestow- 
ed on Hood. 

Negotiations for a peace were soon after opened at Paris. Dr. 
Franklin, the American minister there, refused to treat on any 
other terms than the recognition of the independence of the United 
States, to which also he at first added a demand for the cession 
of Canada. In the midst of these negotiations Lord Rockingham 
died (July 1). The king now sent for the Earl of Shelbume, who 
accepted the office of first lord of the treasury, upon which a large 
part of the ministry, including Fox, Lord John Cavendish, the 
Duke of Portland, Burke,- and Sheridan, resigned. Under Lord 
Shelburne, Pitt became chancellor of the exchequer; Thomas 
Townshend and Lord Grantham secretaries of state. 

The combined French and Spanish fleets again swept the Chan- 
nel this summer, yet Lord Howe, vdih a far inferior force, con- 
trived to screen from them the East and West India merchant- 
men convoyed by Sir P. Parker. After Howe's return to Ports- 
mouth, the Royal George, of 108 guns, reckoned the first ship in 



G60 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXI. 

the British navj, having been laid slightly on her side in order to 
stop a leak, was cajDsized at Spithead by a squall ; and all her 
ports being open, immediately sank, when a great part of the crew, 
and many women and children who had come on board, as well 
as Admiral Kempenfeldt, who was writing in his cabin, were 
drowned. Rodney's prizes also, including the Ville de Paris, un- 
fortunately foundered on their way from the West Indies. 

In September Lord Howe sailed with 34 ships of the line to re- 
lieve Gibraltar, which had now endured a memorable siege of more 
than three years. It was defended by General Elliot, with a gar- 
rison of more than 5000 men. They had been relieved on dilFer- 
ent occasions by Admirals Rodney and Darby, but they were at 
times reduced to such distress as to feed off vegetables and even 
weeds. In the spring of 1781 the bombardment was terrible. It 
is computed that the enemy fired 56,000 balls and 20,000 shells 
from the middle of April till the end of May, yet the casemates 
afforded so effectual a protection that only 70 men were killed. 
The bombardment was relaxed during the summer, but renewed 
again in the autumn. On the night of November 26 Elliot made 
a sortie with 2000 men. The Spaniards were taken by surprise, 
and fled on all sides ; their works were destroyed, their guns 
spiked, their ammunition blown up. It was long before the bom- 
bardment was renewed, and then not with the previous vigor. 
Early in 1782 the Spaniards were encouraged by the arrival of 
De Crillon, the victor of Minorca, who assumed the chief com- 
mand. The total French and Spanish force now collected before 
Gibraltar amounted to 33,000 men, with 170 pieces of heavy ar- 
tillery. The English had likewise been re-enforced, and had a 
garrison of 7000 men, with 80 guns of large calibre. The siege 
now attracted the eyes of all Europe. The Comte d'Artois and 
Duke of Bourbon came from Paris to share the expected glory of 
its termination. Charles of Spain was accustomed to ask every 
morning on waking, "Is it taken?" and to the invariable " No," 
invariably replied, "It will be soon." De Crillon, deeming the 
land side impregnable, caused some immense floating batteries to 
be constructed, mounted with 142 guns ; and on the morning of 
September 17 a fire was opened on the English works at a distance 
of about 600 yards, the batteries on the land side playing at the 
same time. All day the terrible bombardment continued, but to- 
ward evening the effect of the red-hot shot from the English bat- 
teries began to tell. Before midnight one of the largest floating 
batteries, as well as the Spanish flag-ship Pastora, was in flames. 
The light served to direct the aim of the besieged, and at last 
every one of the battering ships was on fire. The enemy lost 1600 
men on this occasion. Soon after Lord Howe entered the bay, 



A.D 1782, 1783. PEACE OF VERSAILLES. GGl 

and the combined fleet did not venture to attack him. The siege 
was continued till the peace in 1783, but only nominally. Gen- 
eral Elliot, on his return to England in 1787, was raised to the 
peerage as Lord Heathfield* of Gibraltar. 

§ 18. As France and Spain seemed desirous of continuing the 
war, Lord Shelburne hastened to renew the negotiations for a sep- 
arate treaty with America ; and though the terms of the Ameri- 
can alliance with France, which had been carried out in the most 
liberal spirit by the latter country, strictly precluded a separate 
peace, yet, as it was obvious that the continuance of the war for 
any object beyond the recognition of the independence of the 
American States could serve only French or Spanish interests, 
Dr. Franklin, and the other three American commissioners in Paris, 
did not hesitate to respond to the advances of the British govern- 
ment. Articles were signed on November 30, 1782, the chief of 
which were the recognition of the independence of the United 
States, an advantageous arrangement of their boundaries, and the 
concession of the right of fishing on the Banks of Newfoundland. 
Great Britain recognized and satisfied the claims of the American 
Loyalists to the extent of nearly ten millions sterling for losses of 
real or personal property, and of £120,000 per annum in life an- 
nuities for loss of income in trades or professions — a splendid in- 
stance of good faith after so expensive a war. In England the 
treaty was 1-eceived with various feelings. It was not till June, 
1785, that George III. had an interview with Mr. Adams, the first 
minister from the United States, which naturally occasioned con- 
siderable emotion on both sides. The king received Mr. Adams 
with affability and frankness. He remarked that he wished it to 
be understood in America that, though he had been the last to 
consent to a separation, he would be the first to welcome the 
friendship of the United States as an independent power. 

i)uring the Christmas recess the ministers exerted themselves 
to bring to a close the negotiations with France and Spain. The 
latter power at first insisted on the restoration of Gibraltar, and 
Lord Shelburne seemed not unwilling to exchange it against Porto 
Eico, while his colleagues required the addition of Trinidad. But, 
since its gallant defense, the heart of the nation was fixed on that 
barren rock ; Lord Shelburne perceived that to cede it would 
bring great unpopularity upon the ministry, and he informed the 
Spaniards that no terms would tempt to its surrender. The Span- 
ish court were indignant ; but, finding that they were not backed 
by France, they sullenly acquiesced, and the preliminaries of a 
peace between the three countries were signed at Versailles, Jan- 

* The title became extinct on the death of the second Lord Heathfield in 
1813. 



662 



GEORGE III. 



Chap. XXXI. 



uary 20, 1783. England restored St. Lucia and ceded Tobago to 
France, receiving in return Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, Ne- 
vis, and Montserrat. In Africa England yielded Senegal and Go- 
ree, retaining Fort James and the River Gambia. In India the 
French recovered Chandernagore, Pondicherry, Mahe, and the 
Comptoir of Surat. French pride was gratified by the abrogation 
of the articles in the treaty of Utrecht relative to the demolition 
of Dunkirk, a place which no outlay whatsoever could have ren- 
dered capable of receiving ships of the line. 

To Spain were ceded Minorca and both the Floridas, while King 
Charles guaranteed to England the right of cutting logwood within 
certain boundaries to be hereafter determined, and agreed to re- 
store Providence and the Bahamas. The latter, however, were 
recovered before the suspension of hostilities. Some months after 
a treaty was also concluded with the Dutch on the basis of mu- 
tual restitution. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.I). 

1760. Accession of George III. 

1761. The Family Compaci between France, 

Spain, and Naples. 
" Resignation of Pitt. 

1762. Lord Bute prime minister, 
" War with Spain. 

1763. Peace of Paris. End of the Seven 

Years' War. 

" Resignation of Bute. George Gren- 
ville prime minister. 

" Arrest of Wilkes on a " general war- 
rant." 

1765. Grenville's American Stamp Act. 

" Resignation of Grenville. Marquis of 
Rockingham prime minister. 

1766. Repeal of the American Stamp Act. 
" Resignation of Rockingham. 

" Pitt created Earl Chatham, His sec- 
ond ministry. Duke of Grafton at 
the head of the treasuiy. 

1767. An act to levy a tax on tea and other 

articles in America. 

1768. Resignation of Chatham, 

^ Duke of Grafton continues at the 
treasury. 

1769. Repeal of the taxes imposed upon 

America in 1767, with the exception 
of the duty upon tea. 

1770. Resignation of the Duke of Grafton. 



A.D. 

1770. Lord North prime minister, 
1773. Popular outbreak at Boston, 

1775. Commencement of the American War 

of Independence. Battles of Lexing- 
ton and Bunker's Hill, 

1776. American Declaration of Independence, 

1777. Capitulation of Saratoga. 

1778. Alliance between America and France. 
"• War with France. 

" Death of Lord Chatham. 

1779. War with Spain. 

1780. Lord George Gordon's riots. 

"• Rodney's victory at Cape St. Vincent. 

1781. Capitulation of Lord Comwallis and 

end of the American war, 

1782. Resignation of Lord North. Marquis 

of Rockingham prime minister a sec- 
ond time. 

' '• Irish Pai'liament declared independent. 

'' Rodney's victory over De Grasse in 
the West Indies. 

" Death of the Marquis of Rockingham, 

" Lord Shelburne prime minister, and 
Pitt chancellor of the exchequer, 

" Gibraltar relieved by Lord Howe after 
a siege of three years. 

" Recognition of the Independence of 
the United States, 

1783. Peace of Versailles, 




Medal in commemoration of Lord Howe's victory over the French fleet, June 1, 1794 

Obv. : EABL HOWE ADMi' OF THE -nTriTE K : G : Bust to right. Below, mudie . d : -w : 
VTYON- . F : Rev. : French fleet defeated off ushai^t vii sail of the line captueed 
I JixsE MDCOXcrv. Neptune, drawn by two sea-horses, to right. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

GEOEGE in. CONTrSTJED. FROM THE PEACE OF VERSAILLES TO THE 
PEACE OF AJNIIENS. A.D. 1783-1802. 

§ 1. Coalition Ministry. Fox's India Bill. Pitt Prime Minister. His In- 
dia Bill. § 2. Impeachment of Warren Hastings. Affairs of India till 
his Governor-generalship. Vote of Censure on Lord Clive. His Suicide. 
§ 3. Administration of Warren Hastings. § 4. His Extortions in Oude. 
Charges against him. Result of his Impeachment. § 5. The King's 111^ 
ness. Outbreak of the French Revolution. § 6. Riots at Birmingham. 
Attitude of Europe. State of Feeling in England. The French declare 
War. § 7. Campaign in Flanders. Insurrection of Toulon, and Siege 
of that City. § 8. Campaign of 1794. Holland overrun by the French. 
§ 9. Naval Successes. Lord Howe's Victory. § 10. Sedition in England. 
Expedition to Quiberon. Dutch Colonies taken. § 11. Alliance between 
France and Spain. Lord Malmesbury's Negotiations. Attempted Inva- 
sions of England. Bank Restriction Act. § 12. Battle of Cape St. Vin- 
cent. Duncan's Victory off Camperdown. § 13. Mutinies at Portsmouth 
and the Nore. Threatened Invasion. § 14. Expedition to Ostend. 
The French in Egypt. Battle of the Nile. Its Consequences. § 15. 
English and Russian Expedition to Holland. The Helder taken. Tlie 
Duke of York capitulates. Siege of Acre and Flight of Bonaparte from 
Egypt. § 16. Disturbances in Ireland. Irish Union. § 17. Pitt's Opin- 
ions on Parliamentary Reform and Catholic Emancipation. Warlike 
Operations. The armed Neutrality. § 18. Pitt resigns. Lord Adding- 
ton Prime Minister. Expedition against Copenhagen. Dissolution of 
the armed Neutrality. § 19. Threatened Invasion, and Attack on Bou- 
logne. The French in Egypt. Battle of Alexandria, and Death of Ab- 
ercromby. § 20. The French expelled from Egypt. Peace of Amiens. 

§ 1. The war had added upward of 100 millions to the nation- 
al debt, and the country was so exhausted that it would have been 



(564 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXII. 

difficult to send 3000 men on any foreign expedition. These par- 
ticulars, however, were not generally known ; and when the con- 
ditions of the peace were communicated to the Parliament, they 
were received by the opposition with a perfect storm of disappro- 
bation. The cession of Chandernagore and Pondicherry was es- 
pecially the object of animadversion. The ministers having been 
twice left in minorities in the Commons, Lord Shelburne resigned. 
The state of parties rendered it difficult to form a new adminis- 
tration. Mr. Pitt declined the task, and for some weeks there 
was a sort of interregnum. At length a coalition ministry was 
formed. The Duke of Portland, a man of small abilities, became 
first lord of the treasury. The virtual ministers were Lord North 
and Fox, the secretaries of state ; yet only a little previously Fox 
had publicly declared that, if ever he could be persuaded to act 
with Lord North, he should consider himself worthy of eternal in- 
famy ! Their power, however, was not of long duration. Li No- 
vember Fox brought in a bill to reform the government of Lidia, 
which passed the Commons, but was rejected by the Lords. The 
ministers, having a large majority in the former house, did not 
think it necessary to resign ; but the king, who had always view- 
ed the coalition with disgust, sent messages to Lord North and 
Fox, requiring them to deliver up the seals. Mr. Pitt, as first lord 
of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, now became the 
head of a ministry of which the principal members were Lord 
Thurlow, chancellor ; Earl Grower, president of the council ; the 
Duke of Rutland, privy seal ; Lord Caermarthen and Lord Syd- 
ney, secretaries of state ; and Lord Howe, first lord of the admi- 
ralty. 

Pitt, like his predecessors, was defeated on a bill which he in- 
troduced to regulate the government of Lidia ; but he resorted to 
a dissolution, and the elections, which took place in April, 1784, 
secured a large majority for the ministry. In August he succeed- 
ed in carrying his bill, the main feature of which was the creation 
of the Board of Control, consisting of six privy councilors nom- 
inated by the king, who, with the principal secretaries of state 
and the chancellor of the exchequer, were to be commissioners for 
India, with supreme control over the civil and military govern- 
ment and the afi^airs of the company. Pitt also adopted some 
measures to remedy the disordered state of the finances, and im- 
posed various new taxes, amounting to nearly a million per an- 
num. In the following year he brought in a bill for a reform of 
Parliament, which was supported by some of his opponents, and 
opposed by some of his supporters, but finally lost by a majority 
of 74. The public at that period took little interest in the sub- 
ject, and it was not resumed. 



A.D. 1783-1786. IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS. ^65 

George, Prince of Wales, the king's eldest son, had attained his 
majority in 1783, when he had a separate establishment assio-ned 
him, with Carlton House as a residence, which stood in Pall Mall, 
on the site now occupied by the Duke of York's column. Like 
most preceding heirs-apparent, he had thrown himself into the 
ranks of the opposition, from which his friends were chiefly select- 
ed, as Lord North, Fox, Burke, Sheridan, Windham, Erskine, and 
others. By improving his residence, by losses at the gaming-ta- 
ble and on the turf, as well as by other expenses incident to his 
station, and to a youthful prince of gay and voluptuous habits, he 
liad contracted a large amount of debt ; and such was his distress 
that in 1786 an execution was put into his house for the sum of 
£600. The king, whose regular and moral habits led him to view 
the prince's course of life with high disapprobation, refused to as- 
sist him, especially as it was believed that he had contracted a 
private marriage, contrary to the Eoyal Marriage Act, with Mrs. 
Fitzherbert, a Roman Catholic lady of great personal charms, cor- 
rect conduct, and elegant manners. The prince was obliged to 
reduce his establishment, sell off all his horses, and suspend the 
works at Carlton House. At length the prince's embarrassments 
were forced upon the notice of Mr. Pitt by the opposition ; and to 
avoid a threatened motion upon the subject, the king instructed 
the minister to propose, on the understanding that the jDrince 
would reform his expenditure, an increase of £10,000 per annum 
to his income, together wdth the sum of £161,000 for the discharge 
of his debts, and £20,000 for the works at Carlton House. 

§ 2. In 1786 Burke brought forward his celebrated impeach- 
ment of Warren Hastings. In order to understand this subject, 
it will be necessary briefly to resume the history of affairs in In- 
dia.* During the absence of Clive great disorder had prevailed. 
The government had fallen into the hands of Mr. Yansittart, fa- 
ther of Lord Bexley, who was by no means competent to conduct 
it. The native princes could no longer be kept in subjection ; 
the servants of the Company were amassing great wealth by bribery 
and extortion, while the Company itself was on the verge of bank- 
ruptcy. In May, 1765, Lord Clive again landed at Calcutta, hav- 
ing, after an arduous struggle, obtained the appointment of govern- 
or and commander-in-chief in Bengal. There was as yet no cen- 
tral government, and the three presidencies of Calcutta, Madras, 
and Bombay were on a footing of jealous rivalry. Clive first ap- 
plied himself to remedy the abuses in the Company's service. 
He made the civil ofiicers bind themselves in writing to accept 
no more presents from the native princes ; and he ordered the mil- 
itary to relinquish the double batta^ or additional allowances, 

* See p. 637. 



QQQ GEORGE III. Chap. XXXII. 

granted to them by Meer Jaffier after the battle of Plassy. This 
order produced a mutiny. Nearly 200 officers, and among them 
Sir Robert Fletcher, the second in command, conspired to throw 
up their commissions on the same day. Clive immediately re- 
paired to the camp at Monghir, and having assembled the officers, 
pointed out to them the guilt of their conduct, declared his res- 
olution to suppress the mutiny, and to supply the place of the mu- 
tineers by other officers from Madras, or even by the clerks and 
civil servants of the Company. He then cashiered Sir R. Fletch- 
er, and caused the ringleaders to be arrested and sent to Calcutta 
for trial. The rest now entreated to be allowed to recall their 
resignations — a request which was in most instances granted, but 
only as an act of grace and favor, while the vacancies were sup- 
plied by a judicious promotion of subalterns. Clive also placed 
the jurisdiction of the Company on a satisfactory footing, and pro- 
cured from Shah Alum, Emperor of Delhi, a deed conferring on 
them the sole administration of the provinces of Bengal, Orissa, 
and Bahar. Clive returned to England in January, 1767. 

In his absence affairs again went wrong. In the Madras presi- 
dency Hyder Ali, founder of the kingdom of Mysore, the most 
daring and skillful enemy the English had ever encountered in 
India, finding his advances neglected by the company, joined the 
Mahratta chieftains, threatened the capital itself, and extorted an 
advantageous peace. The Company's trade suffered to such an 
extent that in the spring of 1769 India stock fell sixty per cent. 
In 1770 Bengal was afflicted by a famine which is computed to 
have carried off one third of the inhabitants. The disasters and 
misrule in India, and the declining state of the Company's affairs, 
at length attracted the attention of government, and committees 
of inquiry were appointed in 1772. In the spring of the follow- 
ing year. Lord North, by the act called the Regulating Act, made 
several reforms in the constitution of the Company, both with re- 
gard to the court at home and the management of affairs in India. 
The most remarkable feature of this act was that the Governor 
of Bengal was invested with authority over the other presidencies, 
and with the title of Governor General of India, but he was him- 
self subject to the control of his council. Warren Hastings, who 
had been appointed to the government of Bengal in the previous 
year, was the first Governor General of India. 

In the same year General (then Colonel) Burgoyne, who after- 
ward contributed to the loss of our empire in the "West, moved a 
vote of censure on the man who had established our empire in the 
East. Clive's wealth, and his magnificent seat at Claremont, had 
attracted envy, and there were circumstances in his extraordinary 
career which might afford a handle to malignity. Such especially 



A.D. 1786. ADMINISTRATION OF WARREN HASTINGS. 667 

was his sanctioning the forgery of Admiral Watson's signature 
in order to deceive the traitor Omichund, who had threatened 
to reveal the conspiracy to dethrone Surajah Dowlah, though 
Clive does not appear to have derived any private advantage from 
the act. This and other matters were objected to him, while all 
his eminent services seemed to be forgotten or overlooked. Bur- 
goyne carried the first part of his resolutions, affirming certain 
matters of fact that had been proved against him ; the second part, 
censuring him for having abused his powers, was negatived ; and, 
on the motion of Wedderburn, it was unanimously added to the 
resolutions carried, " that Robert, Lord Clive, did at the same 
time render great and meritorious services to his country." But 
the taunts to which he had been subjected had sunk deep into his 
mind ; he was accustomed to complain that he had been exam- 
ined like a sheep-stealer ; and his melancholy temperament, which 
even in early youth had displayed itself in an attempt at suicide, 
now farther aggravated by ill health, and perhaps also by a life 
of inaction, led him to lay violent hands on himself (Nov., 1774) 
before he had attained his 50tli year. 

§ 3. The administration of Warren Hastings was also able and 
beneficial. He reformed and improved the revenues of India ; he 
transferred the government of Bengal to the Company, leaving 
only a phantom of power at Moorshedabad ; he resumed the pos- 
session of Allahabad and Corah, and discontinued the tribute to 
Shah Alum. But his measures for replenishing the Company's 
treasury were not always marked by scrupulous honor. The 
Vizier of Oude beinor desirous of subiuo-atina; the neig-hborino; 
country of Rohilcund, Hastings did not hesitate to lend him some 
British bayonets for that purpose, in consideration of a payment 
of 40 lacs of rupees when the conquest should have been accom- 
plished. But the measures of Hastings were impeded and dis- 
concerted by his council. In October, 1774, General Clavering, 
Colonel Monson, and ]\Ir. Philip Francis arrived in India, having 
been appointed members of the governor general's council. These 
men were utterly ignorant of Indian affairs, yet they united to- 
gether in opposing every measure of Hastings. Francis was their 
leader, and he and his confederates formed the majority of the 
council, which consisted, besides them, only of Hastings himself 
and Mr. Barwell. Thus they were able to control all the steps of 
the governor, and to Avrest from him his patronage ; nay, they even 
took steps to bring him to trial on a charge of corruption ; but 
Hastings refused to submit to their jurisdiction. He afterward 
prosecuted in the Supreme Court some of the natives who had 
been incited to accuse him ; and in August, 1775, one of them, the 
Eajah Nuncomar, was hanged. By this decisive step Hastings re- 



(368 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXII. 

covered the respect of the natives, of which the conduct of the 
council had deprived him. 

After the death of Colonel Monson in September, 1776, Hast- 
ings recovered his authority in the council by virtue of his casting 
vote. Attempts were made both in India and at home to deprive 
him of the government, but without success ; and when the war 
with France broke out in 1778, it was felt, even by his enemies, 
that his great abilities could not be spared. It was under his 
auspices, and with the assistance of Sir Hector Munro, that Chan- 
dernagore, Pondicherry, and the other French settlements in In- 
dia were captured. An expedition against the Mahratta chiefs 
proved not so fortunate. The British force, hemmed in at War- 
gaum, was obliged to capitulate, on condition of restoring all the 
conquests made from the Mahrattas since 1756. All India seem- 
ed now combining against us. Hyder Ali availed himself of our 
entanglement in the Mahrattas to overrun the Madras presidency ; 
a body of 3000 of our troops, under Colonel Baillie, was surprised 
and cut to pieces. Munro, at the head of 5000 more, only saved 
himself by a precipitate flight ; all the open country lay at Hyder's 
mercy ; and the smoke of the burning villages around struck alarm 
into the capital itself At this juncture Hastings signally dis- 
played his genius and presence of mind. He immediately aban- 
doned his favorite scheme of the Mahratta war, and, conceding to 
the chiefs the main points at issue, tendered offers not only of 
peace, but even of alliance. He then dispatched every available 
soldier in Bengal, under the command of Sir Eyre Coote, by whose 
military genius he was ably seconded, to the rescue of Madras. 
Coote defeated Hyder Ali in a great battle at Porto Novo, July 1 , 
1781, and again in August at Pollilore. These victories led to 
the recovery of the open country, and saved the Carnatic. After 
again defeating Hyder Ali at Arnee in 1782, Coote retired a 
while to Calcutta. In December of that year Hyder died, and 
Coote, anxious to measure swords with his son and successor Tip- 
poo, proceeded in 1783 to the Carnatic. The vessel in which he 
sailed was chased two days and nights by some French men-of- 
war. Coote's anxiety kept him constantly on deck ; his feeble 
health received a fatal blow, and two days after landing at Madras 
he expired. 

§ 4. The exertions for the relief of Madras had exhausted the 
resources of Bengal ; yet the India proprietors at home expected 
large remittances. In order to raise them Hastings had recourse to 
the feudatory rajahs, and above all to Cheyte Sing, Rajah of Ben- 
ares, from whom he extorted an exorbitant fine of £500,000 for 
having delayed to pay £50,000. He is said also to have received 
from this rajah two lacs of rupees for his private use, which he 



A.D.1786, nST. CHARGES AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. ggg 

seems to have retained some time, and, then to have placed to the 
credit of the Company. But the worst feature in his conduct was 
his treatment of the Begums of Oude. The government had large 
claims on Asaph ul Dowlah, nabob vizier of Oude, to satisfy which 
Hastings compelled him to extort large sums from the Begums, 
his mother and grandmother, the mother and widow of Sujah 
Dowlah ; although Asaph ul Dowlah, after previously wringing 
large sums from them, had signed a treaty, sanctioned by the Coun- 
cil of Bengal, by which he pledged himself to make no farther de- 
mands upon them. This treaty, however, had been made con- 
trary to the wish of Hastings, when his authority in the council 
was controlled, and he now disregarded it. In order to extort the 
money from the Begums, two aged eunuchs, their principal min- 
isters, were thrown into prison and deprived of all food till they 
consented to reveal the place where the treasure of the princesses 
was concealed. Tortures and other severities were continued 
through the year 1782, till upward of a million sterling had been 
extorted. 

Hastings concluded a peace with Tippoo in the autumn of 
1783 on the basis of mutual restitution, and then proceeded to 
Lucknow to tranquilize that district. Toward the close of 1784 
he announced his intention of retiring ; and when he sailed for 
England in the spring of 1785, peace prevailed throughout India. 
Mr. M'Pherson, senior member of the council, succeeded to the 
vacant government, till in February, 1786, Lord Cornwallis was 
appointed governor general. 

Such were the chief transactions which gave rise to the im- 
peachment before alluded to of Warren Hastings by Burke, who 
brought forward 22 articles, comprehending a great variety of 
charges. The first, on the subject of the Rohilla war, was neg- 
atived by a considerable majority, and the whole impeachment 
seemed to be upset. But on May 13th Fox moved the charge 
respecting Cheyte Sing and the proceedings at Benares ; when 
Pitt, after a speech which at first appeared quite to exculpate 
Hastings, concluded by observing that he had acted in an arbitrary 
and tyrannical manner in imposing a fine so shamefully exor- 
bitant. This conclusion took the house by surprise, and in a di- 
vision the impeachment was voted. Nothing farther was done in 
the matter till February, 1787, when Sheridan moved the Oude 
charge in a most brilliant speech. This motion was also support- 
ed by Pitt, and an impeachment voted. Other articles were sub- 
sequently carried, and Burke, accompanied by a great number of 
members, proceeded to the bar of the House of Lords, and im- 
peached Hastings of high crimes and misdemeanors, whereupon 
he was committed to custody, but released on bail. We shall 



670 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXII. 

here anticipate the result of this impeachment. The trial did not 
commence till the spring of 1788, and lasted seven years, when 
Hastings was acquitted by a large majority on all the charges. 
Whatever may be thought of the acts which he committed for the 
interest of the East India Company, his personal disinterestedness 
was proved by the fact that he was indebted to the bounty of the 
directors for the means of passing the remainder of his days in a 
manner becoming his high station. 

§ 5. In 1788 the king was seized with a violent illness, which 
terminated in symptoms of lunacy, so that in October it became 
necessary to subject him to medical treatment, and he was put 
under the care of Dr. Willis, who was both a physician and a 
clergyman. In this seclusion of the crown Fox insisted on the 
exclusive right of the Prince of Wales to be appointed regent, a 
position which Pitt triumphantly refuted ; not, however, that he 
opposed the nomination of the prince ; he merely denied that he 
had any natural or legal right without the authority of Parlia- 
ment. Committees were appointed in both houses to search for 
precedents ; but, while the bill for a regency was in progress, the 
king's convalescence was announced, February, 1789. 

An event was now impending which was to shake Europe to 
its foundations. To all outward appearance France was in a 
most prosperous condition. She was at peace with all Europe ; 
she had achieved a triumph over England, her ancient rival, by 
helping to emancipate her rebellious colonies ; yet she was herself 
on the brink of a terrible convulsion. To trace the causes or to 
detail the events of the French Revolution comes not within the 
scope of this book, and we shall here confine our view to those re- 
sults which, from the vicinity of the two countries, and the con- 
stant intercourse between them, could not fail to produce a great 
effect in England. The French had been regarded in England as 
the slaves of an absolute monarch, and the first efibrts of the Rev- 
olution were looked upon by a large number of persons in this 
country as the first steps toward a system of constitutional free- 
dom. The storming of the Bastile was almost as much applauded 
in London as in Paris. But the burnings, the plundering, the 
murders which ensued, by which the politest nation in the world 
seemed to be degrading itself by acts which would disgrace a horde 
of savages, soon alienated most English hearts. The inoculation 
of the political virus embittered party feeling in England; the 
names of Democrat and Aristocrat bade fair to supplant those of 
Whig and Tory ; and a stronger line of demarkation was drawn 
between political sections. Friends who had long acted together 
now parted forever ; and, in particular, the separation of Burke 
from Fox and his party was conspicuous from the genius and em- 



A.D, 1787-1791. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 671 

inence of the men. The congratulations addressed to the National 
Assembly of France by a club in London, called the Revolution 
Society, established to commemorate the Revolution of 1688, un- 
der the signature of Earl Stanhope, their chairman, incited Burke 
to publish his " Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on 
the Proceedings of certain Societies in London," in which, in the 
most eloquent and impressive language, he denounced the proceed- 
ings in France, and almost prophetically foretold the future des- 
tinies of that country. This publication called forth many at- 
tacks and answers, of which the most remarkable were Thomas 
Paine's " Rights of Man," and the " Vindicice Gallkc^' of Sir James 
Macintosh. The former is written in a coarse but forcible style ; 
the latter, in elegant and polished language, extenuates the most 
atrocious excesses, on the ground that they are the necessary con- 
comitants of all revolutions : a position sufficiently refuted by our 
own, and especially by that of 1688. These three works produced 
a prodigious effect on public opinion in England, and became, as 
it were, the arsenals from which men of different parties drew 
their weapons of attack and defense. It was not, however, till 
May, 1791, in a debate concerning Canada, that Burke, in a pow- 
erful and affecting speech, publicly separated from Fox. 

§ 6. The sect of the Unitarians were the most ardent admirers 
of the French Revolution. Dr. Priestley, a leading member of it, 
proposed to celebrate at Birmingham the anniversary of the cap- 
ture of the Bastile by a dinner, which was prepared on the ap- 
pointed day (July 14, 1791) at an hotel in the town, in spite of 
the plainest symptoms of an intended riot. The party of upward 
of 80 gentlemen were received with hisses by the mob ; the win- 
dows of the hotel were smashed ; two meeting-houses were de- 
stroyed, as well as the dwelling of Dr. Priestley, together with his 
valuable library and philosophical instruments, and the manu- 
scripts of works which had cost him years of labor. Several per- 
sons were apprehended for this disgraceful riot, and three were 
executed. 

The decree of the Constituent Assembly, September 14, 1791, 
WTesting Avignon and the Venaissin from the Pope, showed that 
the French, after the overthrow of their own government, would 
cease to respect the territorial rights of others, and inspired alarm 
in Germany. TTie Emperor Leopold and the King of Prussia, at- 
tended by many of their chief nobility, had a conference in August 
at Pilnitz, near Dresden, toward the conclusion of which the Count 
d'Artois, brother of Louis XVT., and several of the leading French 
emigrants, who had passed over in gi^eiat numbers into Germany, 
unexpectedly presented themselves, and pressed for the forcible re- 
establishment of order in France. Hopes of succor were held out, 



672 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXII. 

and Russia, Spain, and the principal states of Italy subsequently- 
declared their adherence to the emperor's views. England alone 
observed a strict neutrality. But the w^ar was begun by France. 
Leopold died in March, 1792 ; and Dumouriez, the minister for 
foreign affairs in the Jacobin administration which had now been 
forced upon the King of France, demanded from Leopold's son 
Joseph, now King of Hungary and Bohemia, an explanation of his 
views with regard to France. His answers being considered eva- 
sive, war was declared against him March 20th. An army of 
Austrian s and Prussians now took the field under the command 
of the Duke of Brunswick, who on July 25th published, against 
his own better judgment, that ill-considered manifesto which prob- 
ably hastened the dethronement and murder of Louis XVI. The 
irritating and offensive language of the manifesto was not sup- 
ported by vigorous action. The deposition of the king, the mas- 
sacres of September in Paris, the defeat of Valmy, and, finally, the 
retreat of the Duke of Brunswick, followed in rapid succession. 

These events occasioned a great ferment in London. The mi- 
litia was embodied, the Tower was fortified and guarded. A nu- 
merous meeting of merchants, bankers, and traders, signed a loyal 
declaration, pledging themselves to uphold the Constitution. The 
execution of the French king, January 19th, 1793, awoke a still 
deeper sensation throughout the country. The French embassa- 
dor was dismissed, and immediate hostilities were anticipated. 
The ancient jealousies and rivalries between the two nations still 
subsisted, in spite of the imitation of English fashions, and some 
ill-understood admiration of English literature, which had been 
introduced into France by the Duke of Orleans, and which had 
obtained the name of A?igIo-mania. The French had displayed 
their willingness to interfere in the domestic affairs of other coun- 
tries by the decree of November 19, 1792, declaring themselves 
ready to fraternize with all nations desirous of recovering their 
liberty. In England various meetings and societies had voted 
congratulatory addresses to the French on their proceedings : 
Monge, the French minister of marine, in a circular letter of De- 
cember 31, 1792, distinctly avowed the notion of flying to the as- 
sistance of the English Republicans against their tyrannical gov- 
ernment ; and on February 3 the French declared war against 
England and Holland. 

§ 7. Nearly the whole of Europe was now arrayed against the 
French, who had not a single ally ; yet the vigor of their meas- 
ures enabled them to disconcert the ill-conceived and dilatory 
schemes of the allies. In a short time they had no fewer than 
eight armies on foot ; but into the detail of military operations we 
can not enter, even briefly, farther than England is concerned. In 



A.D. 1791-1793. REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 673 

the course of the spring (1793), 10,000 British troops, under the 
Duke of York, landed at Ostend, and, having joined the imperial 
army under the Prince of Coburg, assisted to defeat the French at 
St. Am and. The success of the attack on the French camp at 
Famars, May 23d, was chiefly owing to the British division, which 
turned the enemy's right. They were next employed in the siege 
of Valenciennes, which surrendered July 2oth. The Duke of 
York subsequently undertook the siege of Dunkirk, but without 
success ; he was obliged to retreat upon Furnes, and in November 
the armies went into winter quarters. In the East and \yest In- 
dies the English arms were more successful. In the former, Chan- 
dernagore, Pondicherry, and one or two smaller French settlements 
fell into our hands ; in the latter, Tobago, St. Pierre, and Mique- 
lon were captured, but the attempts on JNIartinico and St. Domingo 
failed. 

In the same year the insurrection at Toulon was aided by the 
fleet cruising in the Mediterranean under the command of Lord 
Hood, and consisting of English, Spanish, and Neapolitan vessels. 
A French fleet of 18 sail of the line lay at Toulon harbor; but, 
after a little show of resistance. Hood and the Spanish commander 
took possession of the place in the name of Louis XYII. General 
O'Hara arrived from Gibraltar with re-enforcements, and assumed 
the command. But even then the garrison was too small for the 
defense of Toulon against a besieging army of 30,000 men, espe- 
cially as they had to struggle with jealousies and dissensions among 
themselves and treachery on the part of the inhabitants. It was 
on this scene that first appeared the extraordinary man who was 
to wield for a brief period the destinies of Europe. Napoleon 
Bonaparte, then a chef de hataillon, was dispatched to Toulon by the 
Committee of Public Safety as second in command of the artil- 
lery; but the siege was in reality conducted by his advice. By 
degrees, the heights which surround the place were captured by 
the French ; and when the eminence of Pharon fell into their 
hands, Toulon was no longer tenable. Before retiring, it was de- 
termined to burn the fleet and arsenal, a task which was intrusted 
to the Spanish under Admiral Langara, and a body of British 
under Captain Sir Sydney Smith ; but, owing to the remissness 
of the former, the operation was badly conducted. Nevertheless, 
three sail of the line and 12 frigates were carried to England, 
and nine sail of the line and some smaller vessels burnt by Sir S. 
Smith. The allies also carried off as many of the Royalist in- 
habitants as possible, to save them from the vengeance of the Re- 
publican army. 

§ 8. In September Garnier des Saintes proposed and carried in 
the Convention a vote denouncing Pitt as an enemy of the human 

Ff 



674 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXII. 

race. This patron of mankind wished to add to the resolution 
that any body had a right to assassinate the English minister; 
but the Convention was not quite prepared to adopt so abomina- 
ble a doctrine. The manufactures of Great Britain were strictly 
prohibited in France ; and it was ordered that all British subjects 
in whatever part of the republic should be arrested, and their 
property confiscated. 

The preparations for the campaign of" 1794 seemed to promise 
something of importance. The French had three armies on their 
northern frontier, those of the North, the Rhine, and the Moselle, 
amounting to 500,000 men, and mostly animated with an en- 
thusiastic spirit. Voltaire, one of the literary patriarchs of the 
Revolution, had laughed at the English shooting Admiral Byng, 
"pour encourager les autres ;" but the French themselves had on 
this occasion provided a little stimulus for defective patriotism or 
valor. An ambulatory guillotine, under the superintendence of 
St. Just and Le Bas, accompanied the march of the French army, 
and in cases of failure it was put into operation. The forces of 
the allies were also large, but inferior to the French. The em- 
peror commanded in person 140,000 men, and had, besides, an 
army of 60,000 Austrians on the Rhine ; the Prussians amounted 
to 65,000 ; the Duke of York was at the head of 40,000 British 
and Hanoverians ; and there was also a body of 32,000 emigrants 
and others. But division reigned among the allies. Austria and 
Prussia were jealous of each other, and intent on objects of selfish 
aggrandizement, to which the affairs of France were quite sub- 
ordinate. Prussia demanded and received large subsidies from 
England, nor would Russia move an army without the same 
support. 

The plan of the campaign was to take Landrecies and advance 
upon Paris. The siege was assigned to three divisions of the al- 
lied army, under the Duke of York, the Prince of Cobourg, and 
the hereditary Prince of Orange. There was much manoeuvring 
aiong the whole line of frontier from Luxembourg to Nieuport, 
and several skirmishes and battles, attended with various success. 
The most remarkable of these was the battle of Turcoing. The 
object was to cut off the left wing of the French and drive them 
toward the sea, when they must have surrendered. The emperor 
superintended the attack in person, which was made with 90,000 
men ; but the operation proved a failure, in consequence of the 
various divisions not arriving at the appointed time. On the fol- 
lowing morning. May 18th, the Duke of York was surrounded at 
Turcoing by superior bodies of French, who took 1500 prisoners 
and 50 guns, but left 4000 men on the field. The duke himself 
escaped only through the fleetness of his horse. The British 



AD. 1794. NAVAL SUCCESSES. 575 

troops retrieved this disgrace a few days afterward at Pont Achin, 
where Pichegru, with 100,000 men, made a general attack on the 
right wing of the allies. The battle had raged from 5 a.m. to 3 
P.M., and the allies were beginning to give way, when the Duke 
of York dispatched to their support seven battalions of Austrians 
and the 2d brigade of British infantry. The latter threw them- 
selves into the centre of the French army, bayonet in hand, and 
completely routed them. The Convention were so alarmed at 
the display of British valor on this and other occasions, that they 
passed a dastardly and ferocious decree ordering that in future no 
quarter should be given to British or Hanoverians. But most of 
the French generals were unwilling to execute it. 

On June 26th the allies were totally defeated on the plains of 
Fleurus and compelled to retreat. This battle sealed the fate of 
Flanders, nearly all the towns of which fell into the hands of the 
French. Led by Generals Moreau, Jourdan, and Pichegru, they 
were equally successful on the Rhine and wherever they were en- 
gaged. During this time the Reign of Terror was in full vigor in 
France ; but it was drawing toward its close, and on July 28th 
Robespierre was executed. 

The Prince of Orange and Duke of York had been compelled 
gradually to retire before the overwhelming armies of the French. 
Toward winter they entered Amsterdam, and a little afterward 
the duke resigned his command to General Walmoden and re- 
turned to England. The Dutch had determined to defend them- 
selves by inundating the country ; but of this resource they were 
deprived by a severe frost. The French crossed the rivers and 
canals on the ice ; and then was beheld the singular spectacle of 
a fleet frozen up at the entrance of the Zuyder Zee captured by 
land-forces and artillery. The Stadtholder and a great number 
of Dutch of the higher classes fled to England. The British 
troops, unable to maintain their position in the pr6vince of Utrecht, 
retreated toward "Westphalia, enduring the most dreadful suffer- 
ings, both from the rigor of the season and the barbarity of their 
allies, who plundered, insulted, and sometimes murdered the sick 
and wounded. They at length reached Bremen, and embarked for 
England in March. A large portion of the Dutch nation were 
willing to fraternize with the French, and the whole of Holland 
submitted to them almost without resistance. 

§ 9. As in the preceding year, the disasters of England on the 
Continent were in a great degree compensated by her naval suc- 
cesses and. her victories in other quarters. In the summer Cor- 
sica was taken by Admiral Lord Hood, and annexed to the British 
crown ; but in the following year the French recovered it by a re- 
volt of the inhabitants. Li this expedition Colonel Moore and 



^76 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXII. 

Captain Nelson highly distinguished themselves. At the siege of 
Calvi, Nelson received a wound which destroyed the sight of his 
right eye. But the most brilliant victory of the year was that 
gained by Lord Howe. The French had resolved to dispute the 
sovereignty of the seas, and had prepared at Brest a fleet of 26 
ships of the line, commanded by Jean Bon St. Andre, once a Cal- 
vinist minister. Howe fell in with them May 28th with about 
the same number of vessels ; but in weight of metal the French 
were much superior, having 1290 guns to our 1012. A general 
engagement ensued on June 1st, when, after an hour's hard fight- 
ing, Howe succeeded in breaking the French line. The French 
admiral then made for port, followed by all the ships capable of 
carrying sail : seven ships were captured and one sunk during the 
action. For this victory Lord Howe and the fleet received the 
thanks of Parliament ; London was illuminated three nights ; and 
the king and queen, accompanied by some of the younger branches 
of the royal family, visited the fleet at Spithead, when the king 
presented Howe with a magnificent sword set in diamonds. Suc- 
cess also attended our arms in the West Indies, where Admiral 
Sir John Jervis and Lieutenant General Sir Charles Grey cap- 
tured Martinique, St. Lucie, and Les Saintes. But an attack upon 
the French portion of St. Domingo proved a failure. 

§ 10. In England attempts were made this year by seditious ad- 
mirers of the French Revolution to excite disturbances ; but the 
great mass of the public remained unmoved. Several prosecu- 
tions were instituted by government, the most remairkable of which 
were those of Hardy, Home Tooke, and Thelwall ; but convictions 
were obtained only in tw^o instances at Edinburgh, where one in- 
dividual was hanged and another transported for life. The ill 
success of the Continental campaigns had increased the peace 
party ; but Mr. Pitt warmly supported the war as. just and neces- 
sary, though in the spring of 1795 Prussia made a separate treaty 
wdth France, and the emperor required a loan of four or five mill- 
ions to continue the war, which was granted. The western 
provinces of France were still in arms in favor of monarchy, and 
Pitt entertained their applications for assistance. A considerable 
body of French Royalists, accompanied by a few English troops, 
were landed at Quiberon ; but discord prevailed among the emi- 
grants, and they had opposed to them the brave and skillful Gen- 
eral Hoche, who speedily obliged them to lay down their arms. 

After the flight of the Stadtholder to England an embargo was 
laid on all Dutch shipping in English ports ; and as the United 
Provinces had submitted to French domination, orders were is- 
sued for reprisals against them. In the West Indies, the Dutch 
colonies of Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo were captured ; in 



A. D. 1794-1796. ALLIANCE OF FRANCE AND SPAIN. ^77 

the East, the gi^eater part of the island of Ceylon, Malacca, Cochin, 
and the other Dutch settlements on the continent. About the 
same time the Cape of Good Hope was taken ; and the whole of 
a squadron sent out by the Dutch in the following year to recap- 
ture it fell into the hands of Admiral Elphinstone. Against these 
successes must be set off the retaking of St. Lucie and St. Yin- 
cent's by the French. It would exceed our limits to recount the 
detached naval actions which took place in various parts. Toward 
the close of the year a great disaster occurred. To retrieve our 
losses in the West Indies, a large fleet was dispatched under Ad- 
miral Christian, with 15,000 troops commanded by Sir Ealph 
Abercrombie. Scarcely had they passed the isle of Portland when 
they were caught in a ^dolent gale from the west ; many transports 
were wrecked ; the Chesil beach was strewed with corpses ; and 
the fleet was so much damaged that the expedition was wholly 
disconcerted. In the following year, however, the remains of it 
were refitted and dispatched under Admiral Cornwallis, and St. 
Lucie and St. Vincent's were recovered. 

In England sedition was inflamed by a bad harvest and the high 
price of bread. The king, proceeding to open Parliament in Octo- 
ber, was assailed with groans and hootings, and a bullet, or mar- 
ble, supposed to have been discharged from an air-gun, passed 
through his carriage window. The same scene took place on his 
return. Missiles of every kind were hurled at his coach, which, 
when he had alighted, the rabble followed to the Mews, and 
broke into pieces. During these outrages the king displayed the 
greatest composure, and delivered his speech with his usual firm.- 
ness and propriety. 

§ 11. A peace had been effected between France and Spain by 
Don Emanuel Godoy, afterward styled the Prince of Peace ; and 
in the spring of 1796, an ofiensive and defensive alliance, with re- 
gard to England only, was concluded between those powers at St. 
Ildefonso. The design of this alliance was to injure British com- 
merce by coercing Portugal ; a French army was to march through 
Spain upon Lisbon ; and the Queen of Portugal, in her alarm, 
consented to declare that city a free port. Spain, which soon 
afterward declared war against Great Britain, was by this alli- 
ance placed as much at the disposal of France as by the Family 
Compact ; but she only prepared the way for her own subsequent 
misfortunes. 

After their retreat from Holland the Eng-lish for a lono; time 
took no part in the struggle on the Continent, and the war was 
confined to France and Austria on land, and France, Spain, and 
Great Britain at sea. This was the year of Bonaparte's splendid 
campaign in Italy; but, in spite of their gi'eat successes in that 



(378 GEORGE III. Chap.XXXII. 

quarter, the French had met with reverses on the Rhme. The 
Directory seemed not disinclined for peace, and Lord Mabnes- 
bury, who was dispatched to make overtures, was received with 
acclamations by the Parisians ; it was soon evident, however, from 
the arrogant and insincere tone of the French minister, that peace 
was not really desired, and, above all, Napoleon was opposed to it. 
Every opportunity was taken to insult and irritate Lord Malmes- 
bury, who admirably retained his temper, and in December he 
received a rude message to quit Paris in 48 hours. The negotia- 
tions had been protracted so long merely to prepare an expedition 
against Ireland ; and two days after Lord Malmesbury's departure 
a French fleet sailed from Brest. It was, however, dispersed by a 
storm ; only a small portion of it succeeded in reaching Bantry 
Bay ; but the inhabitants proved hostile, and the attempt was frus- 
trated. It was connected with another scheme for the invasion 
of England. A body of about 1200 malefactors and galley-slaves 
were to have ascended the Avon and burnt Bristol ; but, having 
been landed at Fishguard Bay, in Pembrokeshire, they surrendered 
to about half their number of fencibles and militia collected by 
Lord Cawdor. The two frigates which brought them were cap- 
tured on their way home. 

The war had pressed heavily upon the resources of the coun- 
try, and early in 1797 it was evident that the Bank of England, 
which had advanced 10^ millions for the public service, would be 
unable to meet its payments in specie. In February an order of 
council appeared prohibiting the bank from paying their notes in 
specie. At a meeting of the principal bankers and merchants in 
London it was resolved to take bank notes to any amount ; notes 
of £1 and £2 were issued, and in March Pitt brought in his Bank 
Restriction Bill, the main provisions of which were to indemnify 
the bank for refusing to make cash payments, and to prohibit them 
from so doing except in sums under 20s. The bill was to be in 
force till June 24th ; but the term was afterward prolonged, and 
the bank did not resume cash payments till some years after the 
conclusion of the war. (See p. 725.) 

§ 12. The French, to whom Spain and Holland were now sub- 
sidiary, determined upon an invasion of England on a grand scale, 
and large fleets, amounting to more than 70 sail, were got ready 
at the Texel, Brest, and Cadiz. Commodore Nelson, while sail- 
ing with a convoy to Gibraltar, descried a Spanish fleet of 27 sail 
of the line off Cape St. Vincent, and hastened to, notify it to Ad- 
miral Jervis, who was cruising with 15 sail of the line. Nelson 
accepted an invitation to hoist his pendant on board the Captain 
74 ; and the hostile fleets came in sight at daybreak on Feb. 24th. 
The Spaniards were not only superior in number, but also in the 



A.D.1797. BATTLE OF ST. VINCENT. 679 

size of their ships, among which was La Santissima Trinidad, of 
136 guns on four decks, supposed to be the largest man-of-war in 
the world ; but the unseamanlike way in which their ships were 
handled caused the English to disregard the disparity of force. 
Jervis cut off nine of their ships before they could form their line 
of battle, eight of which immediately took to flight. Of their re- 
maining ships. Nelson, supported by Captain Trowbridge in the 
Culloden, engaged no fewer than six, namely, the Santissima Trin- 
idad, the San Josef, and the Salvador del Mondo, each of 112 
guns, and three seventy-fours. After the action had lasted an 
hour Nelson was re-enforced by the Blenheim, Captain Frederick, 
and the Excellent, Captain Collingwood. When Nelson's ship, 
which had been engaged in close combat with three first-rates, 
was nearly disabled, and his ammunition almost expended, he 
boarded and took the San Josef, and then the San Nicholas, he 
himself leading the way, exclaiming "Westminster Abbey or vic- 
tory !" The Spanish admiral declined renewing the fight, though 
many of our ships were quite disabled, and at the close of the day 
he made his escape in the Santissima Trinidad. For this victory 
Sir John Jervis was raised to the peerage with the title of Earl 
of St. Vincent, with a pension of £3000 a year. Nelson was in- 
cluded in a promotion of rear admirals, and received the Order of 
the Bath. In July Admiral Nelson, with a small squadron, made 
an unsuccessful attempt on the town of Santa Cruz, in Tenerifie. 
Nelson himself, when on the point of landing, had his arm shat- 
tered by a shot, and was obliged to have it amputated. 

Notwithstanding the defeat of their Spanish auxiliaries, the 
French did not abandon their project of an invasion, and during 
the summer a fleet of 15 sail of the line, with frigates, under Ad- 
miral De Winter, was preparing in the Texel to convey 15,000 
men to Ireland. In October they put to sea with the intention 
of proceeding to Brest without embarking the troops, when Ad- 
miral Duncan, who had been watching their motions with a nearly 
equal force, placed himself between them and a lee shore, off Cam- 
perdown, and after a desperate engagement, which lasted four 
hours, captured eight sail of the line, two ships of 56 guns, and a 
frigate (Oct. 11th). For this victory he was made Viscount Dun- 
can* of Camperdown, with a pension of £3000. 

§ 13. Thus our navy formed both the glory and safeguard of 
the country, yet in this very year it had threatened to be the source 
of our disgrace and ruin. Discontent was lurking among our sea- 
men, who complained that they only received the wages fixed in 
the reign of Charles II., though the prices of articles had risen at 
least 30 per cent. ; that their provisions were deficient in weight 
* His son was created Earl of Camperdown in 1831. 



OyO GKORGE HI. Chap. XXXTT. 

and measure ; that they were not properly tended when sick ; that 
their pay was stopped when they were wounded ; and that when 
in port they were detained on board ship. In April a mutiny 
broke out in the fleet at Spithead. Upon the signal being given 
to weigh, the crew of the Queen Charlotte, the flag-ship, instead 
of obeying, ran up the shrouds and gave three cheers, which were 
answered from the other ships. Two delegates from each then 
went on board the Queen Charlotte, where orders were framed for 
the government of the fleet, and petitions drawn up to the House 
of Commons and the Lords of the Admiralty for a redress of griev- 
ances. This alarming mutiny was at length suppressed by some 
judicious concessions, and by the personal influence of Lord Howe, 
who was deservedly popular among the seamen, and who, at the 
king's request, proceeded on board the fleet. But no sooner was 
the mutiny at Spithead quelled than another still more dangerous 
broke out among the ships in the Med way. One Richard Parker 
was the ringleader — a man, though illiterate, of quick intellect and 
determined will ; and he obtained the name of Rear-admiral Par- 
ker. The ships were moved from Sheerness to the Nore to be 
out of reach of the batteries ; the obnoxious officers were sent on 
shore, and the red flag hoisted. The demands of the mutineers 
were both more peremptory and more extensive than those made 
at Portsmouth, and embraced important alterations in the Articles 
of War. Altogether 24 or 25 ships were included in the mutiny. 
The mutineers seized some store-ships, fired on some frigates that 
were about to put to sea, and had even the audacity to blockade 
the mouth of the Thames. Gloom and depression pervaded the 
metropolis, and the funds fell to an unheard-of price. All at- 
tempt at conciliation having failed, it. became necessary to resort 
to stringent measures. Pitt brought in a bill for the better pre- 
vention and punishment of attempts to seduce seamen; and an- 
other forbidding all intercourse with the mutineers, on the penalty 
of felony. Several ships and numerous gun-boats were armed ; 
batteries were erected on shore; the mutineers were prevented 
from landing to obtain fresh water or provisions ; and all the 
buoys and beacons were removed, so as to render egress from the 
Thames impossible. A great part of the crews had in their hearts 
continued loyal, and the proposition to carry the fleet into a French 
port was rejected with horror. One by one the ships engaged in 
the mutiny began to drop ofl*, and at last the Sandwich, Parker's 
flag-ship, ran in under the batteries and delivered up the ring- 
leaders. Parker was hanged on the yard-arm of that vessel. 

Duncan's victory was an effectual bar to all projects of inva- 
sion ; nevertheless, the French still continued their empty men- 
aces. Bonaparte, who was now rapidly advancing toward supreme 



A.D. 1798. THE FRENCH IN EGYPT. Qgl 

power, had conceived a deadly hatred of this country. After com- 
pelling the Austrians to the peace of Campo Formio he had re- 
turned to Paris, where he was enthusiastically received ; the Di- 
rectory called him to their councils, and consulted him on every 
occasion. An army, called the army of England, was inarched 
toward the Channel ; a proclamation was issued in which it was 
difficult to say whether the abuse of England or the vaunting laud- 
ation of France were the most silly and extravagant ; and a loan of 
about four millions sterling was proposed to be raised on the se- 
curity of the contemplated conquests, but the money-lenders did 
not seem inclined to advance their cash upon it. The threatened 
invasion was in a great degree intended to conceal an expedition 
which Bonaparte was now meditating against Egypt. 

§ 14. The English, in turn, were not backward in offensive oper- 
ations, which, however, did not prove very successful. In May, 
1798, Havre was ineffectually bombarded by Sir Richard Strahan, 
and in the same month an expedition under Sir Home Popham 
was undertaken aorainst Ostend. General Coote landed with 1000 
men, and destroyed the basin, gates, and sluices of the Bruges ca- 
nal, in order to interrupt the navigation between France and Flan- 
ders. But the surf did not permit him to return to the ships, and 
on the following morning they were surrounded by several columns 
of the enemy drawn from the adjacent garrisons, and, being out- 
numbered, were obliged to surrender. 

At the same period Bonaparte sailed from Toulon with 13 
ships of the line and transports, conveying 20,000 men, on his 
Egyptian expedition, accompanied by some generals of renown and 
a body of savaris. It was undertaken from a mere desire of spo- 
liation and aggrandizement, for the French had not a shadow of a 
grievance to allege against the Porte. On the way, Malta, then 
governed by the Grand Master and Knights, was surprised and 
seized with as little pretense. At the beginning of July the 
French landed between 3000 and 4000 men at Marabou, near 
Alexandria, and captured the latter city after a slight resistance, 
as well as Aboukir and Rosetta, which gave them the command 
of one of the mouths of the Nile. The French committed an in- 
discriminate massacre of men, women, and children, which lasted 
four hours ; and Bonaparte issued a blasphemous proclamation, 
in which he declared that the French Avere Mussulmans, and took 
credit for driving out the Christian Knights of Malta. He then 
crossed the desert, fought the battles of Chebreisse and the Pyra- 
mids, and seized Cairo, the capital of Egypt. 

Meanwhile Nelson had been vainly looking out for the French 
fleet, and it was not till August 1st that he discovered their trans- 
ports in the harbor of Alexandria. Their men-of-war were an- 

F F 2 



682 GEORGE m. Chap. XXXII. 

chored in the Bay of Aboukir, as close as possible to tlie shore. 
Nevertheless, Nelson determined to get inside of them with some 
of his vessels, a manoeuvre for w^hich they v^ere not prepared ; 
and, though the Culloden grounded in the attempt, Nelson perse- 
vered. Thus a great part of the enemy's fleet Avas placed between 
two fires. The battle began at 6 in the evening. By 8 o'clock 
four of the French van had struck, but the combat still raged in 
the centre. Between 9 and 10 o'clock, L' Orient, the French ad- 
miral's ship, having caught fire, blew up with a terrible explo- 
sion, which was followed by a deep silence of several minutes. 
The battle was then renewed, and continued through the night, 
with only an hour's pause. Separate engagements occurred 
throughout the following day, and at noon Rear Admiral Ville- 
neuve escaped with four ships. On the following morning the 
only French ships remaining uncaptured or undestroyed were the 
Timoleon and the Tonnant, when the latter surrendered, and the 
former was set on fire and abandoned by the crew. Such was 
the battle of the Nile. From the heights of Rosetta the French 
beheld with consternation and dismay the destruction of their 
fleet, which deprived them of the means of returning to their 
country. Soon afterward the islands of Goza and Minorca fell 
into the hands of the English. 

The news of Nelson's victory was received with the sincerest 
demonstrations of joy not only at home, but through a great part 
of Europe. He was created Baron Nelson of the Nile and of 
Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk ; the thanks of both houses of Par- 
liament were voted to him, and an annuity of £2000. He also 
received some magnificent presents from the Grand Seignor, the 
Emperor of Russia, and the King of Sardinia. His return to the 
Bay of Naples animated the king to undertake an expedition 
against Rome, which was recovered from the French. At the 
same time Nelson landed 6000 men and captured Leghorn. These 
enterprises, however, were rash and ill-considered. In a few days 
the French retook Rome and marched upon Naples itself, when 
the king took refuge on board Nelson's ship and proceeded to 
Sicily, which for some time became his home. Naples, deserted 
by the sovereign and the greater part of the nobility, was heroic- 
ally defended by the lower classes and the lazzaroni ; but, as they 
had no artillery, they were forced to succumb, and the French es- 
tablished the Parthenopeian Republic. 

In consequence of the battle of the Nile an alliance was formed 
between England, Russia, and the Porte, and early in 1799 hos- 
tilities were recommenced between Austria and France. The 
Congress of Rastadt, which had been some time sitting with the 
view of arranging a general pacification, was dissolved, and the 



A.D, 1799. SIEGE OF ACRE. 683 

French, being defeated by the Archduke Charles at the battle of 
Stockach, were obliged to recross the Rhine. At the same time 
the Russians under Suwarrow, advancing into Italy, recovered with 
extraordinary rapidity all the conquests made by Bonaparte with 
the exception of Genoa. Suwarrow then invaded Switzerland, 
but all his successes were compromised by the want of cordial co- 
operation between him and the Austrians. 

§ 15. After the alliance between England and Russia, a joint 
expedition was agreed upon for the recovery of Holland, which 
was to be undertaken with 30,000 British troops under Sir Ralph 
Abercrombie and 17,000 Russians (1799). The first division of 
the British, under Sir James Pulteney, General Moore, and Gen- 
eral Coote, effected a landing, and after two severe encounters 
took the towns of the Helder and Huysduinen. About the same 
time the Dutch fleet of 13 ships of war, together with some In- 
diamen and transports, surrendered by capitulation to Admiral 
Mitchell. About the middle of September, by the arrival of some 
Russian divisions, and of the Duke of York with three British 
brigades, the allied army amounted to 33,000 men, of which the 
duke was commander-in-chief. Several actions took place, at- 
tended with varying success and considerable losses on both sides. 
At length the duke, sensible of the advancing season, and find- 
ing that his army was reduced by 10,000 men, retired to a for- 
tified position at the Zype, which he might have maintained by 
inundating the country ; but, as such an operation would have de- 
stroyed an immense amount of property, and occasioned great mis- 
ery to the Dutch, he preferred a capitulation, by which it was 
agreed that he should restore the Helder in the same state as be- 
fore its capture, together with 8000 Dutch and French prisoners, 
and that the allied army should re-embark without molestation 
before the end of November. Thus ended an expedition which, 
though unfortunate, can hardly be called disgraceful. As a sort 
of compensation, the Dutch colony of Surinam was conquered this 
summer. 

Meanwhile the situation of the French in Egypt had become 
very critical. The army was seized with alarm and dejection ; 
many committed suicide ; but Bonaparte retained his presence 
of mind. Having dispatched Desaix against the Mamelukes in 
Upper Egypt, he himself undertook an expedition into Palestine 
against Djezzar Pasha. El Arish, Gaza, Jaffa, yielded to his 
arms ; at which last he massacred in cold blood between 3000 and 
4000 prisoners. But at St. John d'Acre, the key of Syria, he was 
met by Sir Sydney Smith, to whom the sultan had intrusted his 
fleet. Sir Sydney destroyed the flotilla that was conveying the 
French battering-train ; nevertheless, they continued the siege with 



(384 GEORGE in. Chap. XXXII. 

field-pieces. After a siege of two months, and several assaults, 
Bonaparte was compelled to retreat, though he had resorted to the 
treacherous action of ordering an assault after sending in a flag of 
truce. Having returned to Egypt toward the end of August, he 
went on board a French man-of-war in the night, accompanied by 
some of his best generals, leaving letters by which he delegated 
the command of the army to Me'nou and Kleber. By hugging 
the African coast, he escaped the English cruisers and arrived 
safely at Frejus. Notwithstanding his ill success, his popularity 
had, if possible, increased in Paris. Toward the end of the year, 
the Assembly of Five Hundred having been dissolved, Bonaparte, 
Sieyes, and Ducos became consuls. 

§ 16. A measure was now in agitation in England for consol- 
idating the power and integrity of the empire by a union with 
Ireland. That country had been for some years in a very dis- 
turbed state. The examples of America and France had inspired 
many with the idea of establishing an independent republic ; and 
in 1791 was formed the society of United Irishmen, consisting 
mostly of Protestants, whose principles would have led to that re- 
sult. Its projector was a barrister named Theobald Wolfe Tone, 
who, having become secretary of the committee for managing the 
affairs of the Irish Roman Catholics, effected an alliance between 
the two parties. The ramifications of this society extended through- 
out Ireland. Tone having been detected in a treasonable corre- 
spondence with the French, was obliged to fly to America, whence 
he soon afterward passed over to France, and employed himself 
in forwarding the projected invasions already mentioned in 1796 
and 1797. Notwithstanding the frustration of these expeditions, 
the Irish malcontents did not abandon their plan of an insurrec- 
tion. One of their principal leaders was Lord Edward Fitzgerald, 
a brother of the Duke of Leinster ; and he was seconded by Arthur 
O'Connor, Napper Tandy, Thomas Addis Emmet, Oliver Bond, 
and others. But the conspiracy was divulged by one Thomas 
Reynolds, and some of the principal conspirators were arrested, 
March 12, 1798, at a meeting which they held in Bond's house. 
Lord Fitzgerald happened not to be present, but he was discover- 
ed and seized about two months afterward. He made a desperate 
resistance, wounding two of the officers sent to apprehend him, 
one of whom died of his injuries. But he himself was shot with 
a bullet in the shoulder, the eflfects of which proved fatal. After 
this discovery martial law was proclaimed in Ireland, and many 
acts of violence and cruelty took place on both sides. Numerous 
engagements occurred in various quarters, in which the rebels were 
almost invariably defeated, except in Wexford, where they were in 
greatest force, and where they sometimes made head against the 



A.D. 180U. UNION OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 685 

king's troops. At Vinegar Hill, near the town of Wexford, was 
their principal camp or station ; and here they were defeated 
(June 21) by General Lake, the commander-in-chief. Lord Corn- 
wallis, the new viceroy, who arrived shortly afterward, succeeded 
in reducing the country to comparative tranquillity. 

The union of England and Ireland had been many years dis- 
cussed as a speculative question, and these disturbances forced it 
upon the serious attention of the government. The king, in his 
speech on opening the Parliament (Jan. 22, 1800), alluded to the 
subject, and a few days afterward Pitt brought forward a series 
of resolutions, which were carried after considerable debate. A 
bill embodying these resolutions passed both houses in the follow- 
ing May. The main provisions were, that 100 Lish members 
should be added to the English House of Commons, and 32 Lish 
peers to the House of Lords — four spiritual and 28 temporal — 
whose seats were to be held for life. The measure also passed 
both houses of the Irish Parliament, and it was agreed that the 
Union should commence on Jan. 1, 1801. We shall here antici- 
pate what occurred on that day. A council was held consisting 
of the most eminent dimitaries of Church and state, includins; the 
royal princes,. etc., by which proclamations were issued for making 
the necessary changes in the king's title, the national arms, and the 
Liturgy. The only thing worth noting on this occasion is, that 
the title of " King of France" was dropped and the Jieuj^s de lys ex- 
punged from the royal arms ; a pretension that for some centuries 
had been a vainglorious one, and which had proved inconvenient 
in recent negotiations with France. 

§ 17- When Pitt brought forward this measure, he publicly re- 
nounced the opinions which he had formerly held on the subject 
of Parliamentary reform. The chief reasons which he assigned 
for his change of views were the altered state of circumstances 
produced by the French Revolution, and the fact that England 
had ridden safely through the revolutionary storm. 

During the debates on the Union the Irish Catholics had re- 
mained almost entirely neutral, and what little feeling they dis- 
played was in its favor. This is attributable to their hatred of 
the Orangemen, the warmest opponents of a union, as well as to 
the expectation that their demands would be more favorably con- 
sidered in a united Parliament than by a separate Irish Legisla- 
ture ; and, indeed, Pitt, who was not adverse to their claims, had 
held out to them some hopes to that effect. 

On May 15th this year the king was shot at in his box at Drury 
Lane Theatre. The assassin, being apprehended, was found to 
be a lunatic named James Hatfield, and the attempt was not in 
any way connected with politics. But the deficient harvest this 



686 GEORGE III. Chap XXXII. 

year, and consequent high price of bread, occasioned much distress 
and discontent. Attacks on the property of farmers, millers, and 
corn-dealers were frequent in the country, and mobs and riots oc- 
curred in London. 

In the warlike operations of the year the battle of Hohenlinden, 
gained by Moreau in December, opened to the French the way to 
Vienna, and their progress was only arrested by the armistice of 
Steyer. On the other hand, they were obliged to surrender Malta 
after a blockade of two years. 

Disputes had again occurred between England and the northern 
powers respecting the right of search, and they were artfully fo- 
mented by France. The Emperor Paul was also offended by the 
rejection of his claims upon Malta, to which he thought himself 
entitled as Grand Master. In November he proceeded to lay an 
embargo on British vessels, and to sequester all British property 
in Russia. The masters and crews of about 300 ships were seized 
and carried in dispersed parties into the interior, where only a mis- 
erable pittance was assigned for their subsistence. Toward the 
end of the year an armed neutrality was formed between Russia 
and Sweden, and was soon after joined by Denmark. 

§ 18. Thus new difficulties were gathering around England, 
while the statesman who had hitherto so ably directed her course 
was about to retire from the helm. Pitt, as we have said, had 
previously to the Union expressed himself in favor of the Cath- 
olic claims, and before the first Parliament of Great Britain and 
Ireland assembled he addressed a letter to the king (Jan. 31, 
1801), in which he expressed the opinion of himself and his col- 
leagues that Roman Catholics should be admitted to sit in Parlia- 
ment and to hold public offices. George III. entertained very 
strong scruples on this subject. He regarded any relaxation of 
the Catholic disabilities as a breach of his coronation oath, and in 
this opinion he had been confirmed by Lord Kenyon, chief justice 
of the King's Bench. In his reply the king entreated Pitt not to 
leave office ; but he would make no concessions to his views, and 
Pitt determined to resign. The king then sent for Mr. Addington, 
the speaker, who, after some delay, succeeded in forming a minis- 
try. Lord Eldon obtained the chancellorship, his predecessor, 
Lord Loughborough, retiring with a pension and the higher title 
of Earl Rosslyn. 

The threatening nature of the northern league now demanded 
serious attention. In March the King of Prussia had notified to 
the Hanoverian government his accession to it, and the closing of 
the mouths of the Elbe, theWeser, and the Ems ; and he demand- 
ed and obtained immediate military possession of Hanover. A 
little previously Hamburg had been seized in the name of the King 



A.D.180L BATTLE OF COPENHAGEN. 687 

of Denmark by Prince Charles of Hesse, at the head of 15,000 
men, and an embargo laid on all British property. Eemonstrances 
having failed, a fleet of 18 sail of the line, with frigates, gun-boats, 
and bomb-vessels, was dispatched to Denmark under the command 
of Sir Hyde Parker, with Nelson as his second ; but the latter 
was in reality the commander. The Danish navy itself was con- 
siderably superior to the force dispatched against it, and Nelson 
pressed the necessity of hastening operations before the breaking 
up of the ice should enable the Russians to come to the assistance 
of the Danes. The passage of the Sound was preferred to that 
of the Belt, though more exposed to the guns of the enemy, and 
by keeping near the Swedish coast the fire of Kronborg Castle was 
avoided. Between Copenhagen and the sand-bank which defends 
its approach the Danes had moored floating batteries mounting 70 
guns ; and 13 men-of-war were also posted before the town. Nel- 
son led in with the greater part of the fleet, and anchored off Dra- 
co Point, while Sir Hyde Parker, with the remainder, menaced 
the Crown batteries. Two of Nelson's ships grounded in going 
in, so that he could not extend his line. The action was hot, and 
Sir Hyde Parker hoisted the signal to desist, but Nelson would 
not see it, and, hoisting his own for closer action, ordered it to be 
nailed to the mast. The Danes, encouraged by the presence of 
the crown prince, fought with desperate valor ; but by half past 
three the Danish ships had all struck, though it was impossible to 
carry them oiF on account of the batteries. Nelson now sent a 
note ashore, addressed " to the brothers of Englishmen, the Danes," 
in which he remarked that if he could effect a reconciliation be- 
tween the two countries he should consider it the greatest victory 
he had ever gained. Subsequently he had an audience of Chris- 
tian VII., the effect of which was that Denmark was detached 
from the league. 

The happy effects of this blow were seconded by an accident. 
Just at this time the Emperor Paul was assassinated. His son 
and successor Alexander immediately declared his intention of 
governing on the principles of Catherine, and he ordered all Brit- 
ish prisoners to be liberated and all sequestrated British property 
to be restored. When Nelson proceeded from Copenhagen to 
Cronstadt he found that the pacific disposition of Alexander ren- 
dered all attack superfluous, even had the strength of the place 
permitted one. Lord St. Helens negotiated a treaty at St. Peters- 
burg, to which the King of Sweden acceded. On June 17th a de- 
finitive treaty was signed by Great Britain, Russia, Denmark, and 
Sweden, by which the rights of neutral navigation were placed on 
a satisfactoiy footing. The neutrality of the Elbe was re-estab- 
lished, the troops withdi-awn from Hamburg and Lubeck, and the 



688 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXir. 

embargo on British property removed ; while, on the other hand, 
England restored all captured vessels belonging to the northern 
powers, and the islands in the West Indies which she had taken 
from the Danes and Swedes. All these happy results were in 
great part due to the unhesitating vigor of Nelson. 

§ 19. Foiled in their northern projects, the French renewed the 
threat of an invasion. Camps had been formed at Ostend, Dun- 
kirk, Brest, and St. Malo, but the main force was assembled at 
Boulogne. It was rumored that an immense raft, to be impelled 
by mechanical power, and capable of conveying an army, was to 
be constructed ; but no such machine appears to have been begun. 
However chimerical such a project might be, precautions against 
it were adopted in England. Lord Nelson, having taken the com- 
mand of a squadron commissioned to operate between Orfordness 
and Beachy Head, sent a few vessels into Boulogne, which suc- 
ceeded in destroying two floating batteries, two gun-boats, and a 
gun-brig. An attempt to cut out the flotilla in that harbor with 
boats proved abortive, and the French triumphed as if the mem- 
ory of Copenhagen and the Nile had been obliterated. 

Ever since the accession of Mr. Addington to power negotia- 
tions had been attempted for a peace with France, but the haugh- 
ty views of the first consul rendered them abortive. The eyes of 
the English ministry were still anxiously directed toward Egypt, 
from which, on account of our East Indian possessions, as well as 
for other reasons, it was highly desirable that the French should 
be expelled. Toward the close of 1800 an army of about 15,000 
men, under the command of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, was dispatched 
to Egypt. The French force there had been greatly underrated. 
In spite of our cruisers they had managed to procure re-enforce- 
ments. Their army numbered more than 32,000 men, with up- 
w^ard of 1000 pieces of artillery and some excellent cavalry, while 
the English were v«ry deficient in both the latter arms. Early 
in March, 1801, the first British division, of between 5000 and 
6000 men, landed in boats in Aboukir Bay under a hot discharge 
of shot, shell, gi'ape, and musketry from Aboukir Castle, and from 
artillery planted on the sand-hills. In the midst of this fire, the 
British troops formed on the beach as they landed, and without 
firing a shot drove the French from the position at the point of 
the bayonet. Their loss, however, was very considerable. On 
March 18th Aboukir Castle surrendered. Early in the morning 
of the 21st, Menou, who had succeeded Kleber as commander-in- 
chief, advancing from Cairo with a large force, attempted to sur- 
prise the English camp. The combat was sustained with great 
obstinacy, and, the ammunition of both parties being exhausted, 
was carried on with stones. At length, after a struggle of nearly 



A.D. 1801, 1802. PEACE OF AMIENS. (589 

seven hours and the loss of 4000 men, Me'nou retired. The En- 
glish loss was only about 1500, but among them was Abercrombie, 
who received a wound of which he expired in a week. 

§ 20. General Hutchinson, on whom the command now de- 
volved, being re-enforced by some Turks, successively captured 
Rosetta, El Aft, and Cairo, which last surrendered June 24th, 
after a siege of 20 days. It was agreed that the garrison, con- 
sisting of about 13,000 French, should be conveyed to France at 
the expense of the allied powers. Me'nou still held out in Alex- 
andria. General Hutchinson, being again re-enforced by 7000 or 
8000 Sepoys from India as well as by British troops, laid siege to 
that city on August 3d, and on the 22d it surrendered in spite of 
Me'nou's boast to hold out to the last extremity. The French 
garrison of 11,500 men obtained the same terms as that of Cairo. 
Six ships of war in the harbor were divided between the English 
and Turks. The savans were permitted to retain their private 
papers, but all manuscripts and collections of art and science made 
for the republic were surrendered.* 

The French now began to listen to the proposals for peace, and 
preliminaries were signed October 1st. England was to cede all 
the French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies acquired during the war 
except Trinidad and Ceylon ; the Cape of Good Hope to be open 
to both the contracting parties ; Malta to be restored to the Order 
of St. John, Egypt to the Porte ; the French to evacuate Naples 
and the States of the Church, the English Porto Ferrajo. On 
these terms a definite treaty w^as signed at Amiens, March 28th, 
1802. It was joyfully received in London as well as in Paris ; 
yet even the ministers did not venture to call it great or glorious. 
It left France in a state of unjust aggrandizement, while we ac- 
quired little or nothing by the expenditure of so much blood and 
treasure. France retained the Austrian Netherlands, Dutch Flan- 
ders, the course of the Scheldt, and part of Dutch Brabant, Maes- 
tricht, Venloo, and other fortresses of importance, the German 
territories on the left bank of the Rhine, Avignon, Savoy, Geneva, 
Nice, etc. Yet Bonaparte's ambition was not satisfied. Charles 
Emmanuel, King of Sardinia, having abdicated his throne in favor 
of his brother (June 4), Bonaparte annexed Piedmont to France 
as the 27th military department, on the pretense that, this being 
the king's second abdication, his subjects were released from their 
allegiance. Soon after, on the death of the Grand Duke of Parma, 
his territories were also seized. In all the neighboring countries 
the influence of France was paramount. Spain was her abject 

* It was on this occasion that the celebrated Eosetta stone, together with 
many statues, Oriental MSS., etc., now in the British Museum, was ac- 
quhed. 



690 



GEORGE III. 



Chap. XXXII. 



vassal ; her troops, under pretense of a Jacobin plot, still occupied 
Holland, contrary to the treaty of Amiens ; and in Switzerland, 
whose constitution had been overthrown by Bonaparte, he reigned 
supreme under the title of Mediator. France herself was rapidly 
passing from anarchy to despotism. On May 9th Bonaparte was 
elected consul for life, and in his court at the Tuileries and St. 
Cloud displayed as much magnificence as the ancient sovereigns 
of P'rance. His power was supported by the establishment of the 
Legion of Honor, a sort of new nobility, consisting of 7000 men 
receiving honors and pensions, and dispersed throughout the re- 
public. But amid these selfish aims much was also effected for 
the public good by the establishment of the civil code, of the means 
of public instruction, and by other measures of the like nature. 
The Church and the authority of the Pope were restored by a 
concordat, though the clergy were still held in an oppressed and 
degraded state. 



CHKONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1783. 



1786. 
1789. 
1793. 



1794. 



1797. 



Resignation of Lord Shelburne. Co- 
alition ministiy. 

Fox's India Bill. 

Pitt prime minister. His India Bill. 

Impeachment of Warren Hastings. 

Outbreak of the French Revolution. 

Execution of Louis XVT. 

War declared between France and 
England. 

Defeat of the Duke of York. Conquest 
of Holland. 

Lord Howe's victory. 

Bank Restriction Act. 

Victory of Jervis off Cape St. Vincent. 

Victory of Duncan off Camperdown. 

Mutiny at Spithead and the Nore. 



A.D. 

1798. French expedition to Egypt. 
"• Nelson's victory at the Nile. 

1799. Failure of the British expedition to 

Holland. 
" Bonaparte first consul. 
" Irish rebellion. 

1800. Union with Ireland. 

" Armed neutrality of the northern pow- 
ers against England. 

1801. Resignation of Pitt. Addington prime 

minister. 
" Battle of Copenhagen. 
" Battle of Alexandria. 

1802. Peace of Amiens. 

" Bonaparte consul for life. 




Medal in commemoration of the Battle of Trafalgar. 

ObV. : HOEATIO . YISCOUJST NELSOX . K : B . DTTKE OF BEOSTE . &. Bust tO left. 



CHAPTER 



:iiL 



GEOEGE m. CONTINUED. FROM THI! PEACE OF AiOENS TO THE DEATH 
OF THE KING. A.D. 1802-1820. 

§ 1. Hostile Feelings between France and England. Declaration of War. 
Hanover seized. § 2. Change of jNIinistiy. Pitt Premier. War with 
Spain. Violent Measures of Bonaparte. § 3. Impeachment of Lord 
Melville. League between England, Russia, and S^veden. Bonaparte 
enters Vienna. § i. Nelson chases the French Fleet to the West Indies. 
Sir Robert Calder's Action. Battle of Trafalgar, and Death of Nelson. 
§ 5. Death of Pitt. The "Talents" Ministry. Fox vainly attempts a 
Peace. § 6. Battle of Maida. War between France and Prussia. Ber- 
lin Decree. § 7. Death of Fox. Duke of Portland Prime Minister. Ab- 
olition of the Slave-trade. § 8. Expedition to Rio de la Plata, to Con- 
stantinople, and Egypt, § 9. Peace of Tilsit. Expedition to Copen- 
hagen and Capture of the Danish Fleet. § 10. Bonaparte seizes Lisbon. 
Milan Decree. The Throne of Spain seized for Joseph Bonaparte. Sir 
Arthur Wellesley proceeds to Portugal. § 11. Battle of Vimiera. Ad- 
vance and Retreat of Sir John Moore. Battle of Corunna, and Death 
of Moore. § 12. Colonel Wardle's Charges against the Duke of York. 
Sir A. Wellesley Commander-in-chief in Portugal. Battle of Talavera. 
§ 13. Napoleon conquers the Austrians. Expedition to Walcheren. Ex- 
pedition to. Calabria. Ionian Islands captured. § 11:. Change in the 
Ministry. ]Mi-. Perceval Premier. Burdett Riots. Massena advances 
into Portugal. Battle of Busaco. Wellington occupies the Lines of Tor- 
res Vedras. § 15. George III.'s Illness. The Regency. Retreat of 
Massena. Battles of Barrosa, of Fuentes de Onoro, and of Albuera. 
§ 16. Perceval shot. Lord Liverpool Prime Minister. Ciudad Rodrigo 
and Badajoz taken. Battle of Salamanca. Wellington enters Madrid. 
§ 17. War with the Americans. Napoleon's Russian Expedition. Treat- 
ies with Sweden and Russia. § 18. Wellington advances into Spain. 



692 



GEORGE III. 



Chap. XXXIIl. 




Rev. : ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY. English and French fleets en- 

BelOAV, TBAFALQAK OCT . 21 . 1805. 



Battle of Vittoria. Eetreat of the^French, and Battles of the Pyrenees. 
Wellington enters France. § 19. Coalition against Napoleon. Battles 
of Orthez and Toulouse. Abdication of Napoleon. § 20. Congress of 
Chatillon. The Allies enter Paris. Eestoration of Louis XVIII., and 
Peace of Paris. § 21. Progress of the American War. Peace of Ghent. 
§ 22. Congress of Vienna. Escape of Napoleon. Battle of Waterloo. 
§ 23. The Allies enter Paris. Napoleon carried to St. Helena. Peace 
of Paris. § 24. Distress and Discontent in England. Hampden Clubs. 
Spa-fields Riot. Algiers reduced. § 25. Hone's Trial. Death of the 
Princess Charlotte. Royal Marriages. Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle. 
§ 26. Peel's Act to repeal the Bank Restriction. Manchester Riots. Re- 
pressive Measures. Death and Character of George III. 

§ 1. It was soon felt that the peace could not last. Bonaparte 
evidently designed to exclude England from all Continental influ- 
ence or even commerce. Libels and invectives appeared both in 
the French and English newspapers. The harboring of French 
emigrants in England, and the allowing them to wear orders which 
had been abolished, were prominent topics of complaint. In or- 
der to remove one cause of dissatisfaction, Peltier, the editor of a 
French paper published in London, called the Amhigu, was pros- 
ecuted and convicted of a libel on Bonaparte ; but he escaped 
punishment from the altered state of the relations between the 
two countries before his sentence. 

It was known that extensive preparations were making in the 
ports of France and Holland, which it was pretended were de- 
signed for the French colonies ; but George III., in a message to 
Parliament, March 8, 1803, adverted to the necessity of being 
prepared, and it was resolved to call out the militia and augment 



A. D. 1802-1804. LMPENDING HOSTILITIES. G93 

the naval force. This message excited the high indignation of the 
first consul. In a crowded court at the Tuileries he addressed 
our embassador Lord Whitworth, on the subject, in an angry and 
indecent tone ; he even lifted his cane in a threatening manner ; 
when Lord Whitworth laid his hand on his sword, and afterward 
expressed his determination to have used it, had he been struck. 
Satisfaction for this insult having been demanded and refused, 
after some farther negotiations and an ultimatum to which no 
satisfactory answer was returned. Lord Whitworth quitted Paris, 
May 12th, and at the same time General Andreossy, the French 
embassador, was directed to leave London. Thus, after a short 
and anxious peace, or rather suspension of hostilities, the two na- 
tions were again plunged into war. 

Lord Whitworth's departure was protracted as long as possible 
by Talleyrand; nevertheless, there was time to seize about 200 
Dutch and French vessels, valued at nearly three millions sterling. 
Bonaparte, in retaliation, ordered all English residents or travelers 
in France, and in all places subject to the French, to be seized 
and detained. About 10,000 of every class and condition, and 
of all ages and sexes, were apprehended and conveyed to prison. 
Subsequently a considerable portion of them was cantoned at Ver- 
dun and in other French towns. Immediately after the declara- 
tion of war, a French army, under Marshal Mortier, marched to 
Hanover ; the Duke of Cambridge, the viceroy, capitulated, and 
retired beyond the Elbe, and the French entered the capital June 
5th. On the other hand, the French and Dutch colonies in the 
West Indies soon fell into our possession. The most enthusiastic 
patriotism was exhibited in England. No fewer than 300,000 
men enrolled themselves in different volunteer corps and associa- 
tions. The French camp at Boulogne still held out an empty 
menace of invasion, and in July the " Army of England" was re- 
viewed by Bonaparte ; but our cruisers swept the Channel, and 
occasionally bombarded some of the French towns. 

§ 2. Early in 1804 the king had a slight return of his former 
malady. Upon his convalescence, Addington, whose decreasing 
majorities rendered it impossible for him to carry on the ministry, 
retired from office, and Pitt again became premier. The latter 
was very popular, especially in the city. After the peace of 
Amiens a deputation of London merchants had waited upon him 
and informed him that £100,000 had been subscribed for his use, 
and that the names of the contributors would never be known ; 
but Pitt declined this magnificent ofier. The state of the king's 
health, as well as the alarming crisis of the country, induced Pitt 
to waive for the present the question of the Catholic claims. 

The friendship of Spain .was more than doubtful. A large 



694 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIII. 

armament was preparing in the port of Ferrol, and'its destination 
could hardlj be questionable. It was therefore determined to in- 
tercept four Spanish frigates on their return to Cadiz from Monte 
Video with treasure. Commodore Moore, with four English frig- 
ates, having in vain summoned them to surrender, an action en- 
sued, in which three of the Spaniards were captured and the fourth 
blown up. The treasure taken on this occasion was valued at 
nearly a million sterling. The policy of the act, setting aside the 
question of justice, may, however, be questioned, as it alienated 
from us a large party in Spain that was hostile to the French. It 
Avas, of course, followed by a formal declaration of war on the part 
of Spain, December 1 2th. 

This year (May 15) Bonaparte assumed the imperial crown with 
the title of Napoleon I. His conduct displayed an equal disre- 
gard of the laws of nations and those of humanity. In March he 
caused the unoffending Duke d'Enghien, a Bourbon prince who 
was residing at the castle of Ettenheim, in the neutral territory 
of Baden, to be seized by a secret expedition in the night, and to 
be conveyed to the castle of Vincennes, where he was shot. In 
October Sir G. Rumbold, the English minister at Hamburg, was 
in like manner seized in the night in his house at Grindel by a 
detachment of 250 soldiers of the army occupying Hanover, His 
papers were likewise seized, and he was conveyed to Paris and 
confined in the Temple. This case was too flagrant even for the 
time-serving King of Prussia ; and Napoleon, who wished to keep 
that country neutral, consented to send Sir George to England. 
By means of an infamous spy named De la Touche, who was re- 
ceiving money at once both from the French and English govern- 
ments. Napoleon concocted a charge of encouraging assassination 
against Mr. Drake and Mr. Spencer Smith, our envoys at Munich 
and Stuttgardt, and procured their expulsion from the courts of 
Bavaria and Wiirtemberg. It is hardly necessary to observe that 
this charge, which was indignantly repelled by Pitt in the House 
of Commons, was utterly groundless. Yet the dependent states 
of Europe were instructed to address Napoleon on the subject, 
and the base and self-seeking court of Prussia congratulated him 
on his escape. 

§ 3. Pitt's ministry was not strong. Grenville, having coalesced 
with Fox and the party called the "Talents," offered a formida- 
ble opposition. Toward the end of the year, at the suggestion of 
the king, a reconciliation was effected between Pitt and Adding- 
ton : the latter was created Viscount Sidmouth, and became pres- 
ident of the council in place of the Duke of Portland. Soon aft- 
erward Lord Melville (Dundas), first lord of the admiralty, was 
compelled to resign, since Mr. Whitbread had carried a charge 



A.D. 1804, 1805. BONAPARTE ENTERS VIENNA. 595 

(April 6th) against him of conniving at the misapplication of the 
public money, and even of deriving benefit from it himself. Pitt, 
with a bitter pang, was compelled to advise the king to erase the 
name of his old friend and companion from the list of the privy 
council. Lord Melville acknowledged at the bar of the House of 
Commons that his paymaster, Mr. Trotter, might have used the 
public money for his own advantage ; and as there were some 
circumstances of suspicion against Melville himself, Mr. Whit- 
bread, in the name of the Commons of England, impeached him 
of high crimes and misdemeanors at the bar of the Lords (June 
26th). The impeachment was not heard till the following April, 
when he was acquitted after a trial of 16 days. His culpability 
appears to have been owing rather to negligence than dishonesty. 

In April a treaty was concluded between England and Eussia 
by which they bound themselves to resist the encroachments of 
France, and to secure the independence of Europe. The league 
was afterward joined by Sweden and Austria ; but the King of 
Prussia kept aloof, intent on the Hanoverian dominions of his rel- 
ative and ally. 

The year 1805 was the period of Napoleon's most brilliant suc- 
cesses. In May he was crowned King of Italy in the Cathedral 
of Milan with the iron crown of the Lombard kings ; and he ap- 
pointed his adopted son, Eugene Beauharnais, to be viceroy of that 
kingdom. At the same time the republic of Genoa was united to 
France. Napoleon introduced the conscription into Italy, and an 
army of 40,000 Italians proved of great service to him in his sub- 
sequent wars with Austria. On his return from Italy he again 
repaired to Boulogne ; but when the hostile disposition of Austria 
was ascertained, the army of England, consisting of 150,000 men, 
was declared to be the army of Germany, and was rapidly march- 
ed toward the Rhine (August 28th). The Austrians, who had 
protracted hostilities too long, afterward precipitated them before 
the Russians could come to their support ; and the power of 
Austria was completely broken by the disgraceful capitulation of 
General Mack at Ulm. The road was now open to Vienna, 
which was occupied without a struggle, Nov. 13th. Meanwhile 
Massena had driven the Archduke Charles out of Italy, and ob- 
tained possession of the Tyrol. Napoleon pushed on into Mo- 
ravia, the emperor and the czar retreating before him. The court 
of Berlin, guided by the detestable counsels of its wretched min- 
ister Haugwitz, was temporizing, and awaiting the result of an- 
other battle. That battle was Austerlitz (Dec. 2), in which the 
Russians and Austrians were completely defeated. The former 
retired into their own country ; and Austria made a separate 
peace with France, by which she lost Trieste, her only port, and 



(596 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIII. 

recognized the regal titles of Bavaria and Wiirtemberg. The 
Confederation of the Khine was now formed, with Napoleon for 
its protector. 

§ 4. Thus the objects of the English and Russian league seemed 
completely frustrated. England appeared destined to be success- 
ful only when she acted by herself on her own peculiar domain, 
the ocean. Nelson had been in command of the Mediterranean 
fleet since 1803. The winter of 1804 was spent in watching the 
harbor of Toulon, where the French fleet was preparing to embark 
a large body of troops whose destination was unknown. To draw 
them out, Nelson sailed for Barcelona, and in his absence Ville- 
neuve, the French admiral, put to sea with 10 sail of the line, 
besides several frigates and brigs. Nelson concluded that they 
were bound for Egypt, and made sail for Sicily; but he soon 
learned that they had passed the Straits of Gibraltar. At Cadiz 
they were re-enforced by six Spanish and two French line-of-battle 
ships, thus making their whole number 18 sail of the line. Nev- 
ertheless, as soon as the wind permitted, Nelson followed them to 
the West Indies with 10 sail of the line, but returned to Europe 
without having been fortunate enough to discover them ; when, 
being in a bad state of health, he struck his flag at Spithead and 
retired to his seat at Merton. 

Sir Robert Calder was more fortunate. On July 2 2d he fell 
in with the enemy at some distance from Cape Finisterre, and, 
though much inferior in force, an action ensued, in which two of 
the Spanish ships were taken. Calder, having neglected to re- 
new the engagement on the following day, was brought to a court- 
martial for so unsatisfactory a victory, but was honorably acquit- 
ted. Villeneuve ultimately got into Cadiz, where he now found 
his fleet to amount to 35 sail of the line. Collingwood, who was 
watching that port, communicated the interesting intelligence to 
Nelson, who had led his friends to expect that he had finally re- 
tired from the service. But at this news his ardor could no longer 
be restrained. He immediately volunteered his services to the 
Admiralty, which were gladly accepted, and on the 15 th of Sep- 
tember he was again on board the Victory, accompanied by the 
Ajax and Thunderer, and the Euryalus frigate. On the 29th, 
his birthday, he arrived off Cadiz, and joined Collingwood ; but 
his arrival was kept secret from the enemy, lest they should not 
venture out of port. No salute was fired, and Nelson kept well 
out at sea. 

On October 19th want of provisions obliged the enemy to leave 
Cadiz, and the English fleet immediately gave chase, the course 
being toward the Straits of Gibraltar. It was not till the 21st 
that Nelson fel^ in with them about seven miles east of Cape 



A.D. iSOJ. BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. ^97 

Trafalgar, there being a light breeze from the west. Nelson felt 
a sure presentiment of victory, but at the same time of death. 
The enemy tacked, in order to be able, if necessary, to run back 
to Cadiz, when Nelson steered a little more to the north in order 
to cut off their van. He now asked Captain Blackwood, of the 
Euryalus, who was on board the Victory, whether a signal was not 
wanted. The latter replied that he thought all knew what they 
were about ; but Nelson ran up to the mast-head his last signal — 
England expects every man to do his duty — which was greet- 
ed with three cheers from every ship. Nelson led the weather 
line in the Victory, but the lee line, under Collingwood, was the 
first to get into action. The British fleet comprised 27 sail of the 
line, four frigates, a schooner, and a cutter ; the combined French 
and Spanish fleets numbered 33 sail of the line, five frigates, and 
two brigs ; and they were vastly superior in weight of metal, hav- 
ing 2626 guns to our 2148. The enemy's line had accidentally 
fallen into the shape of a crescent, which rendered the attack more 
difficult. It was a little after noon that Collingwood, in the 
lioyal Sovereign, began the action. He was soon surrounded by 
five French and Spanish vessels ; but, finding that they damaged 
one another, they gradually drew off, and left Collingwood in- sin- 
gle combat with the Santa Anna. He had been engaged nearly 
a quarter of an hour before the other ships got into action. As 
the Victory bore down, she was made a mark by the enemy; her 
rigging was much damaged, her wheel shot away, and 50 officers 
and men killed or wounded before she fired a shot. The fore- 
most ships of the enemy, to the number of 19, closed round Nel- 
son's column, leaving a gap of nearly a mile between the spot 
where Collingwood and his comrades were engaging the remain- 
ing 14. Nelson's ship was first engaged with the Santissima Trini- 
dad, then with the Bucentaur, a Frenchman of 80 guns, and lastly 
with the Redoutable ; that ship and the Victory getting as it 
were locked together by their anchors. The tops of the Redout- 
able were filled with riflemen, and Nelson, who on going into ac- 
tion had put on his finest and most conspicuous coat, embroidered 
with the Order of the Bath, afforded an excellent mark. The ac- 
tion had lasted about half an hour when he was struck by a mus- 
ket ball and fell on the quarter-deck. On his captain expressing 
a hope that he Avas not seriously wounded, Nelson replied, " They 
have done for me at last, Hardy ; my back-bone is shot through." 
He was carried to the cockpit, where it was found that the shot, 
having entered the left shoulder at the epaulette, had lodged in 
the spine, inflicting a mortal wound. While the hero lay there 
expiring, the battle still raged two hours, distressing him with the 
concussion of the firing, though ever and anon he was cheered bv 

4 



698 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIIL 

the huzzas of the crew as one after another the enemy's ^hips 
struck their colors. He had the satisfaction to hear from Cap- 
tain Hardy before his death that he had gained a complete vic- 
tory. Almost his last words were to recommend to his country 
Lady Hamilton, with whom he lived, and his daughter. Then 
exclaiming, "Thank God, I have done my duty !" he expired al- 
most without a struggle about three hours after receiving his 
wound. He had said almost prophetically when going into ac- 
tion that he should be content with 20 ships; 19 of the enemy's 
line actually struck at Trafalgar, and one blew up. The prison- 
ers taken, including the troops on board, amounted to about 
12,000. Four French and one Spanish ship that had taken lit- 
tle part in the action were subsequently captured by Sir Kichard 
Strachan, November 4th. By this glorious victory the French 
navy was nearly annihilated, and England rescued from all chance 
of an invasion. 

Nelson was honored with a magnificent public burial ; a lying 
in state in Greenwich Hospital ; a funeral procession by land and 
water; but, strange to say, his last requests were forgotten or 
neglected. He had always expressed a wish to be interred in 
Westminster Abbey, and he was carried to St. Paul's ; he had rec- 
ommended his mistress and her daughter to the care of the coun- 
try, and no notice was taken of the dying hero's prayer. His 
brother, a clergyman, was made an earl; £100,000 were voted 
him to buy an estate, and a pension of £6000 a year ; £10,000 
were given to each of his sisters. 

§ 5. Pitt did not long survive England's greatest naval com- 
mander. The cares and anxieties of office, at a crisis so tremen- 
dously agitating, had undermined a constitution naturally feeble ; 
and the stimulus with which he sought to relieve them, by indulg- 
ing too freely in convivial wine, contributed to hasten his decease. 
He expired at the age of 46, January 23d, 1806. Of his disinter- 
estedness no greater proof can be offered than that, in spite of his 
apparent opportunities of enriching himself, he died £40,000 in 
del3t. This was discharged by a vote of Parliament, who like- 
wise decreed him a public interment in Westminster Abbey : the 
latter was ungenerously opposed by Fox and his party. Notwith- 
standing some errors, Pitt must be regarded as one of the greatest 
ministers this country ever saw. His counsels chiefly enabled En- 
gland to stem the overbearing insolence and ambition of the French 
republic and early empire ; but his share in this praise lies more 
in the skill with which he raised the sinews of war than in the 
prudence and wisdom with which he directed and controlled its 
operations. 

Attempts were made to patch up the ministry, but failed, and 



A.D. 1805, 1806. WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND PRUSSIA. ^99 

the king was obliged to have recourse to Lord Grenville and all the 
" Talents." This involved the readmission of Fox, who was now 
allied with that party, and the king was obliged to waive his per- 
sonal dislike of that statesman. Early in February a ministry was 
formed, with Lord Grenville first lord of the treasuiy. Fox foreign 
secretary, Lord Howick (afterward Earl Grey) first lord of the 
admiralty, Erskine lord chancellor, etc. 

It was naturally expected that Fox, who had so long denounced 
the war both as iniquitous and impolitic, would exert himself to 
terminate it ; and he did, indeed, open communications with the 
French government through Lord Yarmouth, afterward Marquis 
of Hertford, one of the detenus at Yerdun. But he soon discover- 
ed that Napoleon would never agree to terms which this country 
could accept with honor. The financial measures of the new gov- 
ernment were universally complained of, and especially the increase 
of the obnoxious property-tax to 10 per cent. 

§ 6. Napoleon had now installed his brother Joseph as King of 
Naples, his brother Louis as King of Holland, and had bestowed 
12 Italian duchies upon as many of his most favored generals. 
Ferdinand lY. of Naples had, as before related, been driven to take 
refuge in Sicily ; and at the request of his consort, Caroline of Aus- 
tria, sister of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette, Sir John Stuart, 
who commanded the British forces in that island, was induced to 
pass over into Calabria mth a small army of less than 5000 men, 
and to try his fortune against the French General Eegnier, who 
occupied that province. On July 3d an engagement took place 
at Maida, in which the French, though considerably the stronger, 
were entirely defeated. Eegnier fled across the Apennines, and 
Stuart cleared the whole of Lower Calabria of the French ; but 
his force was too small to hold it, and he was obliged to return to 
Sicily. It was one of the mistakes of the government to fritter 
away the strength of the nation in small expeditions of this fruit- 
less kind. At the same time Sir Sydney Smith's squadron harass- 
ed the French on the coast of Italy from the Tiber to the Bay of 
Naples. 

During the negotiations with Napoleon after the accession of 
the ministry, he had offered to restore Hanover. The desire of pos- 
sessing that country had induced the court of Prussia to desert the 
cause of Germany ; and they likewise found other causes of com- 
plaint against France in the confederation of the Rhine, and in the 
depreciatory tone in which the Moniteur spoke of Prussia and her 
pretensions. On October 1 st Prussia required the French to evac- 
uate Germany ; on the 14th the battle of Jena laid her at the feet 
of Napoleon, a fitting reward of her perfidy and selfishness. On 
the 25th the French entered Berlin, and Mortier was sent forward 



700 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIII. 

to occupy Hamburg and seize all British property. Oa Novem- 
ber 21st appeared the celebrated Berlin Decree, forbidding all in- 
tercourse with England, and all use of her manufactures or colo- 
nial products. 

§ 7. Fox did not live to see this event. He had been attacked 
with dropsy, and after July became too unwell to attend to. bus- 
iness. On September 18th he expired at the Duke of Devon- 
shire's seat at Chiswick, whither he had proceeded on his way to 
his own house at St. Anne's Hill. He was in his 58th year. He 
received a public funeral, and was buried in the Abbey, October 
10th, close by the side of his great rival Pitt. Posterity will be 
rather at a loss to discover in his character any transcendent mer- 
its as a statesman, or to point out any great benefits that he 
achieved for the country. His influence during his lifetime 
seems to have been principally acquired by his powerful and fer- 
vid oratory, and by his engaging qualities, which attached to him 
a host of personal friends. Plis death did not break up the min- 
istry ; Lord Howick succeeded to his place of foreign secretary, 
and Mr. Thos. Grenville became first lord of the admiralty. 

Lord Grenville had made no compact with the sovereign on the 
subject of Catholic emancipation, and early in March, 1807, Lord 
Howick brought in a bill to enable Roman Catholics to serve in 
the army and navy in England as well as Ireland. In the latter 
country a Roman Catholic officer could attain any rank except 
comjnander-in-chief, master general of the ordnance, or general on 
the staff. The bill was opposed by Spencer Perceval and others ; 
and as the king had a great repugnance to the measure, it Avas not 
difficult to persuade him to dismiss the ministers. Before the end 
of the month a new administration was formed, with the Duke of 
Portland as first lord of the treasury, Greorge Canning foreign sec- 
retary, Lord Castlereagh secretary at war and colonies, Spencer 
Perceval chancellor of the exchequer, Lord Eldon chancellor in 
place of Erskine, etc. A "No Popery" cry was raised, in which 
Wilberforce and the evangelical party loudly joined ; the ministers 
took advantage of it to dissolve the Parliament, though it had been 
returned only a few months, and the elections secured them a 
large majority. 

A little before the dismissal of Lord Grenville the abolition of 
the slave-trade had been carried. That question had now been 
twenty years in agitation. A society had been formed for its pro- 
motion, of which Mr. Granville Sharpe was chairman, and of 
which Mr. William Wilberforce and Mr. Clarkson were distin- 
guished members. The inhuman traffic had been denounced by 
several waiters, but it required the zeal and enthusiasm of the 
evangelical party, which had sprung up of late years, in order to 



A.D. 1S07. PEACE OF TILSIT. 7Q1 

eftect its abolition. The society adopted erery means by news- 
paper articles, pamphlets, speeches, etc.. to influence the public 
mind on the subject. Pitt approved the cause, and a board of the 
pri\-y council had been formed to consider the state of the African 
trade ; but the commercial interests of the country offered a great 
impediment, and all that could be obtained at first was a miti- 
gation of the horrors of the middle passage. 

§ 8. The military expeditions arranged by Lord GrenTille's min- 
istry had turned out unfortunate in all quarters. Two expe- 
ditions had been dispatched early in 1807 against Constantinople 
and Egypt. French intrigues, ably conducted by General Sebas- 
tiani, had induced the Turks to declare war against Eussia, and 
thus diverted a great part of the force which might have been use- 
ful against Napoleon. Sir John Duckworth was dispatched with 
a squadron to bring the Turks to reason : he succeeded in pass- 
ing the Dardanelles, and appeared before Constantinople in Feb- 
ruary : but the Turks amused him with negotiations till they had 
put their city in a formidable posture of defense ; and Duckworth 
made a disgraceful retreat, for which he was stibsequently brought 
to a court-martial. At the same time, the expedition to Egypt, 
under Major General Frazer, proved equally unfortunate ; the 
new ministry declined to support it, and in September the remnant 
of the British force was obliged to return to Sicily. The only ef- 
fect of these proceedings was that the Turks declared war against 
us, and confiscated all British property. 

§ 9. Meanwhile the Eussians, exhausted by the well-contested 
fields of Eylau and Friedland. and receiving no assistance either 
in men or money from England, concluded with France the peace 
of Tilsit, July 7th, 1807, to which Prussia afterward acceded. 
Both these countries agreed to shut their ports against the English ; 
and, indeed, the French were m possession of those of Prussia. 
When it was too late Canning dispatched Lord Leveson Gower 
to conciliate the Emperor Alexander: he could not even obtain 
an audience, and he returned with the conviction that Alexander, 
by a secret article of the treaty of Tilsit, had placed not only his 
own fleet, but also those of Sweden and Denmark, at the disposal 
of Napoleon. It was no time for hesitation. Denmark commands 
the entrance to the Baltic ; a large fleet was lying in her harbors ; 
the north of Germany was full of French troops ; and. however 
friendly might be the disposition of the Danes, it was evident that 
their movements would depend on the will of Napoleon. A pow- 
erful armament, consisting of 25 sail of the line, 40 frigates and 
other small vessels, and 377 transports carrying 27,000 troops, 
was secretly and promptly fitted out, and sailed from Yarmouth 
Roads, July 26th, under the command of Admiral Gambler. 



702 GEORGE III. CHAP.XXXni. 

Lord Cathcart was ^t the head of the land-forces, under whom 
served Sir Arthur Wellesley, an officer who had greatly distin- 
guished himself in India. On August 9th the expedition was safe- 
ly anchored in the roads of Elsinore : negotiations were opened 
for the delivery of the Danish fleet, under the solemn promise that 
it should be restored on the conclusion of a peace with France. 
The proposal being indignantly rejected by the crown prince, prep- 
arations were made to enforce it. The fleet proceeded to Copen- 
hagen, the troops were landed, and batteries constructed, and on 
September 2d a bombardment commenced both by sea and land. 
On the evening of the 5th the Danish commander suri-endered, 
and on the 8th the troops took possession of Copenhagen. Our 
whole loss did not much exceed 200 men. By October 20th the 
whole of the Danish fleet was prepared for sea, and carried off to 
England, together with an immense quantity of naval stores, and 
between 2000 and 3000 pieces of artillery. The island of Heligo- 
land was also captured, and served as a depot for English goods 
to be smuggled into the Continent. The rage of Bonaparte at 
this intelligence was terrific. The entry of the French into Stral- 
sund, September 1st, showed the wisdom of our rapid and decisive 
movement. The Danes declared war against us, the consequence 
of which was the capture of the Danish West India islands of St. 
Thomas, St. John's, and Santa Croce in December. 

§ 10. The King of Portugal having refused to enforce the Ber- 
lin Decree against England, Napoleon determined to attack that 
country. For that purpose he entered into a treaty with Spain 
(October 27th), which was to have a portion of Portugal ; and 
before the treaty was signed he dispatched an army of 30,000 men 
under Junot across the Bidassoa, which entered Lisbon November 
30th. The prince regent, with many of his nobility and 18,000 
of his subjects, had sailed the day previously for the Brazils, and 
Bonaparte proclaimed that the house of Braganza had ceased to 
reign. Toward winter Napoleon visited Italy, and issued in the 
capital of Lombardy, December 17th, the celebrated Milan De- 
cree, declaring all vessels, of whatsoever nation, that should sub- 
mit to the British orders in council, lawful prizes. These orders 
had been issued in retaliation for the Berlin Decree. They de- 
clared the whole French coast in a state of blockade, thus render- 
ing neutral vessels with French goods on board liable to seizure, 
a proceeding which formed the principal ground of quarrel with 
the Americans. But, in fact, both the Berlin Decree and the or- 
ders in council were in a great degree inoperative. 

No sooner was Bonaparte in possession of Portugal than, with 
the help of Godoy, the Prince of Peace, the prime minister of 
Spain and paramour of the queen, he treacherously turned his 



A.D. 1807, 1808. OCCUPATION OF SPAIN BY THE FRENCH. 703 

arms against that country. Murat occupied Madrid with a French 
division. The imbecile Charles IV., and his son Ferdinand, who 
was not much better, together with Godoj and the queen, were 
decoyed to Bayonne, where a renunciation of the Spanish, throne 
in favor of Napoleon was extorted from them in consideration of 
the palace and domains of Navarre and a pension of 400,000 
francs ! It was declared that the Spanish Bourbons had ceased 
to reign : Joseph Bonaparte, much against his will, was compelled 
to exchange the crown of Naples for that of Spain, while the for- 
mer was bestowed upon Napoleon's brother-in-law Murat. King 
Joseph entered Madrid (July 20th, 1808) ; but by this time the 
Spaniards, who had risen in insurrection, had established at Se- 
ville a " supreme junta of Spain and the Indies," and had declared 
Ferdinand king with the title of Ferdinand YIL, though he was 
now residing in Talleyrand's house at Valen9ay. In this struggle 
the Spaniards displayed the greatest animosity toward the French, 
and murdered all the stragglers they could lay hands on. 

These revolutions were destined again to bring the English into 
contact with the French on land as well as sea. General Casta- 
iios, who commanded the Spanish army of Andalusia, applied to 
Sir Hew Dalrymple, commandant of Gibraltar, with a view to ob- 
tain the assistance of England. The merchants of that place sup- 
plied the junta of Seville with some money ; Collingwood carried 
his fleet into Cadiz, and lent the Spaniards what assistance he 
could in ammunition, stores, etc. ; and the English government at 
length undertook to aid the Spanish Loyalists with some troops. 
On July 12th Sir Arthur Wellesley sailed from Cork for the Pen- 
insula with about 10,000 men. Preceding the fleet in a fast ves- 
sel, he landed at Corunna in order to consult the junta of Galicia 
as to his proceedings. By their advice, with which his own views 
entirely coincided, he determined to land near Oporto. Portugal 
at this time, like Spain, was in full insurrection against the French. 
In the latter country Joseph had been driven out of his new cap- 
ital before he had been a fortnight in it. He had taken up his 
abode at Vittoria in order to be nearer the French frontier, and 
Madrid had been occupied by Castanos. The British army landed 
near the town of Figueira, August 1st, and, being re-enforced by 
some troops from Cadiz, numbered in all about 14,000 men. Ju- 
not had 17,000 or 18,000 men in Portugal ; but, as many of these 
were in garrison, his disposable force was not much larger than 
the British, and the successes of the Loyalists in Spain had cut 
him off from all communication with his countrymen in that 
kingdom. 

§ 11. Wellesley began his march upon Lisbon August 9th. In 
about a week he came upon a French division of 5000 men, un- 



704 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIII. 

der Delaboi'de, occupying a strong position at Eoli^a, which was 
carried after a struggle of two hours. On the 19th he reached 
Vimiera, where he was re-enforced by two British brigades un- 
der Generals Anstruther and Acland, making his whole force 
about 17,000 men, besides 1600 Portuguese. On the 21st was 
fouo-ht the battle of Vimiera, in which in two hours the French 
were completely defeated, with the loss of 14 guns and many pris- 
oners. But Wellesley was now superseded by Sir Harry Burrard. 
The government had determined to raise the army in the Penin- 
sula to 30,000, under Sir Hew Dalrymple, with Sir Harry Bur- 
rard as second in command, while Sir Arthur Wellesley, Sir John 
Moore, and others were to be generals of division. Sir Harry 
Burrard, by suspending the pursuit, lost the fruits of the victory, 
and the French, to their own great astonishment, got safe to Tor- 
res Vedras. Next day Sir Hew Dalrymple arrived, the command 
being thus twice changed in 24 hours. On August 30th a con- 
vention was signed by which Junot agreed to evacuate Portugal. 
This treaty is often erroneously called the " Convention of Cin- 
tra," because Sir H. Dalrymple's dispatches announcing it were 
dated from that place ; but, in fact, Cintra lies between Torres 
Vedras and Lisbon ; and, consequently, had the convention been 
made there, the British must have been already in possession of 
the former strong position, which, on the contrary, fell into their 
hands through the convention. The French were deprived of the 
spoils of the royal museum and library, church plate, etc., Avhich 
they were preparing to carry off. A Russian fleet blockaded in 
the Tagus was surrendered. Early in September the British army 
entered Lisbon, when Sir A. Wellesley, who was justly of opinion 
that his achievements with the army deserved something more than 
a subordinate post, obtained leave to return home. 

Soon after the battle of Vimiera Sir John Moore was appointed 
to the command of 20,000 men destined to co-operate with the 
Spaniards in driving the French from the north of Spain. On 
November 11th he crossed the frontier into Leon, and advanced 
by Ciudad Rodrigo to Salamanca. Meanwhile Napoleon him- 
self had entered Spain at the head of some chosen troops, and, 
having replaced his brother at Madrid, December 4th, he proceed- 
ed to seek Sir John Moore. The latter had discovered that there 
was no Spanish force on which he could rely for support, and he 
had been contemplating a retreat ; but, in consequence of some 
false intelligence that he received from Mr. Frere, formerly our 
minister at Madrid, he determined to advance, and, before Na- 
poleon could come up, strike a blow at Soult, who was on the 
banks of the Carion with about 18,000 men. But Soult had 
withdrawn ; and Moore, apprehensive of bcinsj surrounded, com- 



A. D. 1808-1809. BATTLE OF CORUNNA. 705 

menced a retreat. Napoleon was close at his heels. On Janu^ 
ary Ist, 1809, he was at Astorga with 70,000 infantry, 10,000 
cavalry, and 200 guns, and from this place he could descry the 
British rear. But he was now called away by news from Aus- 
tria, and left the pursuit to Soult. The weather was bad, the 
roads miserable, provisions scanty, and the British had often to 
face about and repulse the enemy. At last, on January 13th, 
Moore reached Corunna ; but the transports did not arrive till 
the following day ; Soult had got possession of the hills round the 
town, and it was necessary to fight a battle to cover the embarka- 
tion. This took place on the 16th: Moore had between 15.000 
and 16,000 infantry in line, Soult about 20,000 ; the ground was 
not good for cavalry. In defending the village of Elvina, against 
which the French were making a concentrated attack, Moore was 
struck in the breast by a cannon ball, and was carried to Corunna 
in a blanket, often stopping to look behind on the progress of the 
battle. The French were beaten off along the whole line, but 
night coming on prevented all pursuit ; and as the remainder of 
Soult's forces might be expected every hour, it was determined to 
hasten the embarkation. Sir J. Moore died that evening, and 
Avas buried at midnight on the ramparts '' with his martial cloak 
around him," for the Spaniards use no coffins. The embarkation, 
being covered by some line-of-battle ships, was completed in safety 
by the 18 th. During the whole campaign Moore received no as- 
sistance from the Spaniards, who, on the contrary, were a positive 
hinclerance to him by crossing his line of retreat at Astorga. 

§ 12. The English ministry, however, were determined to pur- 
sue the war in the Peninsula, in which they were encouraged by 
the distraction caused to the French arms by the war with Aus- 
tria ; and Mr. Canning executed a treaty of alliance with the 
Spanish insurgents, or rather Loyalists, January 14th. The En- 
glish nation, in spite of the long struggle it had already main- 
tained, was so little crippled in its resources, that a loan of eleven 
millions was raised at a lower interest than had ever before been 
known. Yet many abuses were at this time discovered in the be- 
stowal of military and naval patronage, in some of which the Duke 
of York himself, the commander-in-chief, was implicated. It ap- 
peared, from some charges brought against him in the House of 
Commons by Mr. AVardle, a Welsh colonel of militia, that the 
duke, abandoning himself to the influence of one IMrs. Clarke, a 
profligate but clever and insinuating mistress, had bestowed com- 
missions in the army on several unworthy persons, such as Mrs. 
Clarke's brother, and even her footman. Before the termination 
of the proceedings the duke resigned his office, and the investiga- 
tion was dropped. About the same time the commissioners of 

G G 2 



706 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIII. 

naval and those of military inquiry brought to light a great many 
abuses and frauds in the method of conducting the business of 
those departments. 

The chief command in the Peninsula was now given to Sir 
Arthur Wellesley, who advised that in the first instance our ex- 
ertions should be confined to Portugal. On April 22 he arrived 
at Lisbon, where, including a body of Portuguese under Lord 
Beresford, he found himself at the head of about 25,000 men. On 
the 9th of May he directed his march upon Oporto, now occupied 
by Soult, who, after the battle of Corunna, had invaded Portugal. 
In a few days the Douro was crossed and the French driven out 
in precipitate flight. Wellesley now entered Spain, and formed a 
junction with the Spanish General Cuesta at Oropesa in Estre- 
madura. Cuesta's army, however, amounting to about 30,000 
men, was in very bad condition. On July 26th and the two fol- 
lowing days Marshals Victor and Sebastiani attacked the position 
of the allied armies before Talavera. The attack was mainly di- 
rected against the allied left, held by the British, and especially a 
height occupied by General Hill : the Spaniards on the right were 
comparatively safe from the nature of the ground. At one time 
the British centre was broken, the guards after repulsing the 
French, having got into disorder by pursuing them too far; but 
the advance of the enemy was arrested by the 48th regiment. On 
the evening of the 28th all firing ceased, both armies retaining 
their original position ; but in the night the French retreated over 
the Alberche. This was one of the most bloody and best con- 
tested battles in the Peninsular war. 1'he French lost 7000 men 
killed and wounded, the British upward of 5000. This victoiy 
gained Wellesley the title of Viscount Wellington of Talavera. 
The British, however, were not in a condition to penetrate farther. 
The French, who had 200,000 men dispersed in Spain, were gath- 
ering from all sides, and early in August, besides Victor and Se- 
bastiani, Marshals Soult, Ney, Mortier, Kellermann, and King Jo- 
seph himself, were in Estremadura. The English general retired 
into Portugal by Trujillo and Badajoz ; . and Sir Robert Wilson 
also returned, who, at the head of a light corps of Spanish and 
Portuguese, had pushed on as far as Madrid. Before the end of 
the year the French had virtually annihilated the Spanish forces, 
and Lord Wellington now concentrated his attention on the de- 
fense of Portugal, fixing his head-quarters at Viseu, with advanced 
posts toward Ciudad Rodrigo. 

§ 13. We must now turn our attention toward another theatre 
of war. We have already adverted to Napoleon's sudden aban- 
donment of the pursuit of Sir John Moore, which was occasioned 
by a breach with Austria. In March, 1809, the Emperor Francis 



A.D. 1809. NAPOLEOK CONQUERS AUSTRIA. 797 

declared war against him. But Napoleon, inflicting a severe de- 
feat upon the Archduke Charles at Eckmiihl, marched rapidly to 
Vienna, which he entered with little resistance May 13th. He had 
still, however, to fight the battle of Aspern, near Vienna, in which 
he may be said to have been defeated. But the French army was 
allowed time to recover from the shock, and the bloody battle of 
Wagram followed, which laid Austria at Napoleon's feet. This 
was succeeded by the disgraceful peace of Schonbrunn, October 
14th, which subsequently led to the ^larriage of Napoleon with 
the Archduchess Maria Louisa. In the same year Napoleon an- 
nexed the States of the Church to France, and, having been ex- 
communicated by Pius VIL, he caused that pontiff to be carried 
off to Savona. 

In order to support the Austrian struggle, the English ministry 
resolved to divert the French arms by an expedition to the Scheldt, 
especially as Napoleon was attempting to convert Antwerp and 
Flushing into great naval depots. Before the end of July 37 sail 
of the line and an army of 40,000 men were dispatched, but under 
two most incompetent leaders — the Earl of Chatham, Pitt's elder 
brother, and Rear Admiral Sir Richard Strachan. The opinion 
of the more experienced officers was for a conp-de-main on Ant- 
werp ; instead of which, a fortnight was spent in reducing Flush- 
ing, during which time the Scheldt had been strongly fortified, and 
40,000 men thrown into Antwerp. The enterprise was then 
abandoned as impracticable, and the expedition returned home, 
leaving about 16,000 men in possession of the isle of Walcheren. 
These, however, began rapidly to disappear, from the effects of the 
fever and ague common on that unhealthy coast, and in a short 
time half the force were in hospital. After the treaty of Schon- 
brunn the occupation of Walcheren was deemed of no advantage, 
and toward the middle of November it was evacuated, the harbor, 
arsenal, and magazines of Flushing having been destroyed as far 
as possible. Such was the end of an expedition said to have cost 
20 millions. 

Another diversion was attempted in Calabria, where the news 
of Napoleon's excommunication had created a great sensation 
among the people. In June Sir J. Stuart again crossed over 
from Sicily with 15,000 men, while Sir William Hoste's squad- 
ron and flotillas of gun-boats and small armed vessels operated 
upon the coast. The French retired before Sir J. Stuart, but 
little was effected besides the dismantling of the castles of Ischia 
and Procida, and the destruction of several forts and batteries ; 
and after the capitulation of the Austrians the army returned to 
Sicily. In the autumn five of the seven Ionian islands, then held 
by the French, were captured. Santa Maura held out till the 



708 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXUf. 

following spring ; and Corfu, the most important of the whole, 
was not obtained till 1814, when it was ceded by Louis XVIII. 
We pass over the remaining exploits of this year, the taking of 
some French West India colonies, and various minor successes at 
sea. 

§ 14. A feeling of jealousy had long existed between Mr. Can- 
ning and Lord Castlereagh, which being heightened by mutual re- 
criminations after the failure of the Walcheren expedition, a duel 
ensued, in which Canning was wounded. Both had previously 
resigned ; and the Duke of Portland dying soon after, the ministry 
seemed tottering to its fall. Mr. Perceval, however, accepted the 
office of first lord of the treasury, retaining also the exchequer : 
the Marquis Wellesley, our representative with the Spanish Junta, 
was sent for and became foreign secretary in place of Canning ; 
Lord Liverpool was transferred from the home office to Lord Cas- 
tlereagh's place of secretary at war, with Lord Palmerston as 
under secretary ; and the Hon. R. Ryder took the home depart- 
ment. 

In April, 1810, some serious riots occurred in London. John 
Gale Jones being charged with a breach of privilege for abusing 
the House of Commons for closing their gallery during the dis- 
cussion on the Walcheren business. Sir Francis Burdett, in de- 
fending him, used language for which he was committed to the 
Tower. On his way thither the mob were very riotous ; the win- 
dows of several unpopular noblemen and gentlemen were broken, 
and some lives were lost. On the prorogation of Parliament Sir 
Francis was of course liberated ; but he disappointed the populace 
of an expected ovation by going home by water. 

In the Peninsula the Spaniards had been beaten on every point, 
and the Junta itself was obliged to take refuge in Cadiz, which in 
February, 1810, was invested by a French army. A British force 
of about 6000 men had been thrown into that place to assist in 
the defense, and the English fleet kept open the communication by 
sea; but the blockade was not raised till August, 1812. After 
the peace with Austria Napoleon was enabled to throw large re- 
enforcements into Spain, including some of his best troops. The 
"Army of Portugal," comprising 90,000 men under Massena, was 
cantoned in Old Castile and Leon. Massena threatened to drive 
the English out of Portugal in three months, for which purpose he 
advanced with a force of more than 60,000 men. Lord Welling- 
ton had 24,000 British troops, and more than double that num- 
ber of Portuguese, who made much better soldiers than the Span- 
iards ; but part of his force was detached south of the Tagus, to 
watch Soult's army of Andalusia. The French advanced by Ciu- 
dad Rodrigo and Almeida, which they took, and Wellington fell 



A.I). ISIO. LINES OF TORRES VEDRAS. 709 

back upon a strong position at Sierra de Busaco, near Coimbra. 
The British line, extending nearly eight miles, but with extensive 
gaps, was attacked by the French with great vigor on the morn- 
ing of September 27th. They were repulsed, however, with the 
loss of 5000 men ; and Massena, instead of renewing the attempt, 
seized the pass of Boialva, thus opening the road to Coimbra by 
turning the British left. Wellington now retired upon the famous 
lines of Torres Vedras, nearly 30 miles north of Lisbon, a position 
which his eagle eye had marked out in the preceding year. These 
lines were three : the first or outermost ran from Alhandra on the 
Tagus to the heis-hts of Torres Vedras, and thence along the little 
river Zizambre to the sea ; the second began at Quintilla, lower 
down the Tagus, and ran, at a distance varying from six to ten 
miles from the former, by Bucellas and Montachique to the mouth 
of the little river San Lorenzo ; the third or innermost was mere- 
ly intended, in case of need, to cover the embarkation of the army 
on board the fleet in the Tagus. The streams were dammed up 
and reservoirs formed, so that the ground could be inundated if 
necessary. The right of the lines was covered by the fleet and 
gun-boats in the Tagus. The lines were fortified with breast- 
works, abattis, etc., and nearly 100 redoubts or forts, mounting 
upward of 600 guns. Some of them were capable of holding 
several hundred men, and one required a garrison of 3000. 
Wellington entered these lines Octolber 8th. Massena came up 
three days afterward, and was filled with despair at the sight. 
After viewing them about a month, he retired in the middle of 
November into winter-quarters without having attempted any 
thing. 

Our general operations this year were not unattended with suc- 
cess. An attempt of the French upon Sicily was repulsed with great 
loss. By the end of the year they had been deprived of all their 
possessions in both Indies. The Dutch had also lost most of their 
East Indian settlements, and in the following year the remainder 
were reduced. On the Continent, however, the French empire 
was extending. Napoleon, having deposed his intractable brother 
Louis, annexed Holland to France; and the German coast to 
Hamburg being afterward added, the French empire might be 
said to extend from Naples to the frontiers of Denmark, embrac- 
ing a population of 80 millions. Nearly all the rest of Europe 
were Napoleon's allies ; and Bernadotte, one of his marshals, had 
been elected crown prince of Sweden. Between him and Napo- 
leon, however, there was a great antipathy ; and when the former 
came next year to the Swedish crown, he adopted Swedish views, 
conciliated the friendship of England, and ultimately declared 
against his former patron. 



710 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIII. 

§ 15. At home the scene was clouded by a return of the king's 
malady, brought on, perhaps, by the death of his beloved daughter, 
the Princess Amelia. Mr. Perceval now proposed the Prince of 
Wales as regent, under the same restrictions with regard to the 
creation of peers, the granting of offices, etc, as those laid down 
by Pitt in 1788. The arrangements were not finally completed 
till January, 1811. George III. never recovered, and the regency 
consequently lasted till his death in 1820. At first it was antici- 
pated that there would be a change of ministry, and Lords Grey 
and Grenville were actually employed to draw up answers to the 
addresses of Parliament ; but, being disgusted by some alterations 
suggested by Sheridan, they declined any farther interference, and 
tlie old ministry was retained. Shortly after the Duke of York 
was reinstated as commander-in-chief. 

Early in 1811 Soult invaded Portugal from Andalusia, in order 
to co-operate with Massena. He took Olivenza and Badajoz ; but 
by this time Massena's army was in a state of sickness and disor- 
ganization, and he was obliged to commence a retreat, closely fol- 
lowed by the English. His march was first directed on Coimbra 
and Oporto ; but, his attempt to pass the Mondego at the former 
place being repulsed, he retreated up the left bank of that river, 
much harassed by the British. The French committed the most 
horrible cruelties and devastations in their retreat, burning every 
town and village through which they passed, and maltreating the 
inhabitants. For these excesses, Massena, a man of brutal and 
ferocious character, must be held responsible. He entered Spain 
April 6th. In this pursuit much extra fatigue fell upon Lord 
Wellington, in consequence of several general officers having re- 
turned to England on pretense of private business. 

The draughts made by Soult for Portugal having reduced the 
French army blockading Cadiz to 16,000 men. General Graham 
(Lord Lynedoch), with about 4000 men, partly Portuguese, pro- 
ceeded by sea to Algeziras, in the Bay of Gibraltar ; and having 
been joined at Tarifa by 7000 Spaniards, marched by way of 
Medina Sidonia toward the French position, with the view of tak- 
ing them in the rear. Graham had expected that the Spaniards 
would have held the heiorhts of Barrosa ; but when he arrived 
there he found them occupied by Marshal Victor with 8000 men 
and a formidable artillery. With his small division Graham car- 
ried them at the point of the bayonet in little more than an hour 
— with great loss, indeed, though almost twice as great on the 
side of the French ; but, not being supported by the Spaniards, 
he was unable to follow up his victory, and the whole enterprise 
led to no result. 

Toward the end of April, Massena, who had received re-enforce- 



A.D. 1811, 1812. BATTLES IN THE PENINSULA. 711 

ments whicli swelled his army to 40,000 foot and 5000 horse, re- 
entered Portugal with the view of relieving the fortress of Almeida. 
Wellington marched to oppose him with 32,000 foot and 1200 
horse. They met at Fuentes de Onoro on the evening of May 3d: 
a fierce struggle ensued for the possession of the place, and ulti- 
mately the French were driven out. Early on the morning of the 
5 th Massena vigorously renewed the attack, which was kept up 
till evening, when the French retired wdth great loss. A few 
days after they evacuated Almeida. Napoleon was so dissatisfied 
with Massena that he superseded him in the command by General 
Marmont. Marmont, however, could do no better than his pred- 
ecessor, and retired to Salamanca. 

A little after (May loth) a memorable battle was fought between 
Marshal Beresford, who was besieging Badajoz, and Soult, who 
had marched to its relief Soult had about 23,000 men and 50 
gims ; Beresford had 27,000 ; but of these more than a third were 
Spaniards, who fled at the first attack, and left the centre, where 
the British were posted, exposed to all the fury of the French as- 
sault. The victory was Beresford's, after six hours of desperate 
fightino; ; but of 6000 British who contended with the French 
columns for the ridge of Albuera, only about 1500 were left un- 
wounded. The French lost 9000 men. Soult did not think fit 
to renew the attack ; and Beresford being re-enforced a day or 
two after with 1500 English, Soult retreated on Seville. On the 
19 til Wellington himself arrived with two fresh divisions, and the 
siege of Badajoz was resumed. But a large French force approach- 
ing, the siege was abandoned after two unsuccessful assaults, and 
Wellington fell back on Campo Mayor. A little after, the suc- 
cesses of General Hill obliged the French to evacuate the greater 
part of Estremadura. But in the eastern provinces of Spain they 
were every where triumphant. 

§ 16. The beginning of 1812 was marked by some ministerial 
changes. The Marquess Wellesley resigned, objecting to serve 
under Mr. Perceval, though not ivith him, and Lord Castlereagh 
occupied his place as foreign secretar}^ Shortly afterward Per- 
ceval himself was removed by the hand of an assassin. He was 
shot in the lobby of the House of Commons about five o'clock in 
the afternoon of May 11th, by one Bellingham, a Liverpool broker, 
whose petitions had been rejected, and expired in a few minutes. 
The assassin was convicted and hanged within a week. Upon 
this event all the ministers tendered their resignations, and an at- 
tempt was made to construct a Whig cabinet ; but it failed. Lord 
Liverpool now became premier, and Mr. Vansittart chancellor of 
the exchequer. The financial measures of Perceval were adopted, 
and it was resolved to push the war with vigor. 



712 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIII. 

Wellington opened the campaign in the Peninsula with the 
capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, which was taken Jan. 19, after less 
than a fortnight's siege. The Spaniards now first began to ap- 
preciate his genius : the Cortes voted him their thanks, and the 
title of Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo. The English Parliament grant- 
ed him an annuity of £2000, to be annexed to the earldom to 
which he was now raised. Shortly after Badajoz was again in- 
vested (March 16), and was carried April 6, but with a terrible 
slaughter. Soult, who was advancing to its relief, now again re- 
treated toward Seville, pursued by the British, who overtook and 
routed his rear guard at Villa Garcia. General Hill having by a 
masterly movement cut off the communication between Soult and 
Marmont by seizing Almaraz, which covered the passage of the 
Tagus, Wellington, no longer reduced to the defensive, prepared 
to advance into Spain. Pie had now 40,000 men, but one division 
consisted of Spaniards. Marmont had about 50,000, and was 
much superior in cavalry and artillery, yet he evacuated Sala- 
manca when Wellington appeared before it (June 16). As an 
instance of the barbarous manner in which the French conducted 
the war in Spain, it may be mentioned that during their occupa- 
tion of this celebrated university town they had destroyed 22 out 
of 25 colleges. In July both armies were facing each other on the 
banks of the Guarena. On the 20th, Marmont, who had been 
re-enforced, put his army in motion to regain the banks of the 
Tormes, and cut off Wellington's communication with Salamanca. 
Wellington immediately started after him, the two armies moving 
in parallel columns within sight of each other, yet refraining from 
all hostilities, except the occasional exchange of a cannon-shot. 
It was a sort of race which should arrive first at the Tormes. 
The armies crossed that river, the British at the bridge of Sala- 
manca, the French at the fords higher up, and both took up posi- 
tions on the south bank. On the 22d, Marmont having too much 
extended and weakened his left, Wellington took advantage of the 
error and completely defeated him. Wellington in his dispatch 
calculates the French loss at from 17,000 to 20,000 men, and 
says it was admitted that their whole army would have been in 
]iis hands had there been an hour more daylight. Marmont him- 
pelf was wounded by a shell. The French, now under General 
Clausel, fled precipitately to Valladolid, which they abandoned on 
the approach of the British. Plearing that King Joseph, with 
20,000 men, was threatening his flank and rear, Wellington, leav- 
ing a force on the Duero to watch Clausel, turned upon him, pur- 
sued him on the road to Madrid through St. Ildefonso, and enter- 
ed the Spanish capital August 12, the French* and their Spanish 
partisans hurrying from it in the greatest haste. On the 14th 



AD. 1812. WAR WITH THE AMERICANS. 7I3 

the French garrison in the Retire palace surrendered, when 180 
guns, 20,000 stand of arms, and an immense quantity of warlike 
stores were captured. 

One of the first results of the fall of the capital was that Soult 
abandoned the blockade of Cadiz and retired to Granada ; but 
Wellington soon found that it would be impossible with his force 
to hold an open town like Madrid in the presence of the large 
and well-disciplined French armies both in the north and south 
of Spain, and he retired on Salamanca, and subsequently went into 
winter quarters at Ciudad Rodrigo. 

§ 17. During our arduous struggle with the French the Amer- 
icans had displayed no friendly disposition toward this country. 
They were incensed at our exercise of the right of search, which 
had been forced upon us by the Berlin Decree,* and they insisted 
on the doctrine that the neutral flag makes free goods. In 1811 
Napoleon released the Americans from the observance of the Ber- 
lin and Milan decrees ; and in the same year the Americans pass- 
ed against us a non-intercourse act, by which all British goods 
arriving in America were to be seized, unless we recalled the ob- 
noxious orders in council before alluded to. These were revoked 
in favor of America in June, 1812, although we had been already 
subjected to many insults from the Americans, which we had dis- 
regarded. But the concession, it was said, came too late ; the 
Americans had declared war a few days previously. They had 
long been making preparations for a struggle which promised to 
be profitable to them,t and they immediately dispatched to Can- 
ada a body of 2500 men under General Hull. Proclamations 
were issued inviting the Canadians to throw off the British yoke ; 

* Much earlier than the Berlin decree (1806) the British had exercised 
the right of search, and justified it by the doctrine that a British subject 
can never become an alien, and that Great Britain had the right to take 
her native-born subjects wherever found. Ten years before this famous de- 
cree, Mr. King, the American minister in London, had, in the space of nine 
months, made application for the release of 271 seamen, mostly Americans, 
who had been seized and pressed into the naval service of Great Britain. 
— Am. Ed. 

f The only p?'ofit which the An>ericans expected from a war was the res- 
toration, or, at least, the protection of their commerce, which had been so 
ruthlessly and wickedly destroyed by Great Britain and France in their des- 
perate efforts, from 1806 until 1811, to damage each other. So overbear- 
ing and insolent had been the conduct of the British toward the Americans 
for many years, that war between the two countries appeared inevitable. 
Insults to our flag on the high seas finally became more and more frequent ; 
and because the Americans forbore to engage in hostilities, the British 
press, in 1811 and 1812, began to boast that the United States "could not 
be kicked into a war." Then forbearance became no longer a virtue ; war 
was declared against Great Britain, and carried to a successful termina- 
tion. — Am. Ed. 



714 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIII. 

but the J remained faithful, and the military measures adopted by 
General Brock were so judicious that in less than two months 
Hull was obliged to capitulate. A second expedition to invade 
Canada was arranged on the Niagara frontier soon afterward. It 
was repulsed with great loss. At sea the Americans succeeded 
in Capturing some of our frigates, owing to their own being much 
more heavily armed.* 

Meanwhile that breach between France and Russia had occur- 
red which ultimately proved one of the chief causes of Napoleon's 
downfall. Both Russia and Sweden had declined to carry out the 
Berlin Decree; and in March, 1812, a treaty was concluded be- 
tween those powers, in consequence of which Napoleon made act- 
ive preparations for war. Before entering on it he was willing 
to patch up a peace with England, and was ready to make large 
concessions ; but, as he still demanded Spain for his brother Jo- 
seph, his proposals were not entertained. Napoleon then under- 
took his disastrous expedition into Russia, which it does not be- 
long to our subject to narrate. The burning of Moscow, which 
he entered September 15, forced him to a retreat, during which 
the greater part of his vast host was annihilated either by the in- 
clemency of the weather or the sword of the enemy ; while Napo- 
leon himself, with his usual intolerance of reverses, abandoning 
his army to its fate, traveled post-haste to Paris, where he arrived 
December 18, thoroughly beaten and discomfited. During the 
summer a treaty was concluded between England and Sweden, 
and subsequently between England and Russia ; and when the Brit- 
ish Parliament assembled in November, a grant of £200,000 was 
voted for the relief of the sufferers in Russia, in addition to a 
large amount raised by private subscription. The Parliament also 
voted £100,000 to Lord Wellington. 

§ 18. The French reverses, which not only prevented Napoleon 
from sending re-enforcements into Spain, but also obliged him to 
recall Marshal Soult and 20,000 men from that country in order 
to oppose the advance of the Russians, opened a brightening pros- 
pect for the British arms in the Peninsula. The Spanish provi- 
sional government, at last throwing aside their ridiculous pride, 
made Lord Wellington commander-in-chief of the Spanish forces 
— a proceeding, however, which did not add much to his strength, 
as they were little better than an undisciplined rabble. The great- 

* This is not the whole story. It is estimated by both American and 
English writers that dui'ing the year 1812 tipward of 50 British armed ves- 
sels, and 250 merchantmen, Avith an aggregate of more than 3000 prison- 
ers, and a vast amount of booty, were captured by the Americans. It was 
not so much the superior weight of metal as greater activity that gave so 
many naval victories to the Americans. The ocean swarmed with their 
privateers. — Am. Ed. 



A. D. 1812, 1813. BATTLE OF VITTORIA. 7I5 

est service t^e Spaniards rendered was in guerrilla warfare. The 
whole force on which Wellington could rely was under 70,000 
British and Portuguese, of which about 6000 were cavalry. In 
May, 1813, he entered Spain in three divisions, the centre being 
led by himself, the right by Sir Rowland Hill, the left by Sir 
Thomas Graham. The advance was made by Valladolid, the 
French retreating before them tiU they took up a strong position 
in front of the town of Vittoria. This was attacked June 21, and 
carried after an obstinate resistance, the French being driven 
through the town, and pursued till it grew dark. The whole of 
the French artillery, baggage, and ammunition, together with prop- 
erty valued at a million sterling, was captured on this occasion ; 
and King Joseph himself was nearly seized by a party of the 10th 
hussars. The French army fled in the greatest disorder to Pam- 
pluna ; but, as the place would evidently have to sustain a siege 
or blockade, the garrison would admit none of their countrymen 
except King Joseph. The remainder of the fugitives pursued their 
flight, and did not rally till they reached the Pyrenees. Pampluna 
and St. Sebastian were soon invested by the allies, and the passes 
of the Pyrenees occupied from Koncesvalles to Irun, at the mouth 
of the Bidassoa. 

Napoleon now sent Soult, with the title of " lieutenant of the 
emperor," to reorganize the defeated army and defend the front- 
iers of Fi-ance. The former commission he executed with great 
promptitude and skill at St. Jean Pied de Port ; the latter was 
beyond his power, though he made some desperate attempts, and 
even succeeded in regaining two of the mountain passes. On four 
consecutive days (27th to SOtli July) bloody and persevering at- 
tacks were made upon the allied line, but they were repulsed ; 
and on the 31st Soult was in full retreat for France. These en- 
gagements have been called the '' Battles of the Pyrenees." Soult 
would have been fairly entangled and surrounded at San Estevan 
but for the imprudence of three drunken English soldiers who 
were surprised near his quarters. His army suffered severe losses 
in that terrible pass. He now retired behind the Bidassoa, and 
Wellington halted. 

On August 31 St. Sebastian was carried by assault, but with 
terrible loss; and the castle surrendered in a few days after. 
Pampluna held out till October 31 ; but WelHngton, leaving that 
fortress invested, crossed the Bidassoa early in that month with 
his left wing, and Soult retreated to the Nivelle. Before the mid- 
dle of November all the allied army Avas on French ground. Wel- 
lington had issued a proclamation containing the strictest injunc- 
tions not to molest the peaceable inhabitants, which the Spaniards 
could not be brought to obey, and at last he was obliged to send 



716 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIII. 

most of them back over the frontier. The peasants of the south 
of France, oppressed by the conscription, welcomed the English as 
deliverers. On November 10 the French position on the Nivelle 
was forced. Soult then retired to his intrenched camp at Bay- 
onne, whence he made some skillful attacks on the English posts, 
but without success. The allies then went for a few weeks into 
winter quarters. 

§ 19. The whole Continent was now in arms against Napoleon. 
During his disastrous -retreat from Russia the Emperor Alexander 
had gathered up his forces and hung upon his rear, and as he ap- 
proached the west, the Poles, and then the Prussians, rose to join 
him. A sentiment of the national degradation had at length been 
aroused among the Prussians which the king dared not venture to 
oppose. The news of Wellington's glorious campaign in the 
Peninsula also stimulated the Germans to resistance. Frederick 
William III., King of Prussia, and Alexander, Emperor of Rus- 
sia, contracted an alliance oiFensive and defensive (Feb. 28), which 
was ratified at Kalisch. This coalition, being the sixth against 
France, was joined by Great Britain (June 14). Napoleon, how- 
ever, was still superior in force to the allies. By the most un- 
sparing conscription he had raised 700,000 men, half of whom 
were dispatched into Germany ; but they were raw recruits, nec- 
essarily much inferior to those with which he had won his early 
victories. He gained in May the battles of Lutzen and Bautzen ; 
but they were bloody, and led to little result. The P>ench reoc- 
cupied Leipsic and Dresden, and an armistice was agreed upon, 
from June 5 to August 10, to give time for negotiations mediated 
by Austria. Napoleon haughtily refused to give up his conquests 
beyond the Rhine ; and at the conclusion of the armistice Aus- 
tria joined the coalition against him, although the emperor's daugh- 
ter had been left regent of France. England supplied the Prus- 
sians, Hanoverians, and Swedes with money and stores. Then 
followed the battles at Dresden, Gross Beeren, Dennewitz, and 
the Katzbach, in all which the French were defeated, and finally 
the crowning battle of Leipsic, called by the Germans the Volker- 
schlacht, or battle of the nations, from the numbers engaged, at 
which Napoleon was completely overthrown, and compelled to a 
]-etreat as disastrous as that from Moscow, recrossing the Rhine 
Avith less than a quarter of the enormous army he had collected 
in Germany. He reached Paris November 9, though beaten, still 
arrogant and presumptuous. 

In February, 1814, Wellington again took the field, and Soult 
retired before hira across the Gave d'Oleron. On the 27th he 
was defeated at Orthez with great loss, and Wellington pushed on 
to the Adour, directing Sir John Hope to invest Bayonne, and 



A.D. 18U. THE ALLIES ENTER PARIS. 7I7 

Marshal Beresford to occupy Bordeaux. On the arrival of the 
last the mayor and citizens proclaimed Louis XVIII. of their own 
accord, for Wellington studiously avoided all interference in favor 
of the Bourbons. Soult now retreated upon Toulouse ; and AVel - 
lington, who reached that city March 27th, found him posted on 
the right bank of the broad and rapid Garonne. It was the 9th 
of April before the British army could be conveyed to the other 
side, and on the 10th, Easter Sunday, was fought the bloody bat- 
tle which takes its name from the town. The force of Welling- 
ton was a little superior, but Soult was much stronger in artil- 
lery. His position was carried, but with considerable loss, and on 
the night of the 11th he evacuated Toulouse and retreated toward 
Carcassone. In that night he marched 21 miles ; yet some French 
writers have claimed the battle of Toulouse as one of their vic- 
tories ! Wellington entered Toulouse on the 12th, and in the 
afternoon received intelligence that Napoleon had abdicated at 
Fontainebleau six days before the battle. Soult at first refused 
to acknowledge the provisional government established in the name 
of Louis XVIII. ; but, on receiving farther intelligence, a conven- 
tion was signed on the 18th. On the 14th, General Thouvenot, 
though apprised of the state of affairs at Paris, brutally made a 
night sally from Bayonne, in which a great number of men were 
killed and wounded on both sides. 

§ 20. We must now briefly advert to the events which thus put 
an end to the glorious progress of Wellington. During February 
and March Napoleon had obstinately contested with far inferior 
forces the advance of the allies from the Rhine, displaying all his 
great qualities as a general. During this campaign a congress of 
the ministers of the allied powers and of France was held at Cha- 
tillon-sur-Seine, England being represented by Lord Castlereagh. 
They offered those boundaries which France pretends to claim as 
her natural limits — the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Rhine; but 
to these proposals Napoleon refused to accede till too late. It 
does not belong to our subject to narrate this campaign, and it 
will suffice to say that after several battles the Emperor Alexan- 
der and the King of Prussia entered Paris March 31st. The 
allied sovereigns now refused to treat with Napoleon, who had re- 
tired to Fontainebleau; he was obliged to abdicate, April 11th, 
and a provisional government was formed to effect the restoration 
of the Bourbons. At the instance of the Emperor Alexander, 
Napoleon was allowed to retain the imperial title, the isle of Elba 
was assigned as his dominion, and he was to receive from France 
a pension of six million francs. England was no party to this 
treaty, but afterward assented to it. Louis XVIII., who during 
his exile had resided in England, entered Paris in state May 3d, 



718 . GEORGE HI. Chap. XXXllI. 

and on the 30th he signed with Great Britain, Austria, Russia, 
and Prussia a treaty of peace and alliance, by which the French 
boundaries, with some additions, were determined and secured as 
they existed in 1792. The possession of Malta and its dependen- 
cies was confirmed to England ; the Cape of Good Hope had been 
secured by a previous treaty with Holland ; but all the Dutch 
East India colonies, except Ceylon, were restored. All the col- 
onies possessed by France in 1792 were also restored, except To- 
bago, St. Lucie, and the Isle of France ; and several islands and 
colonies were likewise given back to Spain. Hanover was raised 
to the dignity of a kingdom, with succession only in the male line. 
In June the allied armies evacuated Paris. The Emperor Alex- 
ander, the King of Prussia, and many of their most distinguished 
generals and nobility, then visited England, when there was a sol- 
emn thanksgiving in St. Paul's, and a series of grand fetes and 
entertainments. 

Contemporaneously with the advance of the allies upon Paris, 
an English force under Sir Thomas Graham, which was afterward 
joined by Bernadotte and his Swedes, had been engaged in re- 
ducing Holland, and the English suffered severely in attempting 
to storm the formidable fortress of Bergen op Zoom. By the 
peace of Paris, Belgium was incorporated with Holland. Lord 
William Bentinck, with an Anglo-Sicilian force, assisted by a 
squadron under Sir Edward Pellew, succeeded in reducing Genoa, 
which was annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia ; Pius VII. was 
restored to the papal throne ; and Lombardy, with the addition of 
Venice and several other places, was, after the expulsion of the 
Viceroy Eugene Beauharnais, made over to Austria. Lord Ben- 
tinck appears to have exceeded his powers in proclaiming the in- 
dependence of Italy, and thus exciting hopes which could not be 
realized. Ferdinand VII. was restored to the throne of Spain 
without the exaction of any pledge. Soon after the Duke of 
Wellington, for such he had now been created, arrived at Madrid 
to mediate between the contending parties ; and he advised Fer- 
dinand to grant the Spaniards a constitution, and to rule with lib- 
erality and moderation. On his return home the duke received 
the thanks of both houses, and a sum of £500,000 was voted to 
him to purchase an estate. 

§ 21. We must now briefly advert to the American war, which, 
however, after the great events just related, does not present 
features of much interest. Instructed by the events of 1812, the 
English government sent out a more powerful class of frigates, 
and henceforward the engagements went for the most part in fa- 
vor of the British. One of the most remarkable was that between 
the Shannon and Chesapeake, a British and an American frigate, 



A.D. 1815. ESCAPE OF NAPOLEON. 7I9 

of which the latter was considerably superior in weight of metal. 
Captain Broke, of the Shannon, sent a challenge into Boston har- 
bor, and a battle was fought June 1, 1813, when, after an action 
of fifteen minutes, Captain Broke boarded the Chesapeake, and 
carried her oiF in sight of the disappointed Americans. 

In 1813 and 1814 the Americans renewed their attempts upon 
Canada, but without success, and it is calculated that their three 
invasions cost them 50,000 men. Meanwhile our squadrons rav- 
aged the American coast, the lighter vessels penetrating up the 
rivers and inflicting considerable damage.* In 1814 the British, 
in America were re-enforced with some of the veterans of the 
Peninsula. On Aug. 15th, General Ross, with only 1600 men, 
dispersed in half an hour about 8000 Americans posted on some 
heights near the River Potomact, entered Washington, the capital 
of the Union, and burnt the Senate House, the House of Repre- 
sentatives, the Capitol, the president's residence, the arsenal, dock- 
yards, and other public buildings. Several other American towns 
were taken ; but an attack upon Baltimore was repulsed with 
great loss, including the death of General Ross ; and an attempt 
upon New Orleans in December was still more unfortunate. 
After the abdication of Napoleon the Americans began to think 
of peace, and a treaty was signed at Ghent, Dec. 24, 1814. Both 
parties agreed to use their endeavors to suppress the slave-trade. 

§ 22. In January, 1815, a congress of eight of the principal Eu- 
ropean powers assembled at Vienna to regulate the affairs of Eu- 
rope ; but they had not proceeded far in their labors when they 
were astounded with the intelligence that Bonaparte had escaped 
from Elba. He landed at Cannes, March 1 , with 1 000 men, and 
the troops joined his standard as he advanced. On the night of 
April 19th Louis XVIII. fled to Lille, and on the following night 
Napoleon entered the palace of the Tuileries. The congress at 
Vienna declared him an outlaw and violator of the common peace, 
devoted him to public vengeance, and agreed to unite for the 

* The amphibious warfare carried on by Admiral Cockburn along the 
coast, from Delaware Bay to Charleston, was marked by acts of unnecessary 
cruelty, disgraceful to the British name and fame. Public and private 
property was every where plundered or destroyed, and many negroes were 
carried oif from the coast plantations and sold for cash in the West Indies. 
Commodore Hardy's conduct on the New England coast, at the same time, 
was in most honorable contrast with that of Cockburn. — Am. Ed. 

t According to the best authorities, Ross was at the head of 5000 men, 
while General Winder, the American commander, had only 3000 (one half 
of them undisciplined militia) until joined by the seamen and marines of 
Commodore Barney, whose flotilla, lying in the Patuxent, had been burned 
when Ross approached. The place of the battle was not "on heights near 
the River Potomac," but inland, at Bladensburg, four or five miles fi'om 
Washington City. — Am. Ed. 



720 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIII. 

maintenance of the treaty of Paris. The Duke of Wellington, who 
was present at the congress, was consulted as to the conduct of 
the war. The duke impressed upon the English ministry the ne- 
cessity, even on the ground of economy, of making a grand effort 
to crush the enemy at once. Both the ministry and Parliament 
were impressed with the soundness of this advice. The budget 
of the year was raised to the enormous sum of ninety millions, a 
considerable part of which went to subsidize the Continental na- 
tions ; and the duke proceeded to Belgium to prepare for the ex- 
pected campaign. 

Napoleon crossed the Belgian frontier June 14th, with about 
lOO,000 infantry, 25,000 cavalry, and 350 pieces of artillery. 
Wellington lay at Brussels with about 76,000 men, not half of 
whom were British, and some 84 guns. Bliicher was at some dis- 
tance on his left with 80,000 Prussians and 200 guns. Napoleon 
advanced by Charleroi ; and when Wellington had ascertained that 
this was the real point of attack, he made the proper dispositions 
to meet it. On the loth Marshal Ney advanced beyond Charleroi 
on the road to Brussels, driving back from Quatre Bras an ad- 
vanced brigade of the army of the Netherlands under the Prince 
of Weimar. The position was, however, recovered by the Prince 
of Orange ; and on the next day, General Picton having arrived 
with the 5 th division and some Germans under the Duke of Bruns- 
wick, Ney was repulsed from Quatre Bras, though his force was 
nearly double that of the allies. Meanwhile, on the same day, Na- 
poleon with his main body had attacked the Prussians at Ligny and 
8t. Amand, in front of their head-quarters at Sombref, had driven 
Bliicher back with great loss, and compelled him to retreat to 
Wavre ; but he was so ignorant of his victory that it was not till 
noon of the I7th that he dispatched Grouchy, with a corps of 
32,000 men, in pursuit of the Prussians. 

Bliicher' s retrograde movement necessitated a similar one on the 
part of Wellington, in order to keep up the communication be- 
tween the allied armies. On the 17th he made a leisurely retreat, 
undisturbed except by a few cavalry skirmishes, to the plains of 
Waterloo, which he had previously selected for a battle-field. 
In the course of the same day Napoleon formed a junction with 
Ney, when their united forces amounted to about 78,000 men. 
The night was stormy, with thunder, rain, and wind ; the follow- 
ing morning, Sunday, June 18th, opened heavily, but the rain had 
ceased. Wellington occupied a position extending from a ravine 
near Merke Braine on the right to the hamlet of Ter la Haye on 
the left, on which side the communication was open with Bliicher 
at Wavre, through Ohain. In front of his right centre was the 
chateau of Housoumont, in front of his left centre the farm-house 



A.D.1815. . BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 721 

of La Haye Sainte, both occupied by our troops. In the rear of 
the British centre was the farm-house of Mont St. Jean, and still 
farther back, the village of the same name. The French occupied 
some heights in front of AVellington's position, and about a mile 
distant, their right being before the village of Planchenois, and 
occupying the farm of La Belle Alliance, while their left rested on 
the Genappe road. It was the first time that Napoleon had come 
into contact with British troops. He was full of confidence, and 
is said to have exclaimed, " Enfin je vais me mesurer avec ce Vil- 
ainton." About 10 o'clock the French line was observed to be 
in motion, and soon a violent attack was made on Hougoumont, 
defended by a brigade of the guards, who held it throughout the 
day. The French succeeded better at La Haye Sainte, bravely 
defended by some of the German Legion, who were all slain ; but 
the post was afterward recovered. In other parts of the line re- 
peated attacks were made by heavy columns of French infantry., 
but without success, and Napoleon then had recourse to some des- 
perate charges of cavalry, which were repulsed by the British in- 
fantry formed in squares. To put an end to this, AVellington or- 
dered an advance of the brigade of heavy cavalry under Lord Ed- 
ward Somerset, consisting of the life guards, horse guards, and 1st 
dragoon guards, who completely rode down and dispersed the 
French cuirassiers, 2000 of them being made prisoners in this 
charge. At 7 o'clock in the evening the British line retained its 
original position, when Bulow's corps of Prussian's arrived at Plan- 
chenois and La Belle Alliance, and began to engage the French 
right. Napoleon's chances were now growing desperate, and, as 
a last eftbrt, he ordered the advance of his magnificent Old Guard 
against the British position of La Haye Sainte. Napoleon led the 
advance some way himself, and then took shelter behind some ris- 
ing ground, leaving Ney, " the bravest of the brave," to head the 
charge. The guard advanced up the gently sloping ridge in two 
dark and threatening columns, galled by a flank fire from the 
British light division. At the top of that ridge the British guards 
were lying down to avoid the fire of the French artillery ; but as 
the French columns approached, the duke gave the word to rise, 
and at the distance of about 50 yards they delivered a terrible vol- 
ley into the French ranks as they were attempting to deploy into 
line. Their columns shook and wavered, a charge was ordered, 
and the Old Guard was hurled down the hill in one mingled mass 
with their conquerors. The sight of that repulse threw the whole 
French line into confusion and dismay ; Napoleon galloped to the 
rear, and Wellington, availing himself of the auspicious moment, 
ordered a general advance. The French army was now in com- 
plete rout ; Wellington and Bliicher met at a house called La 

Hh 



722 GEORGE III. Chap. XXXIIJ. 

Maison Rouge, not far from La Belle Alliance ; and the pursuit 
of the enemy was left to the Prussians, who were comparatively 
fresh. Many prisoners were made, and 150 guns fell into the 
hands of the allies. Napoleon himself narrowly escaped capture. 
It was computed that in the three days' engagements and in the 
retreat the French lost 30,000 men ; and when the remaining fugi- 
tives reached the French frontier, the greater part dispersed never 
again to meet. But the loss of the allies had also been enormous. 
It was estimated that nearly half the men actually engaged were 
either killed or wounded. Among the killed were General Pic- 
ton and General Sir William Ponsonby ; among the wounded, the 
Earl of Uxbridge (afterward Marquess of Anglesea), General Cooke, 
General Halkett, Colonel Fitzroy Somerset, and others. The 
Prince of Orange was also wounded. The Duke of Brunswick 
had fallen at Quatre Bras at the head of his black hussars. 

§ 23. The allies now advanced upon Paris, which the remains 
of the grand army evacuated July 6th, and the allies took posses- 
sion. Bliicher was for pulling down the column in the Place 
Vendome, blowing up the bridge of Jena, and levying 100 million 
francs on the city ; but on all these points he ultimately yielded 
to the more moderate counsels of Wellington. Napoleon had ab- 
dicated June 22d in favor of his young son Napoleon II. ; but the 
allies would be content with nothing less than the restoration of 
the Bourbons. On July 8th Louis XVIII. re-entered Paris and 
quietly resumed the government. 

Meanwhile Napoleon, his head full of uncertain projects, now 
thinking of joining the remains of his army beyond the Loire, and 
now of flying to America, arrived at Rochefort July 3d, where, 
finding all hope of escape cut ofFby the numerous British cruisers, 
he surrendered himself on board the Bellerophon, Captain Mait- 
land, an English ship of the line, which happened to be in the 
Roads. He had previously written a theatrical letter to the prince 
regent, claiming the protection of the British people, and compar- 
ing himself to Themistocles when he sought the hospitality of 
Admetus. But Captain Maitland was careful to make him un- 
derstand that he could give no promises as to his reception, and 
that he could only undertake to convey him safely to England. 
Maitland was ordered to proceed to Plymouth Sound, and to al- 
low no communication with the shore. The resolution of the 
allies was communicated to him July 31st, and on August 7th he 
was put on board the Northumberland, the flag-ship of Admiral 
Sir G. Cockburn, and conveyed to the island of St. Helena. Here 
he lingered out the remainder of his life in fruitless hope and un- 
availing discontent, till death released him from his sufferings, 
May 5th, 1821. He was incontestably the greatest general of 



A.D. 1815, 1816. DISTRESS AND DISCONTENT. 723 

modem times, and had J;aken every capital of importance in -Eu- 
rope except London ; yet he wanted some of the qualities which 
make a great man, and especially dignity and fortitude in the en- 
durance of misfortune. 

The peace of Paris, or definitive treaty between France and the 
allied powers, was signed in that capital November 20th. The 
settlement of Europe was arranged by the congress at Vienna. 
The Emperor of Russia, the Emperor of Austria (for such was 
now his title instead of Emperor of Germany), and the King of 
Prussia, had also signed what they called the "Holy Alliance" — 
an agreement to govern on Christian principles ; which the Duke 
of Wellington wisely declined to sign, on the ground that it was 
too vague. « 

At the commencement of the war with France in 1793 the En- 
glish funded debt had been a little under 228 millions. In Febru- 
ary, 1816, the unredeemed debt, funded and unfunded, amounted 
to nearly 800 millions, entailing an annual charge of more than 
28 millions. The last three years of the war alone had cost the 
country very nearly 200 millions. 

§ 24. The triumph of the nation was succeeded by a reaction 
of internal distress and discontent. During the war the excite- 
ment of national feelinsr and the natural exultation of victorv had 
prevented the people from complaining, and it was not till the 
struggle was over that they began to feel the burdens which it 
had occasioned. Trade languished from the exhaustion of the 
Continental nations, and their consequent inability to purchase 
our goods ; while through unfavorable seasons the price of wheat 
rose before the end of 1816 from 52s. to upward of 100.?. a quar- 
ter; and the distress was augmented by the corn law of 1815, 
which closed the ports to the importation of foreign grain till the 
price of wheat reached 80s. A multitude of persons were thrown 
out of employment through the depressed state of trade, and their 
numbers Avere swelled by the soldiers and sailors discharged at the 
termination of the war. Hence arose seditions and tumults, which 
in the agricultural districts were marked by incendiary fires, in the 
manufacturing towns by the breaking of those ingenious machines 
by which human labor had been to a great extent superseded. 
The subject of Parliamentary reform now began to be agitated 
among the great mass of the people, which previously had been 
little more than a speculative question with some leading states- 
men. A ramification of clubs, called Hampden Clubs, was estab- 
lished throughout the country, that of London being presided over 
by Sir Francis Burdett. Other leading members were Major 
Cartwright and the demagogue orator Henry Hunt. Their de- 
mand for reform embraced annual Parliaments and universal suf- 



724 .GEORGE HI. Chap. XXXIII. 

frage ; and a report of a secret committee of the House of Com- 
mons in February, 1817, represented these clubs as meditating 
nothing short of a revolution. In the preceding December dan- 
gerous riots had taken place in Spa Fields, which were with dif- 
ficulty put down through the firmness and courage of Sir James 
Shaw and of the lord mayor. 

One result of the peace was the suppression of the Algerine pi- 
rates. During the war these nests of robbers had been connived 
at ; but in 1816 Sir Edward Pellew (Lord Exmouth) proceeded 
to Algiers with 25 men-of-war, besides gun-boats, etc., and being 
joined by a small Dutch squadron under Admiral Van Capellan, 
almost completely destroyed, after a few hours' bombardment, the 
formidable fortifications of Algiers (August 27th), together with 
nine Algerine frigates, etc. A loss, however, of 852 officers and 
men was sustained by the British. The Dey of Algiers now ac- 
cepted the terms we dictated, and 1083 Christian slaves, princi- 
pally Italians, were liberated. 

§ 25. The general feeling of discontent among the lower classes, 
and an outrage committed upon the prince regent, the windows of 
whose carriage were broken as he was returning from opening the 
Parliament, January 28th, 1817, led to the suspension of the Ha- 
beas Corpus Act. At the same time the execution of the law of 
libel was severely pressed, and numerous ex officio informations 
were filed against political writers. One of the most remarkable 
of these prosecutions was that against William Hone, a bookseller 
in the Old Bailey, for a profane libel, consisting of parodies on the 
Catechism, the Lord's prayer, the commandments, etc. Hone 
conducted his own defense with considerable ability, and was 
acquitted by the jury, who seem to have felt that it was the 
political rather than the profane character of the libels that 
had excited the indignation of the government. Lord Chief 
Justice Ellenborough resigned in consequence of this trial, in 
which he had been to a certain extent foiled and browbeaten by 
Hone. 

The Princess Charlotte, only child of the regent, died this year 
November 6th, after giving birth to a still-born infant. She had 
espoused, May 16th, 1816, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, the 
present King of the Belgians. 

In 1818 the prospects of the country seemed improving. Trade 
was more active, employment more constant, and sedition conse- 
quently less rampant. In September a congress of the allies was 
held at Aix-la-Chapelle in order to settle the withdrawal of the 
army of occupation from France, of which the Duke of Welling- 
ton was generalissimo. The duke took leave of the troops by an 
order of the day dated at Cambray, November 7. On his return 



AD. 1816-ld20. DEATH OF THE KJNG. 725 

to England he was appointed master-general of the ordnance, with 
a seat in the cabinet. 

§ 26. In 1819 was passed the act, commonly known as Mr. 
Peel's Act, to remove the Bank restriction passed in 1797, and to 
provide for the gradual resumption of cash payments. May 1, 
1823, was assigned as the period for the payment of all notes on 
demand in the current gold coin of the realm ; but the Bank an- 
ticipated this period by two years, and began to pay in specie 
May 1, 1821. 

In August, 1819, the demagogue Henry Hunt got up a great 
meeting in St. Peter's Fields, Manchester, on the subject of Par- 
liamentary reform. The attempt to apprehend him produced a 
disturbance, in which about half a dozen persons were killed and 
a score or two wounded. This affair obtained among the " Ead- 
icals," as the extreme reform party were now called, the name of 
the Manchester Massacre, or '' Peterloo." Hunt and eight or 
ten of his friends were captured, and, being tried and convicted 
of a misdemeanor in the following spring, were sentenced to va- 
rious terms of imprisonment. Such was the alarm occasioned in 
the public mind by these disturbances that Parliament was opened 
in November, when the ministers brought in and passed six acts : 
namely, for the more speedy execution of justice in cases of mis- 
demeanor ; to prevent military training ; to prevent and punish 
blasphemous and seditious libels ; an act for seizing arms ; a 
stamp act, with the view of repressing libels ; and an act to pre- 
vent seditious meetino-s and assemblies. But there was something^ 
wrong in the state of the nation, of which these seditions were 
but the outward symptoms. They required something more than 
repressive treatment, and were not thoroughly healed till a better 
and more liberal course of legislation was some years later adopt- 
ed. 

On January 23, 1820, died the Duke of Kent, aged 52, leaving 
an only daughter, her present majesty, born May 24, 1819. In 
less than a week afterward his father, George III., expired (Jan. 
29), at the age of 82, and in the 60th year of his reign, the longest 
of any sovereign that ever sat on the English throne. His private 
conduct had been always unexceptionable ; and his plain and un- 
ostentatious manner, his warmth of feeling, and his attachment to 
rural pursuits, had endeared him to a large portion of his subjects. 
As a sovereign he undoubtedly ever had the honor and welfare 
of the country at heart, though occasionally views somewhat nar- 
row and contracted, arising more from a defective education than 
any want of natural good sense, prevented him from seeing things 
in their proper light ; and when once he had adopted an opinion, 
be was apt to cling to it with a firmness which not unfrequently 



726 



VGEORGE 111. 



Chap. XXXIIL 



degenerated into obstinacy. Queen Charlotte had died in No- 
vember, 1818. 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1S03. "War renewed between England and 

France. 
1804. Pitt's second administration. 
'•'■ Napoleon assumes the title of emperor. 

1505. Battle of Austerlitz. 

''• Battle of Trafalgar and death of Nel- 
son. 

1506. Death of Pitt. 

" Lord Grenville prime minister, and 

Fox foreign secretary. 
" Battle of Jena. Berlin Decree. 
" Death of Fox. 

1807. Duke of Portland prime minister, 
"• Peace of Tilsit. 

" Bombardment of Copenhagen. 

" Conquest of Portugal by the French. 

1808. Joseph Bonaparte proclaimed King of 

Spain. Insurrection of the Spaniards. 
" Battle of Vimiera and occupation of 
Lisbon by the British troops. 

1809. Battle of Corunna and death of Sir 

John Moore. 

" Sir Arthur Wellesley commander-in- 
chief in the Spanish peninsula. 

" Battle of Talavera. 

" Battle of Wagram. Peace of Schon- 
brunn between France and Austria. 

" Walcheren expedition. 

'■'• Mr. Perceval prime minister. 



A.r>. 

1810. Battle of Busaco. Lines of Torres Ve- 

dras occupied. 

1811. The Regency. 

" Battles of Fuentes de Onoro and Al- 
buera. 

1812. Assassination of Mr. Perceval. Lord 

Liverpool prime minister. 
'"'•■ Capture of Ciudad Eodrigo and Bada- 

joz. 
"• Battle of Salamanca. 
" War with the United States. 
'■'• Napoleon's invasion of Russia. 

1813. Battles of Vittoria and the Pyrenees. 
'•'■ Capture of St. Sebastian. Wellington 

enters France. 
'' Battle of Leipsic. Napoleon driven 
out of Germany. 

1814. Battle of Toulouse. 

"■ Abdication of Napoleon at Fontaine- 

bleau. 
" Peace with the United States. 

1815. Napoleon's return to France. 

"• Battle of Waterloo, and second abdi- 
cation of Napoleon. 
" Peace of Paris. 

1816. Bombardment of Algiers. 

ISIT. Death of the Princess Charlotte. 

1819. Peers Currency Bill. 
"■ Riots at Manchester. 

1820. Death of George IIL 




Medal of the Battle of Aliwal. 

Obv. : VICTORIA REOI:^!A. Head, wearing coronet, to left. Rev. : army of the sctlej. 

Yictoiy, holding wreath, to left, and arms. Below, aliwat. 1846. 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

GEORGE IV., "WILLIAM IV., AKD VICTORIA. A.D. 1820-1858. 

§ 1. Accession of George IV. Cato Street Conspiracy. Prosecution and 
Death of Queen Caroline. § 2. Ministei'ial Changes. Commercial 
Panic. § 3. The Catholic Question. O'Connell and the Catholic Asso- 
ciation. Canning's Ministry and Death. § 4. Battle of Navarino. 
Kingdom of Greece. The Duke of Wellington Premier. Abolition of 
the Test and Corporation Acts. §5. Catholic Emancipation. § 6. Death. 
and Character of George IV. § 7. Accession- of WiLLiAii IV. Earl 
Grey Premier. § 8. Parliamentary Reform Bill. Rejected by the Lords. 
Riots at Bristol, etc. § 9. Proposed Creation of Peers. Reform Bill 
carried. Irish Coercion Bill. § 10. Abolition of Slavery. Lord Mel- 
bourne Prime IVIinister. Sir Robert Peel Prime Minister. Lord Mel- 
bourne's second Administration. § 11. Municipal Reform Bill. Death 
of William IV. § 12. Accession of Queen Victoria. Insurrection in 
Canada, Chartists. § 13. The Queen's Marriage. Sir Robert Peel 
IVIinister. Graduated Corn-law. Agitation in Ireland. Conviction 
and Fall of O'Conn.ll. § 14. Ii'ish Famine, and Abolition of the Corn- 
laws. Fall of the Ministry. § 15. O'Brien's Rebellion. French Revo- 
lution. Death of Sir R. Peel. § 16. Fall of Lord John Russell's Min- 
istry. Lord Derby Premier. Death of the Duke of Wellington. Lord 
Aberdeen's Ministry. § 17. War with Russia. Campaign in the Crimea, 
and Siege of Sebastopol. § 18. Lord Palmerston Premier. Russian 
War. Sebastopol taken. Peace of Paris. § 19. Review of Indian His- 
tory from the Time of Warren Hastings. § 20. Occupation of Scinde. 
Annexation of Oude. Revolt of the Bengal Army. § 21. Fall of Lord 
Palmerston's Ministry. Lord Derby Premier. Abolition of the East 
India Company. § 22. Review of the Period from the- Revolution. 
Progress of the English political Power. § 23. Progress of English Man- 
nfactures. Trade, Population, etc. National Debt. § 21. View of the 
moral Condition of the Peoj^le. Religion. § 25. Criminal Law, Educa- 
tion, etc. § 26. Literature and Art. 

§ 1. George IV., 1820-1830.— George, Prince of Wales, now 



728 l^iEOKGE IV. Chap. XXXIV. 

ascended the throne, with the title of George IV., at the age of 
58. As he had been regent during the last ten years, while his 
father was in seclusion, his accession produced little or no change 
in the state of affairs. 

The excitement of " Peterloo" was followed by the Cato Street 
conspiracy, so called because the conspirators were captured in a 
room over a stable in Cato Street, Edgeware Eoad. They con- 
vsisted of some twenty or thirty persons, headed by one Thistle- 
wood, a man of desperate character, and their design was to mur- 
der all the cabinet ministers when they should be assembled at 
dinner at Lord Harrowby's. But they were betrayed by one of 
their own gang: nine of them were captured, and Thistlewood 
and four more of the ringleaders were executed (May 1). 

One of the first steps of George IV. after his accession was to 
attempt to procure a divorce from his consort, Caroline of Bruns- 
wick. The marriage had never been a happy one. It had been, 
in a manner, forced upon the prince as a condition cf having his 
debts paid. The princess's person and manners were distasteful 
to him, and she soon became the object of his aversion. They 
separated soon after their marriage, though she bore him a daugh- 
ter ; and the princess in 1814 w^ent to live abroad. Her conduct 
in England had already excited some scandal, and in 1818 a com- 
mission was appointed to watch her conduct and collect evidence ; 
our embassadors abroad were instructed not to recognize her ; 
and when the king came to the throne her name was omitted from 
the Liturgy. She determined on returning to England, and ar- 
rived June 6, the very day on which Lord Liverpool had opened 
an inquiry into her conduct in the House of Lords. In July a 
bill of pains and penalties was brought in, which was to deprive 
her of her rights and privileges as queen, and to dissolve the mar- 
riage. In the trial which ensued Mr. Brougham and JNIr. Den- 
man acted as her attorney and solicitor general. She was charged 
in particular with adultery with one Bergami, a menial servant. 
Several Italian witnesses were examined, and it can not be doubt- 
ed that her conduct in Italy had gone far beyond the bounds of 
discretion ; but the witnesses were of a low class, and frequently 
equivocated ; and there was naturally a popular feeling in favor 
of a woman whose case assumed somewhat the aspect of persecu- 
tion. At the third reading of the bill, the majority in its favor 
in the House of Lords had fallen to 9 ; and as the bill had still 
to pass the Commons, the ministers were induced to abandon it. 
The popular feeling was expressed by a general illumination. In 
the following session the Commons voted her an annuity of 
£50,000. 

The king's coronation having been fixed for July 19, 1821, 



A.D. 1820-1825. THE CATHOLIC QUESTION. 729 

Caroline insisted on being croAvnecl with him, and on having her. 
name inserted in the Liturg}'. This Avas of course refused ; and 
when she repaired to the Abbey to view the coronation as a spec- 
tator, she was turned back from the door. This disappointment, 
added to the excitement which she had already undergone, was 
her deathblow. She expired August 7, at the age of 52, of in- 
ternal inflammation. Her funeral was attended with riots. The 
mob compelled the procession to pass through the city, where two 
persons were shot by the military. The remains were then taken 
to Harwich to be conveyed to Brunswick. 

§ 2. In 1822 Lord Sidmouth retired from the home office, and 
was succeeded by Mr. Peel. In August the suicide of Lord Lon- 
donderry (late Lord Castlereagh) created another vacancy in the 
ministry. Mr. Canning was now the leading man in the House 
of Commons, but he had incurred the king's displeasure by re- 
fusing to take any part in the proceedings against Queen Caroline, 
and had therefore been passed over on the preceding occawon. 
His great talents, however, could not be entirely overlooked, and 
the East India Company had offered him the governor generalship 
of India, for which he was preparing ; but his services in England 
were now indispensable ; the king w^as forced to waive his antip- 
athy, and Canning became foreign secretary and leader of the 
House of Commons. His discharge of that office was marked by 
a more liberal policy than had prevailed under his predecessor. 

For the next two or three years there is nothing material to re- 
cord. The prosperity of the country went on increasing ; but to- 
w^ard the end of 1825 the reckless spirit of speculation produced 
a panic which was followed by much distress and alarm, upward 
of 60 banks having stopped payment in December, 1825, and the 
following month. It Avas attributed in a great degree to the over- 
issue of paper money, and measures were taken to restrict the is- 
sue of small notes by country bankers as well as by the Bank of 
England ; and branches, of the latter were established in several 
of the larger trading towns. An extensive system of emigration 
was adopted to relieve the distress of the nation, and its superin- 
tendence intrusted to the colonial office. 

§ 3. Daniel O'Connell was about this time beginning to make 
himself conspicuous as the advocate of the claims of the Irish 
Koman Catholics. George III. had declared that he would never 
consent to the admission of Catholics to Parliament, and had even 
attributed his illness to the subject having been forced upon his 
attention by Mr. Pitt. During the life of that sovereign, there- 
fore, the Catholics had abandoned all hope of relief; but the case 
was different after the accession of a new sovereign. After the 
death of Mr. Perceval in 1812, the Catholic question became an 

H H 2 



730 GEORGE IV. Chap. XXXIV. 

open one in the cabinet. Canning distinguished himself as an ad- 
vocate of relief, and the subject was frequently debated in Par- 
liament, but nothing was done. In this state of things, O'Connell 
organized the Catholic Association in the beginning of 1824, sup- 
ported by a rent^ levied in Ireland, which was appropriated to his 
own aggrandizement. In 1825, a relief bill, introduced by Sir 
Francis Burdett, passed the Commons, upon which the Duke of 
York went down to the House of Lords, and took a solemn oath 
that in case he should succeed to the crown he would permit no 
change. The bill was rejected by the Lords ; but the Duke died 
soon afterward (Jan. 5, 1827). 

In February, 1827, Lord Liverpool was seized with paralysis; 
and as it was evident that he would never again be able to attend 
to business, the king was reluctantly compelled to send for Mr. 
Canning (April 11th), who became first lord of the treasury and 
chancellor of the exchequer. The Duke of Wellington, Mr. Peel, 
Lor4 Eldon, and some others, resigned ; and Sir J. Copley, now 
created Lord Lyndhurst, became lord chancellor. Nothing, how- 
ever, was done in Mr. Canning's short administration. By^many 
of the aristocracy he was regarded as an adventurer and an upstart ; 
he had to endure many personal attacks ; and anxiety and vex- 
atioli of mind, added to a violent illness contracted at the Duke of 
York's funeral, brought him to the grave (August 8th). He was 
buried in Westminster Abbey, but privately. The king conferred 
a peerage on his widow. Viscount Goderich* (Mr. Robinson) suc- 
ceeded Canning as premier. 

§ 4. This administration, like the preceding, lasted only a few 
months, and the sole important event that occurred in it was the 
battle of Navarino and the establishment of Greek independence. 
The cause of Greece was supported, from different views, by Rus- 
sia, France, and England, which powers had squadrons cruising 
in the Levant, the English being under the command of Sir Ed- 
ward Codrinffton. But war had not been declared ; the Turkish 
and Egyptian fleet, under Ibrahim Pasha, lay in the Bay of Nav- 
arino, and there was an understanding that it should remain there 
till the affairs of Greece were arranged. The Turks having at- 
tempted to violate this agreement, a general engagement ensued, 
and the Turkish and Egyptian fleets were completely destroyed in 
the course of a few hours (Oct. 20, 1827). By this impolitic act 
England and France played into the hands of Russia, who was 
anxious to weaken the power of Turkey, and thus pave the way 
for her long-cherished object of ambition — the possession of Con- 
stantinople. The three powers decided that Greece should be 
erected into a separate kingdom ; and the crown, after having been 
* He was created Earl of Ripon in 1833. 



A. D. 1825-1829. CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION. 73I 

declined by Prince John of Saxony and Prince Leopold of Saxe- 
Coburg, was eventually conferred (in 1832) on Prince Otlio, a 
younger son of the King of Bavaria. 

In January, 1828, another change of ministry occurred. Lord 
Goderich having resigned, the Duke of Wellington became pre- 
mier ; when Mr. Goulburn was made chancellor of the exchequer, 
Mr. Peel home secretary, and Lord Palmerston secretary at w^ar. 
Most of the other ministers retained their offices. In this session 
a most important measure was passed — the repeal of the Test and 
Corporation Acts established in the reign of Charles 11. , of which 
an account has been already given in the preceding book. The 
motion for the repeal was made by Lord John Russell, and was 
at first opposed by Mr. Peel ; but the ministers, having been left 
in a minority, subsequently withdrew their opposition. A decla- 
ration, if required by the crown, was now substituted for the sac- 
ramental test, by which the person entering upon an office pledged 
himself not to use its influence as a means of subverting the Es- 
tablished Church. On the motion of the Bishop of Llandaff, the 
words "on the true faith of a Christian" were inserted in the dec- 
laration ; a clause which, though not so designed, had the effect 
of excluding the Jews from Parliament till the year 1858. This 
measure was naturally regarded as the forerunner of Catholic 
Emancipation. It was evident that the Duke of Wellington was 
prepared, with characteristic good sense, to yield to the demands 
of an enlightened public opinion. He had, indeed, announced his 
intention at the same time of opposing the Catholic claims, but 
with the qualification, unless he saw some great change ; and this 
contingency soon afterward occurred. 

§ 5. In the course of the year Mr. Huskisson resigned office in 
consequence of being opposed to his colleagues on an election 
question, and he was followed by the "Canning" portion of the 
cabinet, viz., Lord Palmerston, Lord Dudley, Mr. Lamb, and Mr. 
Grant. Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald, who sat for the county of Clare, 
having become one of the new ministers, was now, of course, 
obliged to vacate his seat, and appear again before his constitu- 
ents, and, being an advocate of Catholic Emancipation, he consid- 
ered his re-election sure. But O'Connell presented himself!, and 
was returned, affirming that he should be able to take his seat, 
which, however, he did not attempt to do the remainder of the 
session. This event brought matters to a crisis. The ministers 
perceived that it would be impossible any longer to withhold 
emancipation without creating great disturbances, and in the 
king's speech on opening the session of 1829 a measure of relief 
was announced. The Catholic Association was first of all to be 
dissolved ; but, while a bill for that purpose was in progress, the 



732 GEORGE IV. Chap.XXXIV. 

Association dissolved itself. Mr. Peel had for many years been 
the ablest opponent of the admission of Catholics to Parliament. 
He had, session after session, distinguished himself by his eloquent 
speeches against their emancipation, and he had gained the affec- 
tion and confidence of the High-Church and Tory party. Great 
was their indignation to find that their favorite leader was now 
prepared suddenly to desert them, and to propose in the Commons 
the very measure which he had so frequently denounced as fraught 
with ruin to the best interests of the empire. Having felt him- 
self bound in honor tp vacate his seat for the University of Ox- 
ford, he was beaten by Sir Robert Inglis upon again presenting 
himself as a candidate. He was, however, returned for West- 
bury, and introduced the Catholic Relief Bill. By this measure 
a different form of oath was substituted for the Oath of Suprem- 
acy, and* there were no offices from which Roman Catholics were 
now excluded except those of regent, of lord chancellor of England 
and of Ireland, and of viceroy of Ireland. By way of security, 
the franchise in Ireland was raised from 40s. to £10, and certain 
regulations were made respecting the exercise of the Roman Cath- 
olic religion. The bill finally passed the House of Lords April 
lOtli, having been carried through both houses with considerable 
majorities. 

This measure produced a schism in the Tory party, the effects 
of which lasted for some years. One of its consequences was a 
duel between the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchelsea. 
The latter, having attributed sinister motives to the duke in a 
newspaper letter, received a challenge, and a meeting took place, 
but without injury to either party. The Catholic Relief Bill was 
not, however, attended with all the beneficial consequences which 
its supporters had confidently predicted. It averted, it is true, 
the immediate danger of a civil war in Ireland, but it failed to 
convert the Irish Catholics into peaceable subjects, and they soon 
proceeded to use the new political power which they had obtained 
more for the interests of the Catholic Church than for the good 
of the empire. 

§ 6. The assenting to the Roman Catholic Relief Bill was the 
last act of importance performed by George lY. He had been for 
some time in a declining state of health, and had become so nerv- 
ous and irritable that he almost entirely secluded himself from 
public view. There had been considerable difficulty in obtaining 
his consent to the bill, and, after he had given it, he was filled 
with alarm for the consequences. He died June 26th, 1830, in 
the sixty-eighth year of his age and the eleventh of his reign. He 
possessed but few qualities calculated to endear a sovereign to his 
subjects. His thoughts were more engaged in the pursuit of his 



A.D. 1829, 1830. DEATH OF GEORGE IV. 733 

private tastes and pleasures than in the welfare of the nation, and, 
though his manners were elegant and refined in private society, 
they were not calculated to win popularity. His abilities were 
by no means contemptible, and he possessed considerable accom- 
plishments, but they were never turned to any high and useful 
purpose. With him may be said to have expired the habits and 
prejudices of the preceding century, and a new era was now to set 
in of rapid popular improvement. 

§7. William IV., 1830-1837.— On the death of George IV., 
the Duke of Clarence, his next surviving brother, then in his six- 
ty-fifth year, was proclaimed king, with the title of William IV. 
His political opinions were supposed to be more liberal than those 
of his predecessor, but no change was made in the ministry. The 
march of events, however, the repeal of the Test Act, the carry- 
ing of Catholic Emancipation by a Tory ministry, and in this sum- 
mer the revolution which occurred in France — by which Charles 
X. was hurled from his throne in consequence of his attempts on 
the Constitution and on the liberty of the press, and Louis Phi- 
lippe became King of the French — prepared the minds of men for 
farther progress, and especially for some measure of Parliamentary 
reform, a subject that had so long occupied the attention and ex- 
cited the passions of the nation. The result of these feelings was 
manifested in the new Parliament, which contained a great pro- 
portion of liberal members. But the disturbances which had 
taken place, both on the Continent and at home, where there had 
been many incendiary fires, instead of inclining the duke and his 
ministry to concession, had determined them not to yield any thing 
to popular clamor. The king's opening speech was firm and un- 
compromising, and in the debates which ensued the Duke of Wel- 
lington expressed his determination to oppose any measure of 
Parliamentary reform. The unpopularity that such a declaration 
was calculated to excite was increased by the ministers advising 
the king to decline an invitation to dine with the lord mayor on 
November 9th. This step was taken in consequence of a com- 
munication from Alderman Key, the lord mayor elect, who had 
warned the duke to come with a strong escort. London was, in 
consequence, struck with a panic ; the country was thought to be 
on the eve of a revolution ; and the. funds fell 3 per cent. The 
ministers, however, were soon released from the cares of respons- 
ibility. On November loth, in a debate on the civil list. Sir LI. 
Parnell having carried a motion for a committee of inquiry, the 
ministers resigned the following morning. The king now sent for 
Earl Grey, the leader of the Whig party, under whose auspices as 
premier a new ministry was formed on the avowed principle of 
Parliamentary reform. It comprehended Lord Brougham, now 



734 WILLIAM IV. Chap. XXXIV. 

niised to the peerage, as lord chancellor, Lord Althorp chancellor 
of the exchequer, Lord Lansdowne president of the council, Lord 
Palmerston foreign secretary, Lord Melbourne (Mr. Lamb) home 
secretary. Lord Goderich colonial secretary, etc. 

§ 8. On March 1st, 1831, a bill for Parliamentary reform was 
introduced into the House of Commons by Lord John Russell. 
The alterations proposed were much more extensive than had been 
anticipated, and were received by the House with shouts and de- 
rision. The first reading was carried by a majority of 1 ; but 
ministers, having been twice defeated in committee, resolved on 
summoning a new Parliament, though the present one was only a 
few months old. The elections presented scenes of great excite- 
ment. The Tories were denounced as enemies both of king and 
peaple; in some places, especially Scotland, serious riots occurred, 
and lives were even lost ; and in most of the considerable towns 
only those candidates dared to show themselves who would en- 
gage to vote for " the bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the 
bill." The populace had been led by demagogues to regard the 
measure as an immediate panacea for all their ills ; and thus a 
great and necessary constitutional reform was carried by popular 
heat and clamor, and with the excitement of expectations that 
could never be realized. The House of Commons, which assem- 
bled June 14th, contained a large majority of Reformers. The 
bill was again introduced by Lord John Russell, June 24th, and 
carried by a majority of 136. It was still, however, violently op- 
posed by a powerful party in the state, who regarded the bill as 
an attack upon their private property — for it was notorious that 
estates commanding the nomination of a member of Parliament 
fetched a price very far above their intrinsic value. When the 
bill was brought up to the House of Lords, it was rejected, after 
five nights' debate, by a majority of 41 (Oct. 7th). This step was 
followed by the most disgraceful riots. Li London, indeed, the 
populace, controlled by the admirable organization of the new po- 
lice, established by Sir Robert Peel, contented themselves with 
breaking the windows of obnoxious anti-Reformers, but in several 
of the provincial towns fearful disturbances ensued. At Notting- 
ham, the ancient castle, the residence of the Duke of Newcastle, 
was burned ; at Derby, the jail was forced and the prisoners lib- 
erated ; while at Bristol, where the riots lasted several days, many 
of the public buildings and a great part of Queen's Square were 
destroyed, and about 100 persons were killed or wounded. Ire- 
land also was in a most disturbed state. After the emancipation 
of the Catholics had deprived O'Connell of that means of collect- 
ing the "rent," and of securing himself an income from the pock- 
ets of the impoverished Irish, he had raised the cry for the repeal 



A.D. 1830-1832. REFORM BILL. 735 

of the Union, and the most frightful nocturnal disorders, and even 
midday murders, became frequent. To add to the misery and con- 
fusion, England was visited this autumn for the first time by the 
cholera. 

§ 9. The Parliament reassembled in December, and in March, 
1832, the Reform Bill again passed the Commons. The Peers 
now displayed more disposition to yield ; but, as it was evident 
that the bill would be mutilated in committee, Lord Grey pro- 
posed to the king the creation of a sufficient number of peers to 
carry it through. The king demurring, the ministers resigned; 
but the Duke of Wellington and Lord Lyndhurst having failed to 
construct a Tory administration, the king was obliged to yield at 
discretion, and recall his former ministers. But the extreme 
measure of a large creation was avoided by the good sense of the 
peers. The Duke of Wellington, and about 100 others, agreed to 
absent themselves, whereupon the bill was carried and received 
the royal assent. 

The main principle of the Reform Bill was, that boroughs hav- 
ing a less population than 2000 should cease to return members, 
and that those having a less population than 4000 should cease to 
return more than one member. By this arrangement 56 boroughs 
were totally disfranchised, and 31 more lost one of their members. 
The total number of old borough members thus disfranchised was 
143. Their seats were transferred to several large towns, such 
as Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, etc., which had grown into 
importance during the last century. Between 40 and 50 new 
boroughs were created, including the four metropolitan boroughs 
of Marylebone, Finsbury, the Tower Hamlets, and Lambeth, each 
of the last returning two members. An aristocratic counterpoise 
seemed in some degree to be established by the additions to the 
county members. The larger counties were divided into districts ; 
and while previously there had been 52 constituencies, returning 
94 members, there were now 82 constituencies, returning 159 
members. But, on the other hand, both the county andi)orough 
franchises were extended. In the counties the old 40s. freehold- 
ers were retained, and three new classes of voters introduced: 1. 
Copyholders of £10 per annum; 2. Leaseholders of the annual 
value of £10 for a term of OO years, or of the annual value of =C50 
for a term of 20 years ; and, 3. Occupying tenants paying an an- 
nual rent of £50. In boroughs the franchise was given to all 
£10 resident householders, subject to certain conditions. Such 
were the main features of this bill, which undoubtedly formed the 
greatest revolution the country had experienced since the Revolu- 
tion of 1688. 

The disturbances in Ireland had now reached a frightful pitch. 



736 WILLIAM IV. Chap. XXXIV. 

It had become impossible to collect tithe ; the collectors were 
murdered or mutilated ; there were regular engagements between 
the police and the peasantry ; and the Protestant clergy were al- 
most starving. To remedy this state of things the government 
introduced a coercion bill, which, while it provided a remedy for 
many of the grievances complained of, enabled the lord lieutenant 
to prevent all public meetings of a dangerous character, and to 
place disturbed districts under martial law. 

§ 10. The Parliament was dissolved December 3d, and the first 
refornied House of Commons assembled February 5th, 1833. 
The Reformers had an overwhelming majority, and fears began to 
be entertained that the Church, the aristocracy, and all the older 
institutions would be swept away. But a strong conservative 
spirit still existed in the nation. Sir Robert Peel, whom the 
Tory party had now forgiven, and again treated as their leader, 
revived their desponding spirits, introduced an admirable organ- 
ization into the party, and pointed out that a return to political 
power was still far from impossible. This party, dropping the 
name of Tory, now called themselves Conservatives. 

Upon the assembling of the Commons, two principal questions 
which occupied their attention were the abolition of slavery and 
the amendment of the poor-law. The agitation of negro freedom 
in public meetings in England had occasioned a dangerous insur- 
rection among the slaves in Jamaica, which was with difficulty 
suppressed. A rising had also occurred in the Mauritius. Un- 
der these circumstances, the ministers brought in and carried a 
bill for the total abolition of slaveiy, which had been so long ad- 
vocated by Wilberforce, Powell Buxton, and their party. Of the 
humanity and justice of this measure, viewed abstractedly, there 
can be but one opinion ; yet, botlr as a measure of humanity and 
of policy, it must in a great degree be pronounced a practical fail- 
ure ; for while, in some of our larger sugar-colonies, it has reduced 
the cultivation to less than half of what it was, and consequently 
reduced,, many of the proprietors to beggary, it has also stimulated 
foreign planters to supply the deficiency of produce thus created by 
an increased pressure upon their negroes, and even given a stim- 
ulus to the foreign slave-trade. The apparently munificent sum 
of £20,000,000 was voted as a compensation to the slave-owners, 
but a great part of this was in reality never applied ; and the rate 
of compensation being in some islands about £20 per negro — not 
a quarter of what they cost the proprietor — -the owner of an estate 
with 100 negroes received about £2000, but found his property 
utterly ruined from the unwillingness of the emancipated negro, 
to work. 

The poor-law question was reserved for another administration. 



AD. 1832-1837. ACCESSION GF QUEEN VICTORIA. 737 

A considerable portion of Lord Grey's cabinet having resigned, 
principally on account of a proposed extension of the Irish Coer- 
cion Bill, the premier was also obliged to retire (1834). Lord 
Melbourne now became prime minister, and Lord Althorp resumed 
his former post of chancellor of the exchequer. A new poor-law 
was passed, the main feature of which was to abolish local boards 
and to establish a central board of commissioners. Poor-law un- 
ions were formed, and the system of out-door relief in a consider- 
able degree done away with, the consequence of which has been 
a large diminution of the applications for relief, leading not only 
to the saving of large sums, but also to the creation of a higher 
spirit of independence among the lower classes. 

§ 11. The conservative reaction had, within the last two years, 
become so marked, that the king, in the autumn of 1834, availed 
himself of the death of Earl Spencer and the consequent elevation 
to the House of Lords of his son, Lord Althorp, the chancellor of 
the exchequer, to dismiss Lord Melbourne and his colleagues and 
intrust Sir Eobert Peel with the formation of a conservative ad- 
ministration. But the country was not yet ripe for this change. 
Upon the dissolution of Parliament the Conservatives obtained a 
vast accession to their numbers in the House of Commons, but 
they were still left in a minority ; and, accordingly. Sir Eobert 
Peel, after holding office for a few months, was obliged to retire, 
and the Melbourne administration resumed office, with a few slight 
changes, in April, 1835. The new ministers were entirely de- 
pendent on the support of O'Connell, with whom they had now 
allied themselves. The chief measures which they carried this 
session were the Municipal Eeform Bill, and a bill to alloAv Dis- 
senters to marry in their own chapels. The next year or two 
present little of importance. In 1836 an ecclesiastical commis- 
sion made a new arrangement of sees, by which four old ones were 
consolidated into two, Gloucester being united with Bristol, and 
^t. Asaph with Bangor, while two new ones were created — Eipon 
and Manchester. In May, 1837, the king was seized with a dan- 
gerous illness, and expired June 20th. His character presents 
few salient points. His abilities were small, his temper and in- 
tentions good, his manners homely and popular, but deficient in 
kingly dignity. 

§ 12. QueenYictokia. — Upon the death of her uncle, "William 
TV., our present gracious sovereign Queen Victoria, the only child 
of the Duke of Kent, and who had just completed her eighteenth 
year, succeeded to the throne. As the succession to the crown of 
Hanover had been se'ttled only in the male line, that country was 
now separated from the crown of Great Britain, and became the 
inheritance of Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, the eldest surviving 
son of George III. 



738 YICTORIA. Chap XXXIV. 

The first year of Queen Victoria's reign was marked by insur- 
rections in Canada, which, thoujrh assisted by bodies of adventur- ^ 
ers from the United States, were put down without much trouble. 
The harvests of 1837 and 1838 proved unfavorable, which occa- 
sioned much distress among the lower classes, and the opportunity 
was seized by the seditious in order to excite riots and disorders. 
There had now arisen a considerable body who called themselves 
Chartists ; that is, they demanded what they called a new charter, 
or thorough reorganization of the lower house of Parliament on 
the following five principles, styled the five points of the charter, 
namely, universal suffrage, vote by ballot, annual Parliaments, the 
remuneration of members, and the abolition of the property quali- 
fication. In the autumn of 1838 many large Chartist meetings 
were held in the northern counties, and as winter approached they 
assembled by torch-light. At one of these, held at Kersal Moor, 
near Manchester, it was computed that 200,000 persons were pres- 
ent. In 1839, a National Convention was formed in London of 
delegates from the working classes, and a petition was got up of 
such size that it was necessary to roll it into the House of Com- 
mons in a tub. A motion for a committee to consider it having 
been lost by a large majority. Chartist riots ensued in several of 
the principal provincial towns, and especially at Newport, where 
one Frost, a magistrate of the borough, played a principal part. 
The disturbance was put down with the loss of about twenty lives, 
and Frost, Jones, and Williams, the ringleaders, were convicted 
and transported. At the same time, a more orderly and intelli- 
gent agitation was proceeding to remove the chief cause of these 
disturbances. This was the Anti-Corn-Law League, formed at 
Manchester in September, 1838, to procure the abolition of the 
corn-laws and the promotion of free-trade principles. The most 
distinguished advocate of the League was Mr. Eichard Cobden, 
who rapidly acquired great influence in the country. 

§ 13. On February 10th, 1840, her majesty was united to he^ 
cousin Albert, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was about 
three months her junior. The Parliament voted the prince-con- 
sort an annuity of £30,000 for life, and passed a bill of natural- 
ization. 

The Melbourne ministry had never been very strong, and their 
close alliance with O'Connell and his " tail," as his score or two 
of adherents were called, had degraded them in the eyes of the 
nation. They had also failed in their financial measures, having 
every year a deficient revenue. In the spring of 1841 Sir Robert 
Peel carried a resolution of want of confidence in them by a single 
vote, when they of course resigned, but appealed to the country. 
Anxious to secure a majority, they intimated their intention of 



A.D. 1837-1845, " CORN LAWS. 739 

proposing a repeal of the corn-laws, and substituting a fixed duty 
of 85. a quarter upon corn ; but they did not meet with a popular 
response, the landed interest strained every nerve to defeat their 
candidates, and when the new Parliament met the Conservative 
majority was estimated at nearly 80. An amendment on the ad- 
dress was carried, ministers resigned, and Sir Robert Peel became 
premier for the second time. The other principal members of 
the government were, Lord Lyndhurst, chancellor ; Mr. Goulburn, 
chancellor of the exchequer ; Sir James Graham, home office ; 
Lord Aberdeen, foreign office ; Lord Stanley, war and colonies ; 
Lord EUenborough, board of control, etc. The Duke of Welling- 
ton accepted a seat in the cabinet without any office. In the ses- 
sion of 1842 Sir Robert Peel introduced and carried a new corn- 
law on the principle of a graduated scale ; and, in order to supply 
the constantly deficient revenue, an income-tax of 7c/. in the pound 
was imposed on all incomes above £150. A customs act was also 
passed, either repealing, or considerably reducing, such duties as 
pressed most heavily on manufacturing industry, thus making an 
approximation to free trade. 

The influence of O'Connell was now at its height in L-eland. 
"Weekly meetings were held in a building called Conciliation Hall, 
and large sums were collected for the "Agitator." Other expedi- 
ents of sedition were the "monster meetings" held at Tara and 
other places ; but that at Clontarf proved a trap for the agitator 
himself. In consequence of the regulations issued for the meet- 
ing, as well as some seditious expressions used at a meeting of the 
Repeal Association, O'Connell was arrested (Oct. 14, 1843), and 
condemned, together with some of his coadjutors, of conspiracy 
and sedition, by the Court of Queen's Bench in Dublin. The 
judgment was afterward reversed by the House of Lords ; but the 
blow was irrecoverable, and O'Connell never regained his former 
influence. His health began visibly to decline, and he died at 
Genoa (May, 1847), on his way to Rome, wdth the double object 
of benefiting his health and asking the Pope's blessing. 

§ 14. The question which now principally occupied the atten- 
tion of the public was that of the corn -laws, and this w^as now 
approaching its solution through an unexpected dispensation of 
Providence. The summer of 1845 was wet and cold; it Avas 
plain that the harvest would be deficient not only in England, but 
throughout Europe ; and, in addition to this calamity, appeared 
another hitherto unknown. A disease had invaded the potato- 
crops ; the blackened and decayed leaves exhaled a nauseous odor, 
and the root became unfit to eat. A famine in Ireland, where the 
potato formed the staple food, was now imminent. The Anti- 
Corn-Law League redoubled its agitation, and vast sums were 



740 VICTORIA. Chap. XXXIV, 

subscribed In all quarters in aid of its objects. The Whigs hast- 
ened to make political capital of the conjuncture. Lord Morpeth 
joined the League ; Lord John Russell addressed a letter to his 
constituents in the city, in which, amid taunts directed against Sir 
Robert Peel, he abandoned his scheme of a fixed duty on corn, and 
declared himself the advocate of a free trade. Peel himself, how- 
ever, had come to the conclusion that a duty could no longer be 
upheld, and he had brought over the majority of the cabinet to the 
same opinion ; but he felt that he and his colleagues were not the 
persons to carry a measure which they had always opposed. On 
December 11 the ministers resigned, and Peel announced to the 
queen his intention to support, in his private capacity, any minister 
she might appoint who should propose to do away with the duty 
upon corn. Lord John Russell was now sent for by the queen ; 
but he failed in forming a ministry, and the previous one was re- 
stored. In January, 1846, Peel brought in a bill by which the 
duty on wheat was entirely abolished at the end of three years, 
while in the interval it was reduced from 16s. to 4s. per quarter, 
and buckwheat and India wheat were immediately admitted duty 
free. The measure was accompanied with a reduction of duty on 
other articles, as silk and cotton manufactures, foreign spirits, etc. ; 
and the duty was abolished on animal food, live animals, vegeta- 
bles, etc. The bill was carried through both houses with consid- 
erable majorities. 

The repeal of the corn-laws broke up the powerful Conservative 
party. The majority not only refused to follow Sir Robert Peel 
in his recent change of opinion, but regarded him as an apostate 
and a traitor. There can be no doubt that Sir Robert Peel had 
changed his opinions from honest conviction ; but it M^as certainly 
unfortunate for his reputation that a second time in his political 
career his sense of duty compelled him to desert the party which 
had raised him to power. This party, which was ncnv known by 
the name of " Protectionists," looked up to Lord Stanley as their 
leader — the only distinguished member of Sir Robert Peel's ad- 
ministration who had opposed the repeal of the corn-laws. They 
soon had an opportunity of avenging themselves on their former 
chief. As Ireland was still in a very disturbed state, Sir Robert 
Peel brought in a bill for the better protection of life in that 
country, whereupon the Protectionists joined the Whigs in defeat- 
ing it. The ministry resigned, and Lord John Russell became 
premier (1846). 

§ 15. The year 1847 was also marked by great distress both in 
England and Ireland. The potato-crop again failed ; there was a 
famine in Ireland ; and, though the British Parliament voted sev- 
eral millions to buy food for the starving Irish, they nevertheless 



A.D. 1845-1851. DEATH OF SIR ROBERT PEEL. 741 

rose in rebellion. O'Connell had now vanished from the scene ; 
and Mr. Smith O'Brien, who attempted to sustain his part, had 
not the requisite qualities for it. His attempt to excite a rebel- 
lion in 1848 proved a ridiculous failure: he was captured in a 
cabbage-garden, convicted of high treason, and transported. The 
Irish, being deprived of their principal agitators, by degi'ees settled 
down into a more tranquil state. A large emigration, the intro- 
duction of a more extended corn-cultivation, and the investment 
of a large amount of English capital, have since much improved 
the condition of the country ; and thus the potato-rot, which at 
first appeared a curse upon Ireland, eventually turned out a bless- 
ing. 

The revolution which expelled Louis Philippe from the French 
throne in February, 1848, and which was felt throughout Europe, 
was the exciting cause of this rebellion. It also produced a slight 
elFect in England, where, however, the materials of sedition were 
happily not very formidable. The London Chartists took occasion 
to display their force by a procession (April 10), and mustered on 
Kennington Common to the number of about 20,000 ; but no 
fewer than 150,000 citizens had enrolled themselves as special 
constables, the Duke of \Yenington had taken the necessary mili- 
tary precautions, and this ridiculous display ended 'without any 
breach of the peace. 

During the next few years there is nothing of much importance 
to record. In 1849 a farther advance was made in free-trade 
principles by a repeal of the navigation-laAVS.* The prosperity 
of the country went on rapidly increasing, and Sir Robert Peel 
was gratified with beholding the success of his measures, when his 
life was suddenly terminated by a fall from his horse (1850). Thus 
prematurely perished a minister who understood the commercial 
interests of this country better than any man who ever governed 
it, and who, if he did not possess that original and commanding 
genius which forestalls events and anticipates futurity, was never- 
theless, perhaps, the better qualified to discern and provide for the 
exigencies of the passing time. 

§ 16. The following year (1851) witnessed, as it were, the sym- 
bolization of free-trade principles by the great exhibition of the 
industry of all nations in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park. The 
insolent pretensions of the Roman court excited this year the 
greatest indignation in England. Ever since the repeal of the 
Catholic disabilities in 1830 the papal party had, been pursuing an 
aggressive policy in this country, and the Pope now ventured to 
divide the whole of England into Roman Catholic sees, nominat- 
ing Cardinal Wiseman Archbishop of Westminster, and designat- 
* On these laws, see Notes and Illustrations C. 



742 VICTORIA. Chap. XXXIV. 

ing other Roman Catholic prelates by similar territorial titles. 
In order to put a stop to this invasion of the queen's prerogative, 
the ministers introduced the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, which was 
only carried with much difficulty. Next year (1852) Lord John 
Russell, being defeated on the Militia Bill, resigned, and was suc- 
ceeded by the Earl of Derby (formerly Lord Stanley). In Sep- 
tember the Duke of Wellington expired somewhat suddenly at 
Walmer Castle — a man who had filled a larger space in the his- 
tory of his country than had perhaps been previously allotted to 
any subject. His character as a general may be gathered from 
the preceding narrative. It was marked by a happy mixture of 
boldness and prudence ; and, though his feats were outshone by 
the dazzling exploits of Bonaparte, yet, on the other hand, it should 
be recollected that Wellington never failed in any of his enter- 
prises. As a minister his praise must be limited to that practical 
good sense and intuitive sagacity which enabled him to discern at 
a glance the essential bearings of a question, to tha modesty which 
caused him frequently to submit his own judgment to that of more 
practiced statesmen, and to the moderation and disinterestedness 
which led him to waive his own party predilections for the good 
of his country. A magnificent funeral was conferred upon him at 
the public expense; and on November 18, 1852, his mortal re- 
mains, accompanied with every circumstance of military pomp, 
passed slowly through the streets, which were lined with myriads 
of his admiring and sorrowing countrymen, to their last resting- 
place in St. Paul's Cathedral. - 
Lord Derby, though he dissolved Parliament, and sacrificed the 
principles of protection, was left in a minority in the new House 
of Commons, and before the end of the year was compelled to re- 
sign. He was succeeded by a sort of coalition ministry under 
Lord Aberdeen, consisting of the more distinguished friends of Sir 
Robert Peel, of the great leaders of the Wliig party, and of a few 
Radicals. In the session of 1853 several salutary measures were 
carried, and the prosperity of the country seemed to be rapidly 
advancing ; but already a cloud was arising in the East which was 
to throw over it a temporary shade. The Russian emperor had 
long looked with a covetous eye on Constantinople, and nothing 
was wanting to seize upon it but a favorable opportunity. Relig- 
ion, so often the pretext of secular ambition, was made the ground, 
of strife ; and an obscure quarrel of some Greek and Latin monks 
about the holy places of Palestine, with which the Turks had not 
meddled, served to excuse an attempt to appropriate an empire. 
The Emperor Nicholas demanded on this ground the control over 
all members of the Greek Church residing in the Turkish domin- 
ions — a demand that was naturally rejected by the Porte. In 



A.D. 1851-1854. RUSSIAN WAR. 743 

consequence of this refusal, Russian troops crossed the Pruth, 
and took possession of the principalities of Wallachia and Mol- 
davia, but were defeated bj Omar Pasha at the battle of Olte- 
niza. • 

§ 17. War was now fairly kindled between Russia and the 
Porte. The Emperor I*sicholas calculated on the subservience of 
Germany, the disturbed state of France, and the connivance of 
England, to which he offered Egypt as her share of ''the sick 
man's" inheritance, for the success of his plans. But England 
was not ambitious of farther acquisitions, and least of all by such 
means; Turkey claimed her assistance on the faith "of treaties ; 
and France, now under the absolute sway of Napoleon III.,* cor- 
dially united with Great Britain to repress the ambition of Russia. 
Austria and Prussia stood aloof; but a combined English and 
French fleet proceeded to the Black Sea, and shut up the Russians 
in the harbor of Sebastopol. 

Negotiations with Russia were continued during the winter, 
but, having failed, war was declared against her by England and 
France in the spring (1854), when a French army under Marshal 
St. Arnaud, and an English one under Lord Raglan, assembled at 
Varna in Turkey, while an English fleet under Sir Charles Napier 
was dispatched to the Baltic. Thus, for the first time after many 
centuries, the English and French, who had been so often arrayed 
against each other, were seen fighting side by side ag; inst a com- 
mon enemy. Our limits will permit us to give only a very slight 
sketch of a war the principal incidents of which must be present 
to the minds of most even of our younger readers. The gallant 
defense of the Turks oh the banks of the Danube having dissipated 
all alarm in that quarter, it was determined, toward the end of 
summer, to transport the allied army from Yarna to the Crimea, 
and to attack Sebastopol. They were landed without opposition 
(Sept. 14) at Eupatoria, on the west coast of the Crimea. Prince 
MenschikoiF, the commandant of Sebastopol, had posted a force of 
about 60,000 men on the heights which crown the left bank of the 
little river Alma, in order to oppose their advance on that fortress, 
and he had fortified this naturally strong position with great care, 
so that he confidently reckoned on holding it at least three weeks ; 
but it was carried after a few hours' fight, on September 20, by 
the allied armies, though with considerable loss. The Russians 
flung away their arms and fled ; many of their guns were captured, 
together with Menschikoflf's carriage and dispatches ; and nothing 

* In 1848 Louis Napoleon Avas elected President of the French Eepnbhc. 
By the coup d'etat of December 2, 1851, he dissoh-ed the existing Constitu- 
tion, and made himself the supreme ruler of France under the name of Pres- 
ident, which he changed into the title of Emperor in 1 853. 



744 VICTORIA. Chap. XXXIV. 

saved their army from annihilation but the want of cavalry to 
pursue it. It is probable that, had the allies been in a condition 
to move forward immediately, they might have entered Sebastopol 
along with the flying enemy ; but the care of the wounded and the 
interment of the dead demanded some delay. The march was 
then directed toward the harbor of Balaklava, the ancient Portus 
Symbolon, to the south of Sebastopol, which enabled the army to 
derive its supplies from the sea. The southern heights of Sebas- 
topol were occupied, and preparations made for commencing a 
siege. This was rendered difficult by the rocky nature of the soil, 
and it was not till October 17 that the allies were able to open 
their fire upon the place. The Russians had availed themselves 
of the interval to fortify it with great skill, and the large fleet 
shut up in the harbor assisted them with the means of defense. 

This siege lasted nearly a twelvemonth, and became one of the 
most memorable in history. Soon after its commencement, a Rus- 
sian army of 30,000 men, under Liprandi, endeavored to raise it 
by an attack upon our position at Balaklava (Oct. 25), but which, 
after a severe struggle, was repulsed. This battle is chiefly mem- 
orable by the charge of the light cavalry brigade under the Earl 
of Cardigan, when, by some confusion in the orders, a body of 600 
or 700 men charged the whole Russian army, got possession for a 
little while of their artillery, and cut their way back through a 
body of 5000 horse, leaving, however, more than two thirds of 
their number upon the field ! 

On November 5, the Russians, having been re-enforced, again 
attempted our position at Inkermann. Advancing early in the 
morning under cover of a fog, they took our men somewhat by 
surprise ; but, though outnumbered by ten to one, the British 
troops held their ground with unflinching heroism, till General 
Canrobert, who had succeeded to the command of the French 
army after the death of General St. Arnaud, sent a division to 
their assistance. The Russians were now hurled down the heights, 
while the artillery made terrible havoc in their serried ranks. 
Their loss is said to have been as many as the whole number of 
allies with whom they were engaged. General Pennefather's di- 
vision, and the brigade of guards under the Duke of Cambridge, 
were the troops principally engaged on this occasion. After this 
terrible lesson the Russians were cautious of venturing another 
battle ; but the defense of the town was conducted with skill and 
obstinacy, and many desperate sorties took place. Attempts were 
made by the fleet under Admirals Dundas and Lyons upon the 
seaward batteries, but they were found to be impregnable. Dur- 
ing the winter the men suffered more from the weather on those 
exposed and stormy heights, and from excessive fat'gue, than from 



A.D. 1854, 1855. RUSSIAN WAR. 745 

the enemy; and their sufferings were increased by the defective 
and disorganized state of the commissariat department. A young 
and accomplished lady, named Florence Nightingale, devoted her- 
self to the alleviation of these sufferings ; and, proceeding with a 
staff of nurses to the army hospitals at Scutari, undertook the 
most repulsive offices in tending the sick and wounded. 

§ 18. The misfortunes which overtook the army, and which 
were attributed to want of care and foresight in the ministry, ren- 
dered them very unpopular, and led to the resignation of Lord 
Aberdeen early in 1855. He was succeeded by Lord Palmerston 
as premier. It was expected that the death of the Emperor 
Nicholas, which took place somewhat suddenly, might have led to 
the re-establishment of peace ; but the war was continued under 
his son and successor Alexander. Its interest was principally con- 
centrated at Sebastopol. The Baltic fleet under Admiral Napier, 
though re-enforced by a French squadron, had effected nothing 
except the destruction of the fortress of Bomarsund in the Aland 
Islands. In 1855 Napier was superseded by Admiral Dundas, 
who, however, was able to do little more than his predecessor. 
The Black Sea fleet was more successful. A squadron under Sir 
Edmund Lyons proceeded into the Sea of Azof, captured Kertch, 
Yenikale, and other towns, destroying vast granaries whence the 
Russians chiefly derived their supplies, and thus hastening the 
surrender of Sebastopol. 

While Austria and Prussia, the two states most deeply inter- 
ested in checking the power of Russia, stood selfishly aloof, the 
Sardinians, with British aid, dispatched a well-equipped little army, 
under General de la Marmora, to the scene of action, which proved 
of considerable service. In June Lord Raglan was carried off by 
cholera, and was succeeded in the command by General Simpson. 
About the same time the French commander, General Canrobert, 
was superseded by General Pelissier. Soon after the arrival of 
the latter the French took an outwork called the Mamelon ; and 
on the 5 th of September the general and final bombardment took 
place. On the 8th an assault was deemed practicable, and the 
French effected a lodgment in the fort or tower called the Mala- 
koff. The English storming party also succeeded in gaining pos- 
session of the fort called the Redan, but, not being properly sup- 
ported, were obliged ultimately to retire. The possession of the 
Malakoff, however, which commanded the town, decided its fate, 
and in the course of the night the Russians evacuated the place. 

After the fall of Sebastopol the war was virtually at an end ; 
but we can not close this account without noticing the heroic de- 
fense of Kars, in Asiatic Turkey, by our countryman. General 
Williams, wlio commanded the Turkif^h garrison. Time after 

I I 



746 VICTORIA. Chap. XXXIY. 

time the vastly superior numbers of the Russians, who rushed to 
the assault, were driven back with terrible loss ; and when at 
length a capitulation became necessary, the conqueror, Mouravieff, 
dismissed General Williams with all the honors of war, and ex- 
pressions of the highest admiration for his bravery. 

The allied armies established their Avinter quarters amid the 
ruins of Sebastopol, and, had the war proceeded, there can be lit- 
tle question that the whole of the Crimea would have fallen into 
their hands ; but negotiations for peace, begun under the media- 
tion of Austria, were brought to a happy conclusion in January, 
1856. Had it not been for the eagerness of France to terminate 
the war, better terms might perhaps have been obtained ; but, on 
the whole, the objects of it may be said to have been accomplish- 
ed. The Russian protectorate in the Danubian principalities was 
abolished, the freedom of the Danube and its mouths was estab- 
lished, both Russian and Turkish ships of war were banished from 
the Black Sea, except a few small vessels necessary as a maritime 
police, and the Christian subjects of the Porte were placed under 
the protection of the contracting powers. On these bases a de- 
finitive treaty of peace was signed with Russia at Paris (March 
30, 1856.) 

§ 19. From this period there is little to attract our attention 
till the Indian revolt in 1857. We have already sketched the 
history of India down to the time of Warren Hastings (see p. 
665-670), who was succeeded as governor general by Lord Corn- 
wallis. The chief feature in the latter's administration was the 
reducing of Tippoo Saib, Sultan of Mysore, to obedience (1792) ; 
but, under the weak government of Sir John Shore, the successor 
of Lord Cornwallis, Tippoo again rose and endeavored to effect 
an alliance against us with the French. This attempt was put 
down under the more vigorous administration of Lord Morning- 
ton (Marquess Wellesley), when, under the conduct of General 
Harris, Tippoo's capital, Seringapatam, was captured by General 
Baird, and himself slain (May, 1799.) Soon afterward, Arthur 
Wellesley, brother of the governor general, began to distinguish 
himself in India. Three Mahratta chieftains — Holkar, Scindlah, 
and the Rajah of Berar — encouraged by French intrigues, having 
combined against their sovereign the peishwah, residing at Poonah, 
in the Deccan, the governor general dispatched two armies against 
them, one commanded by his brother, the other by Lord Lake. 
The former invaded the territories of the Rajah of Berar, took 
Ahmednuggur, and defeated the rajah and Scindiah at Assaye, 
although they had 30,000 men and a numerous artillery, com- 
manded by French officers, while Wellesley' s force was not above 
a sixth of that number. They were again defeated at Argaum, 



A.D. 1856. SKETCH OF INDIAN HISTORY. 747 

compelled to sue for peace, and to cede large tracts of valuable 
territory. Lake was equally successful in northern India. Pie 
defeated a large native force under the French General Perron, 
stormed and took Alighur, and then advanced against Delhi, 
where the cause of Scindiah was supported by another French 
officer named Bourguien. After defeating him on the banks of 
the Jumna, Delhi, the capital of Hindostan, and residence of Shah 
Alum, the last Mogul emperor, easily fell into Lake's hands. Soon 
afterward, the capture of Agra, and final defeat of the remnant 
of Scindiah's forces at Laswarea, annihilated his power in that 
district. By these victories French influence in India was abol- 
ished, and a great accession of power and territory accrued to the 
Company. 

In 1805 the Marquess Wellesley returned home, and Lord 
Cornwallis again assumed the government. He was soon suc- 
ceeded by Lord Minto, but neither of them effected much for our 
Indian dominion. In 1813 the Marquess of Hastings (Lord Moi- 
ra) became governor general ; and under his auspices, and chiefly 
by the courage and abilities of Sir John Malcolm, the Mahrattas, 
and their allies the Pindarees, were reduced to obedience. Lord 
Hastings held the government till 1823, when he was succeeded 
by Lord William Bentinck. The next event of importance was 
the war with the Burmese in 1824, who had annoyed Bengal ; but 
they were reduced to obedience in 1826, and ceded several prov- 
inces. Lord Combermere reduced Bhurtpore in January of that 
year, which had resisted the arms of Lake, and was esteemed the 
strongest fortress in India. In the administration of Lord Auck- 
land, Soojah, the expelled usurper of Cabool, was replaced on the 
throne by the English arms, led by Sir Jolin Keane ; but in No- 
vember, 1841, the Affghan insurrection broke out in that city, and 
the English were obliged to evacuate the country. They endured 
the most dreadful sufferings in their winter retreat, both from the 
inclemency of the weather and the attacks of the AfFghans. In 
the Coord Cabool Pass alone no fewer than 3000 men are said to 
have fallen ; and ultimately, of the whole retreating army of 
17,000 men, scarcely one survived. It was the greatest disaster 
that the English arms had ever experienced in India. Lord Auck- 
land was superseded in 1842 by Lord Ellenborough, who adopted 
a more vigorous line of policy. General Sale was still holding 
out at Jellalabad. He was relieved by General Pollock, who aft- 
erward, in conjunction with General Nott, advanced against Ca- 
bool, and recovered that city (Sept., 1842). Cabool was then again 
evacuated, after giving this signal proof that it was not done as a 
matter of necessity. 

§ 20. The Affghan war was followed by the occupation of 



748 VICTORIA. Chap. XXXIV. 

Scinde, a district on the lower Indus, where our disasters had en- 
couraged a confederacy of the ameers, or princes, against us. This 
was effected by Sir Charles Napier, a Peninsular officer, who in 
this war displayed feats of the most daring boldness. In the bat- 
tle of Meeanee (Feb. 17, 1843) he defeated between 30,000 and 
40,000 men with a force of only about 2000. This victory was 
followed by the capture of Hyderabad, the capital. By another 
victory near that town the whole country was reduced and an- 
nexed by Lord Ellenborough to the Company's dominions. In the 
same year the district of Gwalior was reduced by Generals Gough 
and Grey. In 1 844 Lord Ellenborough was succeeded by Sir H. 
Hardinge. In December, 1845, the Sikhs of the Punjab, or La- 
hore territory, declared war upon us, and, crossing the Sutlej, ad- 
vanced on Ferozepore. They were the most warlike enemies we 
had yet encountered in India. The governor general himself, an 
experienced officer, and Sir Hugh Gough, the commander-in-chief, 
both advanced against them. A great many obstinate engage- 
ments followed, till at length the victories of Aliwal and Sobraon 
(1846) put an end to the campaign and secured our influence in 
that country. In 184S, however, the city of Mooltan rose in re- 
volt, and, though the courage of Lieutenant Edwardes prevented 
any serious consequences, it held out for some months. This en- 
couraged other Sikh princes, and they made a stand against Lord 
Gough at Chillianwallah, inflicting upon us great loss (Jan. 13, 
1849) ; but in the following month they were defeated and sub- 
dued at Goojerat, when Lord Dalhousie, now governor general, 
annexed the Punjab to the British possessions.- 

The whole of the Indian peninsula was now subject to our em- 
pire, from Cape Comorin to the Himalaya Mountains and the Indus. 
Not, indeed, that all the states were annexed, yet even those that 
remained under their native princes owed us allegiance and were 
subject to our surveillance. The last great acquisition was by 
the annexation of Oude in 1856, elFected by a not over strict re- 
gard to the faith of treaties. Our empire seemed too firmly estab- 
lished to be shaken, yet already for some years the elements of 
mutiny had been fomenting in the Bengal army. Symptoms of 
a discontented and rebellious spirit had been observed as early 
as 1844, and many other instances subsequently occurred which 
were treated with too much leniency and forbearance. At length 
the introduction of the Enfield rifle necessitated the use of greased 
cartridges. The grease was mutton fat and wax, but it was whis- 
pered among the discontented that it consisted of the fat of swine 
and cows, abominations both to the Hindoo and the Mohammedan ; 
and it was asserted that the intention was to deprive the Brahmin 
sepoys of their caste. Symptoms of insubordination and violence 



A. D. 1856-1858. INDIAN REBELLION. 749 

began to appear early in 1857. In May many regiments of the 
Bengal army were in open mutiny. In that month Delhi, the an- 
cient capital of India, and still the residence of the representative 
of the Moguls, was seized by the insurgents, with all its immense 
military stores. Although it was the great arsenal of our artil- 
lery, it had been left without the protection of a British force. 
Such was the blind confidence reposed in our sepoys. The cap- 
ture of Delhi was followed by the revolt of the remaining Bengal 
regiments. Fortunately, the Madras and Bombay armies, with a 
few exceptions, remained faithful ; but the whole of Bengal was 
lost for a time, and many, both in this country and on the Conti- 
tinent of Europe, believed that the English would be driven en- 
tirely out of India. 

Into the horrors of this rebellion, and the determined energy 
and courage with which it was met, our space will not permit us 
to enter. It has served to brins; out British valor in high relief, 
and the names of Lawrence, of Havelock, and the other numerous 
officers who distinguished themselves at this trying and difficult 
conjuncture, will not soon die from the memory of their country- 
men. The rebelhon received a decisive blow by the recapture of 
Delhi by General Wilson on Sept. 21, 1857 ; and the subsequent 
victories of Sir Colin Campbell, who went out to India as com- 
mander-in-chief, have brought the contest almost to a close. 

§ 21. The mutiny of the Bengal army proved the deathblow of 
the East India Company. This celebrated company, originally 
an association of merchants for the purpose of trading to the East, 
had been deprived of its right of commercial privileges upon the 
renewal of its charter in 1833 ; but the Court of Directors, elect- 
ed by the proprietors of East India Stock, still continued to gov- 
ern India under the superintendence of the Board of Control, 
originally instituted by Mr. Pitt. (See p. 664.) Upon the meet- 
ing of Parliament at the beginning of 1858, the prime minister, 
Lord Palmerston, introduced a bill abolishing the East India Com- 
pany, and placing the government of India in the hands of the 
crown. But before this bill passed into a law Lord Palmerston's 
ministry was overthrown. An attempt to assassinate the Emperor 
Napoleon, concocted by some Italian refugees in England, roused 
the indignation of France ; and Lord Palmerston proposed an al- 
teration in the English law, by which such an offense might be 
punished with greater certainty and severity. A bill was intro- 
duced for this purpose, but was rejected by the House of Commons 
(Feb. 20), whereupon Lord Palmerston resigned, and Lord Derby 
became prime minister a second time. The new ministry intro- 
duced a new India Bill, which differed in no material point from 
that of their predecessors. This bill passed through both houses 



750 VICTORIA. Chap. XXXIV. 

of Parliament and received the assent of the crown ; and on Sep- 
tember 1, 1858, the East India Company, which had founded 
and governed a mighty empire with pre-eminent ability and suc- 
cess, ceased to exist. India is now governed by a secretary of 
state, assisted by a council of 15 members; and the millions of 
that vast country acknowledge Queen Victoria as their only sov- 
ereign. 

The only other legislative measure of this session which requires 
notice is the admission of the Jews to Parliament. A bill for this 
object had for several years passed the Commons, but had been as 
often rejected by the Lords. It was evident, however, that this 
collision between the two branches of the Legislature could not 
much longer continue, and Lord Derby now persuaded the Lords 
to give way. This measure excited little interest among the great 
body of the people, but it was proposed and opposed as a matter 
of principle by two powerful parties in the state, one party sup- 
porting it as the last stone needed to complete the edifice of re- 
ligious liberty, and the other party resisting it on the ground of its 
destroying the Christian character of the British Legislature. 



§ 22. On casting a retrospective glance at the period comprised 
in this Book, our attention is chiefly arrested by the progress of 
the country in material power. The principal steps taken for the 
advance or security of our political rights may be summed up in 
a few words : they are — the passing of the Bill of Rights and Act 
of Settlement, and the securing of the independence of the judges 
and the liberty of the press, in the reign of William III. ; the 
abolition of general warrants in that of George III. ; the repeal 
of the Test and Corporation Acts, and the emancipation of the 
Koman Catholics, under George lY. ; and the Reform Bill under 
William IV. The events under the Stuart dynasty had left little 
to be done for our constitutional freedom, but every thing to be 
achieved for our national greatness. The union with Scotland, 
and subsequently that with Ireland, combined the three kingdoms 
into an imperial whole. The position of England as a European 
power, damaged by the weak or profligate reigns of the Stuarts, 
was restored by the wars of William and Anne, and by the mil- 
itary genius of Marlborough. This revived reputation was not ill 
sustained in the reign of George II. ; but it was the struggle for 
self-preservation forced upon us by the wars with the French re- 
public and empire which displayed all the energy and resources 
of the nation, and made Great Britain the leading power in Eu- 
rope. During the same period, from our maritime supremacy, 



Chap. XXXIV. PROGRESS OF THE NATION. 75 1 

our colonial empire received a vast extension. An ill-considered 
policy cost us, indeed, the loss of our finest possessions in North 
America; but this was soon more than replaced by the subjuga- 
tion of India, and the establishment of a new empire in the East. 
Even in America, the Canadas, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, etc. , 
and several of our sugar-colonies, were either retained or newly 
acquired. In Europe, the acquisition of Gibraltar, Malta, and the 
Ionian Islands secured us the command of the Mediterranean ; in 
Africa, the Cape of Good Hope affords valuable assistance to our 
Indian commerce. Farther southward, at our very antipodes, 
Australia and its dej>endencies will form eventually a new British 
continent ; and at no very distant period a very large portion of 
the habitable world will be peopled by a race of Anglo-Saxon 
origin. Compared with these results, the conquests of the Ro- 
mans, when viewed as to their abiding consequences, will shrink 
into insignificance. Their settlements, like ours in India, were 
for the most part mere military occupations — provinces, not col- 
onies ; and did not much serve to spread the Italian race. 

§ 23. During the period under review, the trade, wealth, and 
population of Great Britain have been in a continual progTCSS of 
rapid increase. They received a considerable impulse during the 
long and peaceful administration of Sir Robert Walpole ; but the 
beginning of the reign of George III. is the epoch of the great in- 
crease of our trade and manufactures. The potteries began to 
flourish under Wedgewood ; the cotton manufactures were devel- 
oped in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In 1775 James Watt pro- 
cured an act vesting in him " the sole use and property of certain 
steam-engines, commonly called fire-engines^ of his invention." 
About the same time Arkwright began to spin by rollers ; James 
Hargreaves, a poor weaver, invented the spinning-jenny ; Samuel 
Crompton introduced the mule in 1779. In consequence of these 
inventions, the cotton manufactures of Manchester and the North 
increased a hundred-fold. In order to convey them, and to facili- 
tate internal traffic, a net-work of canals was constructed, and the 
highways were improved ; while ultimately both these means of 
conveyance have been in some degree superseded by the invention 
of railways. The origin of English canals may be dated from the 
act of 1755. The Duke of Bridgewater obtained his first act in 
1759. The length of the canals in England now exceeds 2200 
miles. Even till toward the end of last century the roads in 
many parts of England were execrable. The best coaches on a 
long journey cleared no more than 4 or 5 miles an hour. After 
the peace the roads were very much improved by the use of broken 
stones and granite introduced by M'Adam, and the pace was in 
many instances accelerated to 10 miles an hour. But this rate, 



752 VICTORIA. Chap. XXXIV. 

through the introduction of railways, was soon to appear a snail's 
pace. The first act for a public railway was passed in 1801. It 
was not intended for passengers. Even the Liverpool and Man- 
chester line was principally constructed with a view to the convey- 
ance of goods, and it was not anticipated that passengers would 
venture to avail themselves of it to any great extent. But when 
it was opened in September, 1830, it was found that its greatest 
success would be derived from the number of persons conveyed 
by it. An inestimable advantage derived from railways is the 
facility and cheapness of postal communication. Under the old 
system, and in the days of mail-coaches, a single letter conveyed 
400 miles paid Is. People wrote no more then than they could 
help, and stratagems of all sorts were used to evade the post ; so 
that between 1815 and 1835 it was found that the post-office 
revenue had actually decreased, although, in the ratio of the prog- 
ress of trade and population, it ought to have increased half a mil- 
lion. To improve this state of things, Mr. Rowland Hill's scheme 
of postal reform, by which the postage of all single letters, to what- 
ever distance carried, was reduced to Id., was adopted by the 
ministry, and came into full operation in January, 1840. Many 
now living remember the introduction of steam-vessels as well as 
of railroads. The former did not come into general use till after 
the peace ; and went on gradually increasing from 8 English-own- 
ed steam-vessels in 1815, to 1142 in 1849. The other wonderful 
inventions that have been brought into public use during the last 
half century — such as gas-lighting, steam-printing, photography, 
the electric telegraph, etc., and which can be here only indicated 
— will render it to the future historian one of the most memora- 
ble eras of the world. 

The progress in our home manufactures and trade was accom- 
panied with a corresponding increase of foreign commerce. The 
warehousing system, introduced by Mr. Pitt in 1803, by which 
the duties on goods, instead of being paid immediately on their 
landing, were collected on their delivery to the purchaser, proved 
of great service in extending trade by husbanding the capital of 
our merchants. But, above all, the free-trade measures of Sir 
Robert Peel have been attended with the greatest benefit, and 
promise to augment our commerce to an unlimited amount. 

The surprising increase in industry and wealth during the last 
century has naturally been attended with a corresponding increase 
of population. Before the establishment in 1801 of a regular 
census, to be taken every 10 years, there were no means of esti- 
mating very accurately the number of the people ; but, from the 
best calculation that can be made, it seems probable that the popu- 
lation of Eno;land and Wales at the time of the Revolution of 1688 



Chap.XXXIV. progress OF THE NATION. 753 

did not mucli exceed 5^ millions. The whole increase during the 
first four reigns of the Stuart dynasty was not perhaps more than 
half a million. During the 18th century, and especially in the 
latter half of that period, the population went on steadily increas- 
ing, and the first census of 1801 shows a population in England 
and Wales of 9,872,980. Since that time the increase has been 
still more rapid, the last census in 1851 showing a population of 
17,927,609. A corresponding increase has also taken place in 
Scotland and Ireland. It is chiefly among the portion of the peo- 
ple employed in manufactures and trade that this increase has oc- 
curred ; for while the persons engaged in these occupations have 
increased at the rate of upward of 30 per cent., those employed 
in agriculture have increased only 2^ per cent. 

The vast augmentation of the national debt during this period 
is a remarkable feature in the history of the country. At the ac- 
cession of the house of Hanover (1714) it did not much exceed 
50 millions, and it remained some years at about that amount. 
Yet in 1736 we find it complained of in the Craftsman as the 
source of all the national distress ; and twenty years afterward it 
was predicted, in the Letters of Samuel Hannay, that if it ever 
reached 100 millions the nation must become bankrupt. Yet a 
little afterward, at the close of George II.'s reign, and chiefly 
through the wars of that monarch, it had reached upward of 108 
millions without the occurrence of the anticipated consequence. 
Even Hume, in the 3d volume of his History of England, written 
in 1778, when the debt was about 150 millions, observed that it 
" threatened the very existence of the nation." In 1793, when 
the first war with revolutionary France broke out, the amount of 
the debt was little short of 228 millions ; at the peace of Amiens 
in 1802, it was nearly 500 millions. From that period till 1815, 
during the portentous struggle with Napoleon, it was increased, 
as we have already said, by 224 millions ; yet the country seems 
to carry this burden with a lighter step than when it was seven 
times smaller. 

§ 24. Turning our view from the material to the moral condition 
of the nation, we shall also be sensible of a great advance, though 
not, perhaps, in the same proportion. With regard to religion, 
one great feature of the period is the societies that have sprung 
up with a view to the propagation of Christianity, such as the 
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, founded in 1699 ; 
the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in foreign Parts, es- 
tablished in 1701 ; the Church Missionary Society, and the Brit- 
ish and Foreign Bible Society, both founded in 1804 ; besides 
numerous others. Several of these societies enjoy a revenue of 
upward of £100,000. The sect of the Methodists, founded by 

Ii2 



754 VICTORIA. Chap. XXXIV. 

Wesley and Whitefield about the middle of last century, is like- 
wise a remarkable growth of the age. The naturally religious 
disposition of the English has, however, sometimes a tendency to 
degenerate into fanaticism, and even in the present enlightened 
century has occasionally indulged in the most fantastic delusions. 
Thus, in 1814, an old woman named Joanna Southcote, in her 
65th year, gave out that she was pregnant with the Shiloh, and 
found believers even among the educated classes. In 1831 several 
followers of the celebrated Edward Irving imagined themselves to 
be endowed with the gift of unknown tongues ; and even in the 
present times we have our Mormons, and other strange secta- 
ries. 

§ 25. One great symptom of moral improvement was the miti- 
gation of the severity of our criminal law, introduced about the 
commencement of the present century by the humane and enlight- 
ened Sir Samuel Romilly, and afterward pursued by Sir James 
Macintosh and others. Previous to 1808 the oifense of privately 
stealing 5s. from the person was punishable with death, as well as 
a great many other offenses, such as sheepstealing, shoplifting, 
forgery, etc ; and it was no uncommon thing to see a score of 
criminals executed together at Newgate on a Monday morning. 
At length the feeling of juries began to revolt against such exor- 
bitant punishments. They refused to convict, and thus the laws 
became virtually inoperative. Yet some of the judges, as Lord 
EUenborough and Lord Eldon, continued to support the old sys- 
tem. In 1833 a royal commission was first appointed to examine 
the state of the criminal law. One of the first results of their re- 
port was the bill passed in 1836 for allowing counsel to prisoners 
indicted for criminal offenses; and in 1837 a bill was passed re- 
mitting the penalty of death in 21 out of 31 cases in which it was 
previously inflicted, while in the remaining 10 cases it was con- 
siderably restricted. Other ameliorations have subsequently taken 
place. 

The present century has likewise witnessed a great advance in 
the education of the people, especially of the middle and lower or- 
ders. Lord Brougham is the most conspicuous name at the head 
of this movement, and he has been ably seconded by a host of 
enlightened men. In 1823 the London Mechanics' Institute was 
founded, and was soon followed by others in different parts of the 
country. The establishment of the Society for the Diffusion of 
Useful Knowledge in 1826, and the opening of the University of 
London* in 1828, tended still farther to promote sound education, 

* The present University of London is a different body, having been 
founded by the Crown in 1836, with the power to grant degrees in Arts, 
Law, and Medicine. 



Chap. XXXIV. PROGRESS OF THE NATION. 755 

especially among the middle classes. The result of all these steps 
has been a decided improvement in the manners of the people ; 
and drunkenness, debauchery, prize-fighting, and other brutal 
sports are decidedly less frequent than formerly. 

§ 26. Our literature underwent during this period a great revo- 
lution. During the earlier part of it the French taste introduced 
at the Restoration continued to prevail. Style received its last 
polish from the writers of Queen Anne's reign ; and in this respect 
the prose of Bolingbroke, Addison, and Swift, and the versification 
of Pope, have never been surpassed. This continued to be re- 
garded as the Augustan age of our literature till toward the close 
of last century. The conventional taste of the latter period is 
exhibited in the lectures of Blair and the criticisms of Dr. John- 
son. Even the oreat writers of the Elizabethan ao;e were almost 
ignored, and any poet before Waller was scarcely deemed worth 
opening. But a taste for our older literature was even then be- 
ginning to spring up, and was fostered by the writings and the 
editorial cares of Warton, Tyrwhitt, and others. At present our 
more cosmopolitan taste, though still ready to do justice to the 
polish and sparkle of Queen Anne's authors, can at the same 
time relish more nature and profundity. Cowper introduced a 
new school of domestic poetry, which, if not so brilliant, was at 
all events more natural than the preceding one. The French 
Revolution shook the European world of thought to its centre, 
and opened up fresh veins of literature. Subsequently the study 
of the German writers has introduced new elements of thought. 
The greatest names of the present century — we speak not of liv- 
ing writers — are those of Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey, Scott, 
Crabbe, Campbell, Byron, and Moore. One of the most marked 
features of the later period is the increase of periodical literature; 
our grandfathers were content with the Gentleman's Magazine 
and one or two other reviews and periodicals ; at present they 
may be counted by the score. 

This period may be said to have witnessed the birth of a Brit- 
ish school of art. Till about the middle of last century and the 
time of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Hogarth, we can hardly be said 
to have had an English school of painting ; but at the present 
time, illustrated as it is by the names of Gainsborough, Wilson, 
AVilkie, Turner, Lawrence, and a long list of eminent artists, we 
need not shrink from a comparison with any modern school. In 
sculpture our progress has not been so decided ; yet we may point 
with satisfaction to the names of Chantrey, Bailey, Westmacott, 
and others. 



-o(S 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Chap. XXXI V 



CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS. 



A.D. 

1820, 

1S21. 

1825. 

1827. 



1828. 



1829. 
1830. 



1831. 
1832. 
1833. 
1834. 



1835, 

1836. 
1837. 

1841. 



Accession of George IV. 

Trial of Queen Caroline. 

Death of Queen Caroline. 

Commercial panic. 

Canning pinme minister. His death. 
Lord Goderich prime minister. 

Battle of Navarino and establishment 
of Greek independence. 

Duke of Wellington prime minister. 

Eepeal of the Test and Corporation 
Acts. 

Catholic Eelief Bill. 

Death of George IV. and accession of 
William IV. 

French Kevolution. 

Eesignation of the Duke of Welling- 
ton. Earl Grey prime minister. 

Parliamentaiy Reform Bill introduced. 

Parliamentary Refomi BUI passed. 

Abolition of slavery. 

Lord Melbourne prime minister. 

New poor-law. 

Sir Robert Peel prime minister. 

Lord Melbourne's second administra- 
tion. 

Municipal Reform Bill. 

Death of William IV. and accession 
of Queen Victoria. 

Sir Robert Peel' s second administration. 



A.B. 

1846. 



1847. 
1848, 
1849, 
1850. 

1S52. 



1853. 
1S54. 



1855. 



1856. 

1857. 
1858. 



Eepeal of the corn-laws. 

Resignation of Sir Robert Peel. Lord 
John Eussell prime minister. 

Irish famine. 

French Eevolution. 

Eepeal of navigation-laws. 

Death of Sir Robert Peel. 

Eesignation of Lord John Eussell, 
Lord Derby prime minister, Eesig- 
nation of Lord Derby, Coalition 
ministry, with Lord Aberdeen prime 
minister. 

Death of the Duke of Wellington, ' 

War between Eussia and Turkey, 

England and France declare war 
against Eussia. 

Battle of the Alma, 

Siege of Sebastopol. Battles of Bala- 
klava and Inkermann, 

Eesignation of Lord Aberdeen, Lord 
Palmerston prime minister. 

Captui'e of Sebastopol, 

Peace with Eussia, 

Revolt of the Bengal army. 

Resignation of Lord Palmerston. Lord 
Derby prime minister. 

Abolition of the East India Company. 

Admission of the Jews to Parliament. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. POOR LAWS, 

In the statute 12 Rich. II. (1388) we first 
find mention of the '■'•impotent poor," who 
are directed to remain and abide in certain 
places ; either those in which they were at 
the time of the proclamation of the statute, 
or the places in which they were born. But 
no provision is made for their maintenance. 
Indeed, during the Roman Catholic times, 
begging was allowed on the part of the im- 
potent poor, who were chiefly supported by 
the abbeys, convents, and other religious 
establishments. Thus, even so late as 1530, 
just before the breach with Rome, the statute 
22 Hen. VIII., c, 10, Avhich inflicts severe 
punishment on sturdy vagabonds and valiant 
beggars "• being whole and mighty in body," 
allows the aged and impotent poor to beg 
and live off alms, provided they confined 
themselves to certain districts ; and they re- 
ceived a letter authorizing them to beg with- 
in those limits. The chief object in all the 
early enactments upon pauperism was to re- 
strain vagrancy. The first act for the relief 
of the impotent poor was passed in 1535 (27 
Hen. VIII., c. 25), by which collections were 
ordered to be made in the parishes for their 
support. But by the same statute incorrigi- 
ble vagrancy is, on a third conviction, made 
felony, with the penalty of death. The dis- 
solution of the religious houses in that reign 
had the effect both of increasing the number 
of vagabonds and beggars, and of diminish- 



ing their means of support. The increase of 
pauperism is shown by several severe stat- 
utes on the subject passed in the short reign 
of Edward VI, But, at the same time, pro- 
vision was made for the relief of the poor; 
and the voluntary collections, such as had 
been first ordered under 27 Hen. VIII. , c, 25, 
were by a long series of statutes almost in- 
sensibly converted into compulsory assess- 
ments. 

At length, by the 43 Eliz., c, 2 (1601), 
compulsoiy assessment for the relief of the 
poor was fully established, and this statute 
was till recent times the text-book of the 
English poor-law. The overseers of each 
parish were directed by this statute to raise 
by taxation the necessary sums ''for pro- 
viding a sufficient stock of flax, hemp, wool, 
and other ware or stuff, to set the poor on 
work, and also competent sums for relief of 
lame, blind, old, and impotent persons, and 
for putting out children as apprentices," 
The justices were empowered to send to 
prison all persons who would not work, and 
to assess all persons of sufficient means for 
the relief of their children and parents. 
Power was given to the parish officers to 
build, at the expense of the parish, poor- 
houses for the reception of the impotent poor 
only. These are the chief provisions of this 
celebrated statute. Work-houses were first 
established in 1722 by 9 Geo. I., c. 7. They 
were not at first intended so much as a rgfuge 
for the poor, or as a test by which real desti- 



Chap. XXXIV. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



757 



tution might be discerned, but, as their name 
implies, ^rith a view to derive profit from 
the labors of the poor. The work-houses 
were in fact a kind of manufactories carried 
on at the risk of the poor-rate ; and though 
they at first diminished the cost of relief, 
they ultimately increased it, by pauperizing 
the independent laborer. In the reign of 
George EL the amount expended in relief 
was under three fourths of a million. In 
1775 it amounted to £*1, 720,000. From that 
period it went on rapidly increasing, and in 
ISIS it reached its maximum of nearly 
£S,000,000. This large fund was subject to 
great abuses of administration, wliich begot 
habits of improvidence among the poor by 
encoitraging early marriages, etc. Laborers' 
wages were frequently paid in part from it; 
and thus a portion of the farmer's labor was 
done at the expense of the parish. At length, 
in 1832, a commission was appointed to in- 
quire into the practical operation of the poor- 
laws. In February, 1S34, they made their 
report, and a bill founded upon it, the Poor 
Law Amendment Act, was soon afterward 
introduced by Lord Althorp, and received 
the royal assent August 14, 1834 By this 
act, all bodies charged with the relief of the 
poor are placed under the control of a central 
board of three commissioners, who are to 
make niles and regulations, binding upon 
the local boards. One important power giv- 
en to them is that of uniting several parishes 
for the purpose of a more economical admin- 
istration. The system of paying wages out 
of the poor-rate is abolished ; and, except in 
extreme cases, to be determined by the com- 
missioners, relief is only given to the able- 
bodied poor within the work-liouse. After 
tliis period, in the face of a rapidly-increas- 
ing population, the sums expended have rap- 
idly diminished. On this subject see Sir G-. 
NichoUs' H s". of the English Poor Lau\ 2 
vols. Svo; Porter's Progress of the yation^ 
sect, i., ch. 4; and the article Pattpeeis-M in 
the Pcnni) Cgclopcedia. 

B. COPiN LAWS. 

The earliest enactments on this subject 
were to forbid the exportation of com, while 
its importation was freely admitted; but in 
later times the policy of the Legislature was 
altogether different. The first statute ex- 
tant on corn is the 34 Edw. ILL, c. 20 (1360), 
which forbids its exportation, except to cer- 
tain places where it was necessary to the 
king's interest, and to be named by him. 
At a later period, in the reigns of Richard n. 
and Henry "VT. , we find this policy reversed, 
and liberty given to export to any places; 
though subject, in the latter reign, to restric- 
tion in ease the price of com reached 6s. Si. 
the quarter for wheat. Since no attempt 
was made to prevent the importation of com, 
we may infer that it was produced in England 
as cheap, or cheaper, than in neighboring 
countries. In the reign of Edward IV. we 
fijid the first protective law in favor of the 
agriculturist, importation of corn being for- 
bidden by 3 Edw. lY., c. 2, unless the price 
of wheat exceeded 6s. Bd. the quarter. But, 
from some cause or another, agriculture 



seems to have much declined in England to- 
ward the end of the reign of Henry VIIL and 
in that of Edward XI. , which was probably 
in some degree owing to the great change of 
property consequent on tlie dissolution of 
the abbeys and religious houses. Thus the 
statute 25 Hen. "\TII. , c. 2, positively forbids 
the exportation of com; and the statute 5 
and 6 Edw. TL, c. 5, entitled "•'■An Act for 
the Maintenance and Increase of Tillage and 
Com," attempted to make the cultivation 
of corn compulsory, by exacting a fine of 5.s., 
payable by each parish on eveiy acre of land 
in each deficient in tillage when compared 
with the quantity that had been tilled at any 
period after the accession of Henry ^^IL 

The act of Hen. YIH. forbidding the ex- 
portation of corn was repealed in the reign 
of Mary; but the price at which exportation 
was allowed was gradually raised, till in 
1670 it was enacted that wheat might always 
be exported as long as it was under 58*. M. 
a quarter. At the same time heavy import 
duties were imposed; and the design of the 
Legislature seems to have been to keep wheat 
at an average of about 53s. 4rL Xay, in 1689 
the landowners obtained the payment of a 
bounty of 5*. per quarter on the exportation 
of wheat when the price did not exceed 4Ss. , 
and on other grain in proportion. These 
bounties were not repealed by law till 1S15, 
though they had been for some time virtually 
inoperative. 

Eegulations were also made respecting the 
home trade in corn; and in the reign of 
Elizabeth it was made an offense under the 
name of e'ngrossing^ and punishable with im- 
pmonment or the pUloiy, to buy corn in one 
market in order to sell it in another. The 
act 15 Chas. IL, c. 7, legalized engrossing 
when the price of wheat did not exceed 4S.s-. 
Till a very recent period engrossing contin- 
ued to be regarded by public opinion as a 
heinous offense, and even Lord Kenyon vio- 
lently denounced from the bench a corn- 
factor accused of it. 

By a bill of 1773 importation was allowed 
at the nominal duty of 6d. whenever the 
price of wheat should be above 4Ss. Subse- 
quently, in 1791 and 1804, this price was 
raised to 54--. and 63s. ; and in 1815 the im- 
portation of wheat for home consumption was 
positively forbidden when the price was un- 
der 80.S-., and other corn in proportion. Va- 
rious modifications were introduced between 
that time and 1829, when the principle of a 
graduated duty or sliding scale was intro- 
duced; the duty, when the price was 62.s., 
being 24s. Sr/., and gradually diminishing as 
the price advanced, tUl at 73>.'. and upward 
it feu to 1.*. The operation of the principle, 
however, was found to be inconvenient and 
unsalutary; and at length, by Peel's bill of 
1846, of which an account has been given in 
the text, the trade in corn was ultimately 
left entirely free. See the article Coex in 
the Penny Cgclopcedia. 

C. NAVIGATION LAWS. 

The first Navigation Act was introduce 1 
by AMiitelock in the time of the Common- 
wealth (1651), and was intended as a blow to 



758 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Chap. XXXIV. 



Dutch commei'ce; but the act which tUl very 
recently formed the foundation of our com- 
mercial system in this respect was the 12 
Chas. II., c. 18. By this act it was provided 
that no goods should be imported into En- 
gland from Asia, Africa, or America, except 
in an English-built ship, navigated by an 
English master, and having at least three 
fourths of its crew English. "With regard to 
Europe, goods imported into England from 
any European state in a foreign ship were 
subject to a higher rate of duty than if im- 
ported in an English one. The first devia- 
tion from this act arose from the treaty of 
Ghent with the United States of America in 
1815. The States, soon after the establish- 
ment of their independence, had retaliated 
on England by a navigation-law similar to 
her own; but this restrictive system was 
mutually found to be so inconvenient and 
unprofitable, that it was abandoned at the 
period mentioned, and the ships of the two 
countries placed reciprocally on the same foot- 
ing. With this exception, all the provisions 
of the act were maintained tUl 1822, when 
Mr. Wallace, president of the Board of Trade, 
introduced five bills effecting various im- 
portant relaxations. The provisions respect- 
ing Asia, Africa, and America were repealed, 
and also that clause which forbade foreign 
goods to be brought into England from Eu- 
rope in a foreign ship, except direct from the 
place of production, and in ships belonging 
to the country of production. Certain enu- 
merated goods were also allowed to be brought 
from any port in Europe in ships belonging 
to the port of shipment; and Dutch ships, 
which by the Navigation Act were forbidden 
to enter English ports with cargo, were placed 
on the same footing as those of other nations. 
Other relaxations were made in favor of our 
West India colonies. 

In the following year, the Prussians hav- 
ing notified that unless some relaxation were 
made in favor of their ships heavy retalia- 
tory duties would be imposed on English 
ships entering their ports, Mr. Huskisson, 
now at the head of the Board of Trade, in- 
troduced what are called the Reciprocity Acts 
(4 Geo. IV., c. T7, and 5 Geo. IV., c. 1), by 
which the king was authorized to permit, by 
order in council, the importation and export- 
ation of goods in foreign vessels at the same 
duties as those imported in Bi'itish vessels 
were liable to, in the case of those countries 
that should levy no discriminating duties on 
goods imported in Bfitish vessels; and the 
vessels themselves of such countries were to 
pay no higher tonnage duties than were 
chargeable on British vessels. On the other 



hand, power was given to impose additional 
duties on the goods and shipping of those 
countries which should levy higher duties on 
British vessels than on their own. Under 
these acts treaties of reciprocity were con- 
cluded with most of the principal nations of 
the world. But in 1849, in the ministry of 
Lord John Russell, and on the motion of Mr. 
Labouchere, the navigation-laws were en- 
tirely repealed. — See Porter's Progress of 
the Nation^ sect, iii., ch. 9. 

D. AUTHORITIES FOR THE PERIOD 
COMPRISED IN BOOK VI. 

The principal authorities for the reigns of 
William III. and Anne are. Bishop Burnett's 
History of his Own Times ; Evelyn's Diary ; 
Principal Carstairs' State Letters and Papers; 
Macpherson's Original Papers (1688-1714); 
Macpherson's Hist, of Great Britain from 
the Restoration to the House of Hanover; 
Harris, Hist, of Life and Reign of William, 
III. ; Coxe, Corres2)ondence of the Duke of 
Shrewsbury with . King William ; Boling- 
broke's Letters and Correspondence; Somer- 
ville's Political Transactions from. Restora- 
tion to end of William TIL; Memoires du 
Due de Bcrivick ; Ker of Kersland' s Memoirs 
of Sec'ret Transactions; Boyer's Annals of 
the Reign of Queen Anne; Lockhart's Mem- 
oirs and Commentaries on the Affairs of 
Scotland; Coxe, Memoirs and Correspond- 
ence of the Duke of Marlborough ; The Let- 
ters and Dixpatches of John., Duke of Marl- 
borough., 1T02-1T12, edited by General Sir 
G. Murray; Swift's Four last Ytars of the 
Reign of Queen Anne; Somerville's Hist. 
of Great Britain during the reign of Queen 
Anne. 

It Avould be quite impossible within the 
limits of this work to recite all the works 
that might be used for the Georgian era, 
and we shall therefore content ourselves with 
indicating a few of the principal ones ; Coxe, 
Memoirs of Sir Robert Walpole ; idem. Mem- 
oirs of the Pelham Administration; Dr. 
Wm. King's Anecdotes of his Own Times 
(relating to the Pretender Charles Edward) ; 
Bubb Doddington's Diary (1749-1761); Or- 
ford (II. Walpole), Mem. of last Ten Years 
of George II. ; Memoirs of Reign of King 
George III. ; the Annual Register (com- 
mencing 175S) ; Lord Mahon's Hist, of En- 
gland., from Peace of Utrecht to Pcaf'e of 
Versailles., 1783 ; Adolphus, Hist, of George 
III. ; Craik and MTarlane's Pictorial His- 
tory during Reign of George 111. ; H. Mar- 
tineau, History of England during Thirty 
Years' Peace., etc. 



TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN 

The Years show the Com- 



England. 



William 1 1066 

WUliamll 1087 

Hemyl 1100 

Stephen 1135 

Heniyll 1154 

Richard 1 1189 

John 1199 

Hemym 1216 

Edward 1 1272 



Edward n 1307 

Edward m 1327 

Richard H 1377 

Henry IV 1399 

Hemy V. 1413 

Heniy VI 1422 

Edward IV 1461 



SCOTLATSII). 



Malcohnin 1057 

Donald Vll 1093 

Duncan II 1094 

Donald VII. restored. 

Edgar 1098 

Alexander 1107 

David 1124 

Malcohn IV. 1153 

William the Lion 1165 

Alexander n 1214 

Alexander m 1249 



Margaret 1285 

JohnBaliol 1292 

Robert L (Bruce) 1306 

David n. (Bruce) 1329 

Edward Baliol 1832 

David n. restored 1342 

Robert U. (Stuart) 1371 

Robert HI 1390 

James I. 1406 

James 11 1437 

James III 1460 



Fkance. 



Philip 1 1060 

Louis VI 1108 

Louis Vn 1137 

Philip n 1180 

Louis Vni 1223 

Louis IX 1226 

Philip m 1270 

Philip IV 1285 

Louis X 1314 

PhUip V 1316 

Charles IV 1322 

Philip VI 1328 

Johnn 1350 

Charles V. 1364 

Charles VI 1880 

Charles vn. 1422 

Louis XI. 1461 



SOVEREIGNS FROM THE PERIOD OF THE CONQUEST. 

mencement of their Reigns. 



GEBMAmr. 



Spain. 



Popes. 



Henry IV. 



1056 



Henry V 1106 

Lothaire H 1125 

Conrad HI 1138 



Frederick Barbarossa . . 1152 



Henry VI 1190 

PhUip 1198 

OthoIV 1208 

Frederick II 1212 

Conrad IV 1250 

William 1250 

Interregnum 1256 

Eodolph 1273 



Interregnum 1291 

Adolphus 1292 

Albert 1298 

Hemy Vn 1308 

Interregnum 1313 

Louis rv. and Frederick 1314 

Louis rv 1330 

Charles IV 1347 

Wenceslaus 1378 

Frederick 1400 

Rupert 1400 

Jossus 1410 

Sigismund 1410 

Albert H 1438 

Frederick m 1440 



CASTILE. 

Sancho II 1065 

Alfonso VI 1072 

Alfonso vn 1109 

Alfonso Vm 1126 

Sancho HI 1157 

Alfonso IX 1158 

Henry 1 1214 

Ferdinand HI 1217 

Alfonso X 1252 

Sancho IV 1284 

Ferdinand FV. 1294 

Alfonso XI 1312 

Peter the Cruel 1350 

Henry II 1368 

JohnI 1379 

Henry HI 1390 

John n 1406 

Henry IV 1454 



ARAGON. 

Sancho Ramirez 1063 

Peter of Navarre 1094 

Alfonso 1 1104 

RamiroH 1134 

Petronilla and Ray- 
mond 1137 

Alfonso II 1162 

Peter H 1196 

James 1 1213 

Peter IH 1276 

Alfonso m 1285 

James II 1291 

Alfonso rv 1327 

Peter IV 1336 

JohnI 1387 

Martin 1 1396 

Ferdinand of Sicily 1412 

Alfonso V 1416 

JohnH 1458 



CASTILE. 

Ferdinand V. 1474 

(Marries Isabella of Castile, 

1479, and unites Castile 

and Aragon.) 
Joan 1504 



Alexander H 1061 

G-regory VH 1073 

Victor m 1086 

Urban II 108S 

Pascal H 1099 

Gelasius II 1118 

Calixtus II 1119 

Honorius II 1124 

Innocent II 1130 

Celestine H 1143 

Lucius II 1144 

Eugenius IH 1145 

Anastasius IV 1153 

Adrian IV 1154 

Alexander III 1159 

Lucius III 1181 

Urban HI 1185 

Gregory VHI 1187 

Clementm 1187 

Celestine HI 1191 

Innocent III 1193 

Honorius HI 121G 

Gregory IX 1227 

Celestine IV 1241 

Innocent IV 1243 

Mexander IV 1254 

UrbanlV 1261 

Clement IV 1265 

Gregory X 1271 

Innocent V. . ; 1276 

Adrian V 1276 

John XXI 1277 

Nicholas III 1277 

Martin IV 1281 

Honorius IV 1285 

Nicholas IV 1288 

Celestine V 1294 

Boniface VIH 1294 

Benedict XI 1303 

Clement V 1305 

John XXII 1316 

Benedict XII 1334 

Clement VI 1342 

Innocent VI 1352 

Urban V 1362 

Gregory XI 1370 

Urban VI 1378 

Boniface IX 1389 

Benedict XIH 1394 

Innocent VII 1404 

Gregory XII 1406 

Alexander V 1409 

John XXIH 1410 

Martin V 1417 

Eugenius IV 1431 

Nicholas V 1447 

Calixtus HI 1455 

Pius IL 1458 



762 



TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL CONTEMPORARY 



England. 


Scotland. 


Feance. 

'i 


Edward V 


.. 1483 




Charles vm 


1483 


Richard III 


.. 1483 








Henry VII 

Henry VIIL 


.. 14S5JamesIV. 148S 


Louis Xn 


1498 


., 1509 








.. 1547 


James V 1513 


Francis I. 

Heniy H 


1515 
1547 


Edward VL 


Mary 1542 


Mary 


.. 1553 




Francis II 


1559 


Elizabeth 


.. 1558 


James VI 1567 


Charles IX '. 


1560 






(Unites the crowns on 


Heniy HI 


1574 






the death of Eliza- 


Heniy IV 


1589 






beth, 1603.) 










RUSSIA. 










Emperors from Peter the 




1 






Great. 






James I. 


.. 1603 


Peter the Great 1689 

Catherine 1 1725 

Peter H 1727 


Louis Xm 


1610 


Charles I. 


.. 1625 


Anne 1730 


Louis XIV. 


1643 


Commonwealth. . . . 


.. 1649 


Ivan VI 1740 




1 


Charles II 


.. 1649 


Elizabeth 1741 


Louis XV 


1715 


(Restored 1660.) 




Peter III 1762 










Catherine II 1762 


Louis XVI.. 


1774 






Paul 1796 








.. 1685 


Alexander 1 1801 


Louis XVn 


1793 


William III 


. . 1689 


Nicholas 1825 


(Died in prison, 1795, 




Anne 


.. 1702 


Alexander II. 1855 


aged 10.) 




Geoi'ge I 


. . 1714 








George II 


.. 1727 




Re2niblic. 








PRUSSIA. 


Napoleon I. emperor . . . 


1804 


George HI 


.. 1760 


{From the Establishment of 
the Kingdom.) 


Louis XVm. 


1814 

1 






Frederick 1 1701 


Charles X 


1824 






Frederick William I. . . . 1713 






George IV 


.. 1820 


Frederick H. (the Great) 1740 


Louis Philippe. 


1830 


William IV 


.. 1830 


Frederick William II. . . 1786 
Frederick William III. . 1797 


Republic 


1848 




Victoria 


.. 1837 


Frederick William IV. . 1840 


Napoleon ill. emperor. . 


1853 



LIST OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY 



1533. Thomas Cranmer. Burned at Oxford, 
March 21, 1555. 

1550. Reginald Pole, Cardinal. Ob. Nov. 
17 1558 

1559. Matthew Parker. Ob. May 17, 1575. 

1576. Edmund Grindal. Translated from 
York. Ob. July 6, 1583. 

1583. John Whitgift. Translated from Wor- 
cester. Ob. Feb. 29, 1604. 

1604. Richard Bancroft. Translated from 
London. Ob. Nov. 2, 1610. 

1611. George Abbot. Translated from Lon- 
don. Ob. Aug. 4, 1633. 



1633. William Laud. Translated from Lon 
don. Beheaded Jan. 10, 1645. The 
See vacant 14 years. 

1660. William Juxon. Translated from Lon- 
don. Ob. June 4, 1663. 

1663. Gilbert Sheldon. Translated fltem Lon- 
don. Ob. Nov. 9, 1677. 

1678. William Sancroft. Deprived Feb. 1, 
1691. Ob. Nov. 24, 1693. 

1691. John Tillotson. Ob. Nov. 22, 1694. 

1694. Thomas Tenison. Translated from 
Lincoln. Ob. Dec. 14, 1715. 



EUROPEAN SOVEREIGNS, Etc.— Continued. 



763 



(xEEma:st. 




Popes. 



Maximilian L 1493 

Charles V. 1519 



SPAIN. 



Ferdinand V. 
Charles L . . . 



Ferdinand! 155S 'Philip 11.. . 

Maximilian IL 1564'Philip IIL . 

Eodolph n 15T6 



Matthias 

Ferdinand n 

Ferdinand III 

Leopold I 

Joseph L 

Charles VI 

Maria Theresa 

Charles YIT. 

Francis I 

Joseph n 

Leopold n. 

Francis 11 

(With this prince the 
title of Emperor of 
Germany was drop- 
ped for that of Em- 
peror of Austria). 



AUSTRIA. 

Francis L (the preceding) 1S04 

Ferdinand 1835 Ferdinand restored 

Francis Joseph 1S4S Isabella n, 



1612 

1619 Philip IV. ... . 

1637 Charles n. . . . 

165S| 

1705, Philip V. 

1711 

1740 

1742 Ferdinand VI. 

17451 

1765 Charles m 

1790 Charles rV.... 
1792 



Ferdinand VTL 

Joseph Bonaparte. 



Paul n 1464 

SLsitus IV. 1471 

Innocent VIIL 14S4 

Alexander VI 1492 

Pius III 1503 

Julius n 1503 

1512 Leo X 1,513 

1516 Adrian VI ^.-: 1522 

Clement Vn 1523 

Paul ni 1534 

JuUusin 1550 

1556 Marcellus U 1555 

1598 Paul IV. 1555 

Pius IV. 1559 

Pius V 1566 

Gregory XHI 1572 

SixtusV. 15S5 

Urban VH 1590 

Gregory XIV 1590 

Innocent IX 1591 

Clement VHI 1592 

Leo XL 1605 

1621 Paul V 1605 

1665 Gregory XV. 1621 

Urban YIU 1623 

1700[Innocent X. 1644 

Alexander VIL 1655 

Clement IX. 1667 

1745!ciement X 1670 

jlnnocent XI 1676 

1759 Alexander VUI 16S9 

1788 Innocent XII 1691 

Clement XI 1700 

Innocent XHL 1721, 

Benedict XIH 1724 

Clement XII 1730 

Benedict XIV 1740 

Clement XHL 1758 

Clement XIY. 1769 

Pius VI 1775 

Pius VU 1800 

1808 Leo Xn 1828 

Pius Vin 1829 

1814 Gregory XVI 1831 

1843iPius IX. 1846 



FROM THE TIME OF THE REFORMATION. 



1715. 



1737. 
1747. 



WUliam "Wake. Translated from Lin- 
coln. Ob. Jan. 24, 1737. 

John Potter. Translated from Oxford. 
Ob. Oct. 10, 1747. 

Thomas Herring. Translated 
York. Ob. March 13, 1757. 

1757. Matthew Hutton. Translated 

York. Ob. March 19, 1753. 

1758. Thomas Seeker. Translated from Ox- 

ford. Ob. Aug. 3, 1768. 
1768. Frederick Comwallis. Translated from 



from 
from 



Lichfield and Coventry. Ob. March 
19, 1783. 

1783. John Moore. Translated from Ban- 
gor. Ob. Jan. 18, 1S05. 

1805. Charles Manners Sutton. Trans- 
lated from Norwich. Ob. July 21, 
1828. 

1828. Wmiam Howley. Translated from 
London. Ob. Feb. 11, 1848. 

1848. John Bird Sumner. Translated from 
Chester. 



764 GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 



Wi" 



m oo 
»— 1 .J _g 

n -So 

S CO 

o SS 



.£5:3 






H g'« — 

o.§§ 

Q £ p. 
J tS a> 

w § '. 



^ 



3'n 



Hi 









ij'^' 



55 00 ^ 

iS ^ ct 



"- 00 _; 






,13 

S .2 --o 

3 c— . 

— < 3 S 



Cft 


.^ 




^ 


^ 


n 


c3Crs 




^ 




r-s 


"s 


^ 


a> 




iTj 


<« 




•tfC/J 














^ 


o 


cS 


^ 




3 












^ 


^3 . 



» - a 



"On'' 



o 



3 3 
-3 OS- 

^5 



-5 JU '"' 3 "^ 

'3 e-; J 3 

OP 3 ^ '"' M 

^I'S -^ =? S 






r> K o » 

cS22 

>^ .3 
? 3.D O 

s 






K3 °^ 

-a O g- 



. o 



"■S 3 g^ 



— .to 

-^ " D3 
e8 O 



■So* 
o . 



3 03 00 oi .2 
^ o-s >,^ 

.2 <« jo g a 

ij J3^ S <U 



a -2 2"^ 
-S-- 3 



ft-- B 
o . _; 3 



-S!::2-:.S^|.2 



o 



■S£S 3)S 3 3 

-■S t^ 00 -C a; ^ S 



«oog-^ 
ic— "". g 

t^^ SB . 
of . . C S-^ 

_^t^0C S 3 So 



S^ 



3 a 






'-''3 









S 0) 



3 «-^2 

^"^ 3 03.3 



03 o.S'ai 
_ tT 2 Sod 

03 3 c . 




3 .t^d'g S IPS 

'. 03 — 2.2 03 XI -5" 



w g i^ CO jj m3 3 

-■«! O (N 0-< — 03 > 
J S 5 3-^ 03 S 






• ^^ '- ^ 

_0^2os- 



P*-* 






■2 Co 



^■■5 .2 03 ^ 

o >° « iC 'S -g P 



o C 
I-} si 



It 






Pi 





03 


















.0 


03 


— 


Oh 


JU 












!M 


.a 


d 










fu 


> 


j^ 


^n 








3 




5^ 


•c 





.:: 


!il 


i, 



> 




3 





pK 3 



p^O-O 



>• to CO o . 
— Ji2 03 — 

_0 — (M p J . 



X o- "S 6n^ t" 'S~ 
-? — • O 3 3 

SS-22 5 big ^ 

§=»-'»' a 0.5 ^<>-" 

!-S<:Soj03>^3 



3_'- 



03 «ri 



star 

"•° o • , 
^ S o 



INDEX. 



ABERCROMBIE. 



ARTILLERY. 



Abercrombie, Sir Ealph, expe- 
dition to Holland, 6S3. To 
Egypt, 6SS. KiUed, 6S9. 

Aberdeen, Lord, foreign secre- 
tary, 739. Premier, 742, 745. 

Abhorrers, 511. 

Abingdon, convent, 49. 

, Earl of, supports Prince 

of Orange, 535. 

Abjuration, oath of, 575. 

Aboukir, battle, 6S2. 

Acre taken by Richard I., 125. 
Defended by Sii- S. Smith. 
6S3. 

Adams, Mr., interview with 
George HI., 661. 

Addington, Mr., prime minis 
ter, 6S6, 693. Viscount Sid 
mouth {see Sidmouth). 

Addison, Secretary, 600. 

Adela, daughter of William 
the Conqueror, 102. 

Adelais of Louvain, consort of 
Henry I., 101, 104. 

Adelfius, Bishop, 15. 

A djutators^ 440. 

Adrian IV., Pope, 118. 

VI., Pope, 264. 

Adurni Portus, 12. 

^delfrid (see Ethelfrith). 

.^icevine or Ercemvine, 26. 

^sellings or Ashings, 24. 

yEthelingay (Athelney), 42. 

Av tins, 13. 

African Company, 484. 

Aghrim, battle, 553. 

Agincourt, battle, 207. 

Agreement of the People^ 
scheme, so called, 446. 

Agricola in Britain, 10. 

Agriculture in Britain, 14. 

Ahmednuggur taken, 746. 

Aids (feudal), 132, 141. 

Aislabie, Chancellor of Exche- 
quer, accepts bribes, 603. 

Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, 490. 
Another, 622. Congress of, 
724. 

Alban, St., martyrdom, 15. 

Albany, Duke of, machina- 
tions against Robert III., 204. 

, regent of Scotland, 264. 

Albemarle, Duke of (Monk), 
engages the Dutch fleet, 486, 
487. (See Monk.) 

Alberoni, Cardinal, 600. 

Albert, Legate, 117. 

Albert, Prince, marries Queen 
Victoria, 738. 

Albiney, William de, 143. 



Albion, 2. 

Albuera, battle, 711. 

Alcuin, 35. 

Aldhelm, Archbishop,- 49. 

Aldred, Archbishop of York, 

81,84. 
Alenfon, Duke of, suitor of 

Elizabeth, 334, 336. Duke 

of Anjou, 337. 
Alexander II., Pope, assists 

William the Conqueror, 67. 
III., Pope, canonizes Bec- 

ket, 117. 
, Czar, makes peace with 

England, 687. With France. 

701. 

■ IL, Czar, 745. 

Alfieri elopes with Pretender's 

wife, 622. 
Alfred the Great, at Rome, 40 

Reign, 41^5. Literal^ 

works, 46. 

, son of Ethelred, 58, 61. 

Algerine pirates suppressed, 

724. 
Algiers, Dey of. chastised by 

Blake, 465, 466. 
Aliwal, battle, 748. 
Allectus, 12. 
Alliance, triple, 490. Grand, 

568. Triple, 599. Quadru- 
ple, 600, 614. 
Alma, battle of the, 743. 
Almanza, battle, 581. 
Almenara, battle, 583. 
Alnwick, battle, 121. 
Alodial lands, 129. 
Alphonso, King of Aragon, 

158. 

— , son of Edward I., 158. 
Althoi-p, Lord, Chancellor of 

Exchequer, 734, 737. Earl, 

737. 
Alva, Duke of, 332, 333. 
Amelia, Princess, dies, 710. 
American war, 713, 718, 719. 
Amherst, Lord, 626, 628. 
Amiens, Congress at, 151. 

Treaty of, 689. 
Ancalites, 7. 
Auderida, or Andi'edes-ceas- 

ter, 25. 
Angeln, 20. 
Angles (Engle), 20. Site of the, 

21. Dialect, 76. . 
Anglesea, Marcjuess of, 722. 
Anglia, East, 20, 26. 
Anglo-mania, French, 672. 
Anglo-Norman Constitution, 

128. Legislation, 130. 
Anglo-Saxon institutions, 71 

sq. Language, 75. Litera- 



ture, 76. Nobles, $4. No- 
bles and prelates depressed 
by William I., 85. 
Anjou, Duke of, proposed mar- 
riage with Elizabeth, 332. 
Becomes Heniy III. , 335. 

, Duke of (Alenf on), Gov- 
ernor of the Netherlands, 
337. 

Annan, battle, 175. 

Annates, act against, 274. 

Anne of Bohemia, consort of 
Richard IL, 195. 

of Biittany marries 

Charies VIII., 247. 

, wife of Richard IIL, 

poisoned, 234. 

of Cleve? marries Heniy 

VIIL, 284, 285. 

An>'e, Princess, daughter of 
James IL, 520, 535, 556, 558. 
Queen, 573. Reign of, 578- 
592. 

Annesley, President of the 
Council, 475. 

Anselm, Primate, 96, 98, 100. 

Anson, Commodore, 610, 621, 
627. 

Antoninus, wall of, 11. 

Archangel, passage to, discov- 
ered, 312. 

Argainii, battle, 746. 

Argyle, Earl of, heads the Cov- 
enanters, 402, 445, 452, 456, 
459, 480. 

, Earl of, condemned of 

treason, 515. Incites Mon- 
mouth's invasion, 524. De- 
feated and executed, 527. 

, Dake of, commander-in- 
chief in Scotland, 594, 596. 

Arkwright, 751. 

Aries, Coimcil of, 15. 

Arlington, Lord, 489. 

Armada, Invincible, 349. De- 
feated, 351. 

.\nnagnacs, 208. 

Arminianism, 396. 

Araiorica, British colony in, 
13, 29. Called Bretagne, 29. 

Anny, Parliamentary, 435, 
440, 441. 

, standing, origin, 479, 

541. 

Arnee, battle, 636. 

Arr«,n, Earl of, regent of Scot- 
land, 287, 288. 

Artevelde, Van, 177. 

Articles, Forty-two, 800. 
Thirty-nine, 320. Altered, 
433. 

Artilleiy first used, 179. 



766 



ARTHUR. 



INDEX. 



BISHOPRICS. 



Arthur, King, defeats Cerdic, Baird, General, 746. 



25. 

, Duke of Brittany, 136, 

137, 

, Prince, son of Henry 

VII., 251 

Arts, fine, 543. British school 
of, 755. 

Arundel, Earl of, executed by 
Richard II., 195 

, Earl of, commands 

against the Covenanters, 
403. 

, Earl of, impeached, 503. 

Privy seal, 52S. 

Asaph ul Dowlah, 669. 

Ascalon taken, 125. 

Aschani, Roger, 304. 

Ascue, Anne, burned, 289. 

Ashley, Lord, 489 {see Shaftes- 
bury). 

Asiento treaty, 601. 

Aske of Doncaster, rebellion 
of, 281 sq. 

Assaye, battle, 746. 

Assize, 131. 

Association to defend Queen 
Elizabeth, 337, 338. To de- 
fend William III., 560. 

Astley, Sir Jacob, 424. 

Aston, Sir Arthur, 424 

A thel, ngs^ 24. What, 72. 

Athelstane, King of Essex, 
40. 

, son of Edward the Elder, 

47. 

Atherton Moor, battle, 427. 

Attainder, what, 409, note. 

Attaint, writ of, 499. 

Atterbury, Bishop, 603. 

Auckland, Lord, Governor 
General of India, 747. 

Audley. Sir Thomas, Chancel- 
lor, 275. 

Augustine preaches in En- 
gland, 30. Archbishop of 
Canterbuiy, 31. 

Augustus, 8. Title bf, 72. 

Aula Regis, 131. 

Aulus Plautius, 8. 

Aurungzebe, 635. 

Austerlitz, battle, 695. 

Austi'ia an empire, 723. 

Austrian succession, war of, 
611. 

Auverquerque, Earl of Grant- 
ham, 547. 

Axtel executed, 479. 

Aylesford, battle, 24. 

Ayscue, Sir George, engages 
De Ruyter, 460. 

B. 

Babington, Ant., conspiracy, 
341. 

Bacon, Sir Nicholas, Lbrd- 
Keeper, 314, 327. 

Bacon, Francis, pleads against 
Lord Essex, 357, 359. Vis- 
count St. Albans and chan- 
cellor, 381. 

Badajoz taken, 712. 



Baker, Major, defends Lon- 
donderry, 550. 

Balaklava occupied, 744. Bat- 
tle of, lb. 

Baliol, John, King of Scot 
land, 159, 160, 161, 162. 

, Edward, seizes tlie Scot- 
tish crown, 175, 176. 

Ball, John, 192. 

Ballard, conspiracy of, 341 

Balmerino, Lord, executed, 
621. 

Baltimore, Congress at, 648, 

Ban Gor., what, 15. 

Banbury taken by Charles I., 
425. 

Bank Restriction Bill, 678. 
Repealed, 725. 

Bannockburn, battle, 169. 

Bantry Bav, Fi'encli Expedi- 
tion to, 678. 

Barbarossa, Frederick, 122. 

Barclay, Sir George, 560. 

Bai'ds, 6. 

Barebone, Praise God, 462. 

Bai-fleur, shipwreck at, 101. 

Barnet, Ijattle, 227. 

Baronetcy, institution of, 375. 

Barons, council of, 98, 127. 
Greater and Lessei", 130. 
Oppose King John, 140. 
Council of, under Magna 
Charta, 142. Conspire 
against Heniy III. , 149 sq. 

Barrington, Lord, Chancellor 
of Exchequer, 632. 

Barrosa, battle, 710. 

Bartholomew, St., massacre, 
334. 

Barton, Elizabeth, the Holy 
Maid of Kent, 277. 

Basiletis., title of, 72. 

Basilikon Dor on., 370. 

Bastwick released, 407. 

Bath, Earl of {see Pulteney). 

Bath, order of, revived, 604. 

Battle Abbey, 82. 

Bauge, battle, 210. 

Bavaria, Elector of, claims 
Austria, 611. Kingdom, 
696. 

Baxter, 47S, 482. 

Bayeux tapestry, 70. 

Baynard's Castle, 232. 

Beachy Head, battle off, 552. 

Beaton, Cardinal, 287, 288, 
295. 

Beaufort, Duke of, French ad- 
miral, 486. 

— , Bishop of Winchester, 
and cardinal, 211, 214, 216, 
217. 

Beauharnais, Eugene, Viceroy 
of Italy, 695. 

Beaulieu, sanctuary at, 250. 

Becket, Thomas a, rise. Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, 111, 
112, 113, 114, 115, 116. 
Character, 117. Henrj^'s 
penance at his tomb, 121. 
Bedford, Duke of, regent of 



France, 211, 214. Death, 
215. 

Bedford, Earl of, parliamenta- 
ry leader, 424. 

Begums of Oude, 669. 

Belasyse, Lord, impeached, 
503. 

Belerium (Land's End), 3. 

Bellasis, Colonel, 429. 

Belleisle, battle off, 621. 
Taken, 633. 

Belliugham shoots 'Perceval, 
711. 

Bemis's Heights, battle, 649. 

Benbow, Admiral, 575. 

Benedictines, 49, 51. 

Beneficia (see Fiefs). 

Benevolences, law of Richard 
III. again.st, 234. Levied 
by Henry VIL, 247, 264, 
362. 

Bengal amiy, mutiny, 749. 

Bennington, battle of, 649. 

Bentinck, Earl of Portland, 
547. (See Portland.) 

, Lord WiUiam, 718. Gov- 
ernor Genei'al of India, 747. 

Beornred, King of Mercia, 35. 

Beornwulf, King of Mercia, 35, 
36. 

Berengaria, consort of Richard 
L, 124, 125. 

Beresford, Lord, 706, 711. 

Bergen-op-Zoom, storm of, 
718. 

Beric, S. 

Berkeley Castle, Edward H. 
murdered at, 172. 
— , Sir M,, seizes Wyatt, 
306. 

, Earl of, expedition to 

Brest, 558. 

Berlin Decree, 700. 

Bernadotte, Crown-prince of 
Sweden, 709. 

Bernicia (Berneich or Beorna- 
rice), 26. 

Bertha, wife of Ethelbert, 30. 

Berwick ceded to England, 
121. Sold by Richard L, 
124. Ceded by Edward Ba- 
liol, 176. Pacification of, 
403. 

— , Duke of, 551, 578, 579, 
58L 

Bhurtpore taken, 747. 

Bible, English, 281. 

Bibroci, 7. 

Bigod, Roger, Earl of Norfolk, 
163. 

Bills, parliamentary, 239. 

Bii-mingham, riots at, 671. 

Bishops, new regulations re- 
specting, 276. Protest, 415, 
Impeached and committed, 
lb. Deprived of their votes, 
417. Restored to Parlia- 
ment, 480. Petition against 
Declaration of Indulgence, 
531. Committed to Tower, 
ib. . Acquitted, 532. 
Bishoprics, new, erected by 



BLACK HOLE. 



INDEX. 



CALIGULA. 



767 



New ar- 



Heni7VnT.,2S3. 
ransement of, T37 
Blackllole, 636. 
Black Prince, ISO, 1S4, 1S5, 

ISO, 1ST, ISS. 
Blackwater, battle, 355. 
Blackwood, Captain, 697. 
Blake, Admiral, 45S, 459, 460, 

465, 466. 
Blakeney, General, 624. 
Blenheim, battle, 577. 

■ Castle, 578. 

Bligh, General, 627. 
Blithwallon, King of North 

Wales, 84. 
Blood, 491, 492. 
Bliicher, Marshal, 720, 721, 

722. 
Boadicea, 10. 
Board of Control, 664. 
Bocher, Joan, burned, 297. 
Boc-land^ 73. 
Bohemia, King of, death at 

Crecy, 181. 
Bohun, Humphrey, Earl of, 

163, 169. 
Boleyn, Anne, 268 sq.^ 271. 
Married to Henry VIH., 
275. Death, 281. 
Bolingbroke, birthplace of 
Heniy IV., 201. 

, St. John, Viscount, 584, 

586, 586, 587, 591. Procures 
the dismissal of Oxford, 591, 
592. night, 595. Enters 
Pretender's service, ib. At- 
tainted, ib. Pardoned, 603. 
His "Patriot King," 608. 
Bomarsund taken, 745. 
Bombay, dowry of Catherine 
of Braganza, 481. Ceded to 
East India Company, 635. 
Bonaparte, Napoleon (see Na- 
poleon). 

, Louis, King of Holland, 

699, 709. 

, Joseph, King of Naples, 

699. Of Spain, 703, 715. 
Boniface, Pope, 164. 
Bonner, Bishop, 305, 309, 314. 
Booth, Sir George, 473. 
Borh (siu'ety), 74. 
Boroughs, creation of, 364. 
Small, disfranchised by 
Cromwell, 464. Disfran- 
chised by the Reform Bill, 
735. 
Boscawen, Admiral, 623, 626, 

627. 
Boston (America), riots at, 643, 

645. 
Bosworth, battle, 235. 
BothweU Bridge, battle, 509. 
Both well. Earl of, favorite of 
Mary, Queen of Scots, 324, 
325. 
Boulogne, taken by Heniy 
VIH., 288. Restored, 299 



Bourchier, Cardinal, Archbish- 
op of Canterbury, 244. 

Bourne, Captain, 459, 460. 

Bovines, battle, 139. 

Boyle^ Secretaiy, 585. 

Boyne, the, battle of, 552. 

Bradshaw, President of High 
Court of Justice, 446. 

Brakenbury, Sir Robert, 232. 

Bramham, battle, 204. 

Brandywine, battle, 649. 

Branodunum, 12. 

Breakspear {see Adrian IV.). 

Breda, declaration of, 475. 
Peace of, 489. 

Brentford, battle, 425. 

Bretigni, peace of, 186. 

Breton, Cape, taken, 627. 

Bretwalda, 29. 

Bre\iary abolished, 289. 

Bridgeman, Sir Orlando, 489. 

Bridges, first stone, in En- 
gland, 144. 

Brigantes, 9. 

Bi-ihuega, battle, 583, 584. 

Bristol taken by Rupert, 426. 
Surrendered by him, 436. 
Riots at, 734. 

, Earl of, embassador to 

Philip IV., 384, 390. 

Britain, earliest accounts of, 2. 
Trade with Greeks, ib. In- 
vaded by Cfesar, 7. Reduced 
by Claudius, S. Abandoned 
by Romans, 13. Condition 
under the, 14. Roads, ib. 
Christianity in, 15. Gov- 
ernment and divisions un- 
der Romans, 17, 

Brithric, King of Wessex, poi- 
soned, 34. 

Brito, Richard, 115. 

Britons, origin, 3. Religion, 4. 
Manners, 6. Tribes, ib. sq. 
Civilization, 8. Coins, ib.., 
9. Repulse the barbarians, 
13. Groans, ib. In Aituo- 
rica, 29. AVhether expelled 
from England, ib. 
Brittany, disputed succession, 
178. Annexed to French 
crown, 247. 
Broke, heads the Bye Plot, 371 

Executed, ib. 
Bromlev, Sir Thomas, commit- 
ted, 353. 
Brougham, Lord, 728. Chan 

ceUor, 733, 734 
Bruce, Robert, descent, 159. 

(the son), aspires to the 

crown, 166. Crowned at 
Scone, ib. Defeats the En- 
glish, 169. Death, 175. 

, David, 175, 181. 

Brudenel, Lord, committed, 

504. 
Brunswick, Duke of, publishes 
manifesto, 672 



Buckingham, Henry, Duke of, 
supports the Duke of Glou- 
cester, 230. Favors Rich- 
mond, 232. Executed, 234. 

, Duke of. Constable, ex- 
ecuted, 263. 

, George Villiers, Duke of, 

377 sq. Persuades (Jharles 
to visit Madrid, 384. False 
narrative of, 386. Accused 
by Bristol of high treason, 
390. Expedition to Rochelle, 
S92. Assassinated, 394. 

, Duke of, 489, 497. 

Bunker's Hill, battle, 646. 

Burdett, Sir Francis, 708, 730. 

Burgesses, first summoned, 
152, 162. 

Burgh, Hubert de, justiciary, 
146. 

Burgoyne, General, 634, 646, 
649, 666. 

Burgundy, Duke of, allied 
with the English, 208, 209. 

, Duchess of, assists Sim- 

nel, 246. And Warbeck, 
248. 

Burke, Edmund, 642. Pay- 
master of forces, 658. Im- 
peaches Warren Hastings, 
665,669, His "Reflections" 
on French Revolution, 671. 

Burleigh, Lord (Cecil), 333, 
355. 

Burrard, Sir Hariy, 704. 

Bury St. Edmund's, 41. 

Busaco, battle of, 709. 

Bute, Eail of, 623, 632. Prime 
minister, 634, 637. 

Bye., the, plot, 371. 

Byng, Admiral (Lord Torring-- 
ton), defeats the Pretender, 
582. Defeats the Spaniards, 
600. 

, Admiral, fails to relieve 

Minorca, 624, 625. Shot, 
625. 



Ai-my of invasion at, 688, 1 Brunswick, Duke of, 720, 722. 
693. i Brute, the Trojan, 3. 

Boui'bon, Charles, Duke of, | Bubble companies, 602. 
205. Killed at Rome, 267. i Buchanan, George, 370. 



C. . 
Cabal ministry, 489, 496. 
Cabinet coimcil, origin, 566. 
Cabot, Sebastian, 253. 
v'ade, Jack, rebellion, 219. 
L'adiz taken, 354. 
Caer Caradoc, 9. 
Caerleol, 27. 
Caermarthen, Lord, Secretary, 

664. 
Cassar invades Britain, 7, 16. 
Calais taken by Edward HI., 

181. Staple of English 

goods, 183. Taken by Guise, 

311. 
Calamy, the Presbyterian, 

466, 478. 
Calcutta, 635. 
Calder, Admiral Sir Robert, 

696. 
Caledonia, 11. 
Caledonians, 12. 
Calendar, Reformed, 621. 
Caligula, 8. 



68 



CALVI. 



INDEX. 



CHILD. 



Calvi, siege of, 676. 

(Jambray, peace of, 270. 

Cambria (Wales), 27. 

Cambridge, Earl of, executed, 
207. 

, Duke of, 693. 

Cambuskenneth, battle, 165. 

Camden, Lord Chancellor, 641. 

, battle, 656. 

Cameron of Lochiel, 616. 

Campbell, Sir Colin, 749. 

Campeggio, Cardinal, 268. 

Camperdown, action off, 679. 

Campion, Jesuit, executed, 
338. 

Camps, Romany in Britain, 9. 

Camulodunum, 9. 

Canada, when colonized, 628. 
Conquered, 629. Attempt- 
ed by Americans, 713, 714. 
Insurrection in, 738. 

Canals, 751. 

Canning, George, foreign sec- 
retary, 700. Duel with Cas- 
tlereagh, 708. Premier, 730. 

Canrobert, General, 744. 

Canterbury, primacy of, ac- 
knowledged, 86. 

, pilgrims at, 118. 

Cantii, 7. 

Canute (Knut), son of Sweyn, 
55. Reign, 58-60. 

, King of Denmark, thi'eat- 

ens England, 89. 

Capel, character, 407. 

Caracalla, 11. 

Caractacus, or Caradoc, 9. 

Carausius, 12. 

Cardonnel, Marlborough's sec- 
retary, 589. 

Carew, Sir Peter, 306. 

Carleton, Secretary, 410. 

(Jarnatic, secured, 637. 

Caroline of Anspach, consort 
of George II., 607. 

, Queen, ti-ial, 728. Death, 

729. 

Carr, Robert, Viscount Roches- 
ter and Earl of Somerset, 
376, 377. 

Carrington, Lord, committed, 
504. 

Carter, Hob, 192. 

Carteret, Lord, Secretary, 611. 

, Lord (see Granville). 

Carthagena, attack on, 610. 

Cartismandua, 9. 

Cartwright, Major, 723. 

Cassi, 7. 

Cassiterides, or Tin islands, 2. 

Cassivelaunup, 7. 

Castlemaine, Eai'l of, embassy 
to Rome, 529, 530. 

Castlereagh, Lord (Lord Lon- 
donderry), Secretary at War, 
700. Duel with Canning, 
708. Foreign secretary, 712. 
Suicide, 729. 

Castles, Anglo - Norman, 91. 
Destroyed by King Henry 
IL, 110. 

Catesby, 231. 



Catesby, forms the Gunpowder 
Plot, 372. Killed, 374. 

Cathcart, Lord, killed, 610. 

, Lord, takes Copenhagen, 

702. 

Catherine of France, espoused 
by Henry V., 209. Marries 
Sir Owen Tudor, 210. 

of Aragon, marries Prince 

Arthur, 251. Contracted to 
Prince Henry, ib. Marries 
him, 256. Henry seeks a 
divorce, 267. She demurs to 
the court, 269. Divorced 
by Cranmer, 275. Death, 
278. 

de Medicis, regent of 

France, 317, 320. 

of Braganza marries 

Charles IL, 4S1, 504. 

of Russia, 656. 

Catholic emancipation advo- 
cated by Fltt, 685, 686. 
Lord Howick's bill lost, 700. 
Advocated by Canning, 730. 
Carried, 732. 

Cato Street conspiracy, 728. 

Clavaliers, 415. 

Cavendish, Lord John, Chan- 
cellor of Exchequer, 658, 659. 

Caxton, 230, note. 

Ceawlin, 26. Bretwalda^ 29. 
Defeated at Wodnesbeorg, 
30. 

Cecil, Sir William, Secretary 
of State, 314, 317, 327, 331 
{see Burleigh). 

, Sir Robert, son of pre- 
ceding, secretai'y, 357. Be- 
comes Lord Salisbury, 371 
(•see Salisbury). 

, Sir Edward, Viscount 

Wimbledon,. 389. 

Celestius, 15. 

Celtic words, 37. 

Celts, 3. 

Cenimagni, 7. 

Censorship of the press abol- 
ished, 559. 

Census, first, 752. 

CeorlH (churls), 72. 

Cerdic, King of Wessex, 25. 

Cerdic's ora, 25. 

Cerealis, 10. 

Chalgrave field, battle, 426. 

Chalus, castle of, 127. 

Chandernagore taken, 627. 

Charlemagne, 35. 

Charles I., reign of, 388-449. 

, Prince of Wales, journey 

to Madrid, 384. 

II. , reign of, 477-521. 

, Prince of Wales, escapes 

to Paris, 437. Commands 
the fleet, 444. Sends a carte 
blanche to the Regicides, 
448. In Scotland, 454. 
Crowned at Scone, 456. De- 
feated at Worcester, ib. Re- 
tires to Cologne, 465. Es- 
capes to Breda, 475. Pro- 
claimed in London, 476. 



Charles the Simple, cedes 
Neustria to Rollo, 78. 

the Fair, 170. 

VI. of France, 188, 206. 

VIL, 213, 217. 

VIII., 246, 248. 

IX., 332. Massacres the 

Huguenots, 334. Death, ib. 

X. deposed, 733. 

V. (Emperor), 252, 259, 

262. Visits England, 262. 
Bribes Wolsey, 264. Second 
visit- to England, ib. Breaks 
with Henry VIH., 267. Al- 
liance with, 288. Proposes 
an alliance with Maiy, 306. 

Vn., Emperor, dies, 614. 

II. of Spain, death, 5G5. 

III., titular king of Spain, 

576, 578. Elected emperor, 

588. 
III. of Spain forms the 

Family Compact with 

France, 633. Declares war, 

634. 
IV. of Spain, 703. 

of Navarre, claim to 

French crown, 176. 

Edward, son of Pretender 

(James), 613. Expedition 
of, 615. 

Charlotte, of Mecklenburg- 
Strelitz, marries George IH. , 
632. Death, 726. 

, Princess, dies, 724. 

Charnock, Captain, 561. 

Charter of Henry I., 98. Dis- 
covered by Langton, 140. 
Of Stephen, 103. Of John, 
141. 

Charters of corporations sur- 
rendered, 516. Annulled by 
James II. , 530. 

Chartists, origin, 738, 741. 

Chatham, ships at, burned by 
the Dutch, 488. 

, Earl of (WUliam Pitt), 

history, 609, 614, 623. First 
administration, 625-633. 
Opposes the peace, 637. De- 
nounces Stamp Act, 641. 
Created Earl Chatham, ib. 
Second administration, 641- 
643. Denounces American 
policy, 645, 649. Last speech, 
651. Illness and death, ib. 

, Earl of (2d), expedition 

to Walch^ren, 708. 

Chatillon-sur-Seine, Congress 
at, 717. 

Chaucer, Geoflfrey, 199, 237. 

Cherbourg, expedition against, 
627. 

Chester, Earl of, 120. 

Chesterfield, Earl of. Lord 
Lieutenant of Ireland, 614. 
Secretary of State, 621. 
Character, ib. . Reforms the 
Calendar, ib. 

"Chevy Chase," 194. 

Cheyte Sing, 668. 

Child, Sir Josiah, .542. 



CHILLIAN WALLAH. 



INDEX. 



COPENHAGEN'. 769 



Chillianwallah, battle, 7-iS. 

Chinon, castle, death of Henry 
II. at, 122. Peace of, 139. 

Choiseul, Duke of, 632, 633. 

Christ Church, Oxon., found- 
ed by Wolsey, 279. 

Christian, Admiral, 6T7. 

Christianity in Britain, 15. Clontarf meeting, 739. 
Among the Saxons, 30 sn. Closetimis^ 530. 

Church, Anglo-Norman, 132. Cloth of Gold, Field of, 263. 

, English, separated, from Cobden, Richard, 73S. 

Rome, 275. King supreme Cobham, Lord (.see Oldcastle). 
head of, 276. • | , Lord, plots against 

Churchill, Lord, deserts James | James I., 371 



627. Exploits, 636. Tie-' 
tories at Plassy, ib. Govern- 
or of Bengal, 637. An Irish 
peer, ib. Returns to India, 
665. Reforms, 2 6. Quells a 
mutiny, 666. Tote of cen- 
sure on, 667. Suicide, ib. \ 



n., 535 {see Marlborough). 
Churchill, the satirist, 634. 
Cintra, convention of, 704. 
Circiuts, judges', 131. 
Circuses in Britain, 14. 
Cissa, 25. 

Cissa-ceaster (Chichester), 25. 
Ciudad Rodrigo taken, 712. 
Clanricarde, Earl, 453, 454. 
Clare, Richard de (Strongbow), 



Remonstrance, 414. Charles 
demands the dve members, 
416. Committee at Mer- 
chant Tailors', ib. Seize 
HuU, etc., 417. Militia bill, 
41S. Name the lieutenants 
of counties, ib. Propose 
terms-, 419. Purged by 
Colonel Pride^ 446. Ordi- 
nance to try the king, 447. 
Name an executive councU, 
452. Declare James n. to 
have abdicated, 538. {See 
Parliament.) * 



Coburg, Prince of, commands Commonwealth, 451-476. 



607 



Communion service, 296. 
Comprehension Bill, 54S. 
Compton, Sir Spencer, 
Made Lord Wilmington, 611 
{see WUmington). 
Compurgation, 13L 
Compurgators, 75. 
Coleman, secretarv to Duchess Comvn, Baliol's nephew, as- 
of York, 502, 505. ; sassinated, 166. 



imperial anny, 673. 
Coeur de Lion., 128. 
Coffee-houses, 543. 
Coin, debasement of, 297. 
Coke, Sir Edward, 377. 

prisoned, 333. 
Colcheste? taken, 445. 



Im- 



119. Marries Eva. daughter X'olepepper, Sir John, 423. Conan, Duke of Brittany. 110. 
of King Dermot, 119. De- Coligny, 320, 332. Massacred, Succeededby Henry 11., 111. 



feats the Irish, ib. \ 334 

Clarence, Duke of, defeated at. College, trial of, 514. 

Bauge, 210. j Collier, Jeremy, 561. 
. George, Duke of, marries CoUingwood. Captain, 

Wanrick's daughter, 226. i 696, 697, 703 



679. 



Deserts to Edward lY., 227. Colonial Secretary, office es-i 



Put to death, 229. 



tablished, 642. 



iConde, 320. Death, Z?,i. 

I Confession, Auricular, 296. 

; Coafirniatio Chartarum (stat- 
ute), 154. 

Conformity, occasional, bill to 
prevent, thrown out, 575. 
Passed, 557. 



Clarendon, Constitutions of. Colonization, English, origin, Congregation, Scotch, 316, 

113. Assize of, ib. i 378. Progress, 541, 542. i 317. Assisted by Elizabeth, 
, Earl of (Hyde), prime Columbus, 253. | .317. 

minister, 478. Restores epis-| Combats, judicial, 75. ' Connaught, kingdom of, 113. 

copacy, 479. Advises the'Combermere, Lord, 747. | " Conservatives," origin, 736. 

sale of Dunkirk, 453. !>']£- Comes littori.^ Saxonici .,12.,16.\ Party broken up, 740. 

graced, 459. Banished, ib. Comes., title of, 18. I Constable, office extinguished, 

His history, 26. j Commanders, Roman, in Brit-: 263, 7iote. 
, Earl (2d), chamberlain,! ain, 13. Constantia, mother of Arthur 

524. Lord Lieutenant of Commerce, freedom of, se-! of Brittany, 136. 

Ireland, 528. Treats with cured by the Charter, 141. : Constantine the Great, 12. 



James IL, 536. 
Clarke, Mrs., 705. 
Clarkson, ilr., 700. 
Claudius reduces Britain, S. 
Claypole, Mr.?., den.th, 470. 
Clement, Pope, 96. 
VII., Pope, 265, 267, 268. 

Grants a commission to try 

Henry YIIL's divorce, 265. 
, Jaques, assassinates 

Henry HI., 352. 
Clement's, St., Danish ceme- 
tery at, 61. 
Clergy, their privileges^ 1121 

sq. ^ I 

Cleves, Anne of (v-e-j Anne). 1 
Clifford, Lord, murders the! 

Earl of Rutland, 221. 
, Sh- Robert, betrays Per- 

kin Warbeck, 249. 

, Sir Thomas, 459. 

Clifton Moor, battle, 619. 
Clinton, Admii'al Lord, 327. 
, General, 646. Retreats 

to New York, 651. Takes 

Charleston, 655. 
Clipping the coin, 153. 
Clive, take.5 Chandemagore, 



Under Edward HL, 191. Constantius Chlonis, 13. 

Progress of, 542. [Constitution, Anglo-Norman, 

Committee of Safety, 473. 128. English, under the 

Common Pleas, court, 131. ) Tudors, 361. 
Co:nmon.=. 130. House of, 152, Contract, original, 539. 

Iu2. increased power, 205. Conventicle Act, 483. Sec- 
Account of, 233, 239. Pve-i ond, 491. . 

fuse to reason with Wolsey, i Convention Parliament, 475. 

264. How treated by Eliz-: Convention, 538. MadeaPar- 

abeth, 862, 363. Resist! liament, 547. Dissolved, 

James, 374. Revive im-j 551. 

peachments, 331. Pledge to; , French, 675. 

defend the Palatinate, 3.52. [Convocation resigns the right 

Claim freedom of debate, | of taxation, 455. Account 

353. James tears out their' of, 605. 

protestation, ib. Leaders Conway, General, 632. Secre- 

of, 339. Reifuse supplies to tary, 640. Carries addres.s 

Charles I., ib. Impeach: against American war, 657. 

Buckingham, 390. Frame Commander-in-chief, 653. 

the Petition of Right, 393. Conyers, Sir John, 413. 

Press a redress of griev- Cook, solicitor for people of 

ances, 403. Impeach Straf-: England, 44T. Executed, 

ford and Laud, 405, 406.! 479. 

Speeches first published, 407. Coote, Sir Eyre, defeats Hyder 

Retain the army of the! Ali, 663. 

Covenant, ib. Proceedings Cope, Sir John, 616. Defeat- 

against the clergy, ib. Com- \ ed at Preston Pans, 617. 

mittee during recess, 411 .! Copenhagen, bombarded by 

Iv K 



770 



CORNISH, 



INDEX. 



DETTINGEN. 



Nelson, 687. By Gambler, 
701, 702. 

Cornish, Alderman, condemn- 
ed, 527. Attainder reversed, 
551. 

Corn - laws, 723. League 
against the, 738. Abolish- 
ed, 740, 757. 

Cornwall, insurrection in, 249, 
250. 

Coi-nwallis, Lord, 648. Capit- 
ulates at Yorktown, 656. 

. , Lord, viceroy of Ireland, 

685. Governor General of 
India, reduces Tippoo, 746. 

— — , Admiral, 677. 

Corporation Act, 480, 498. 

Corunna, battle of, 705. 

Cospatric, Eaii of Northum- 
berland, rebels, 84. 

Count, title of, 238. 

County courts, 74, 131. 

Court, verge of, 75. 

Court baron, 130. 

Courts, Anglo-Saxon, 74. 

Courts of justice, 131. 

Covenant, burned by the hang- 
man, 480. 

Covenanters, Scotch, 402. In 
vade England, 404. Re- 
tained by Long Parliament, 
407, 509. 

Coverdale, his Bible, 281. Im- 
prisoned, 305. 

Cowper, Lord, Chancellor, dis- 
missed, 586. 

Craggs, Secretary at War, 600. 
Bribed, 602, 603. 

Cranmer, Thomas, 271. Made 
primate. Annuls Henry's 
marriage Avith Catherine, 
275. Annuls Anne Boleyn's 
marriage, 280. Opposes the 
Six Articles^ 284. At Hen 
ry's death-bed, 291. Exec 
utor, 293. Conduct of the 
Reformation, 295. Con 
demned for treason, 305, 
Burned, 310. 

Creccanford, battle, 24. 

Crecy, battle, 179. 

Crc'py, peace of, 288. 

Cressingham, flayed by the 
Scots, 165. 

Crimea, descent on the, 743. 

Criminal law, amendment of, 
754. 

Crompton, 751. 

Cromwell, Thomas, defends 
Wolsey, 270. Favors the 
Reformation, 277. Vicar 
General, 279. Eludes the 
Six Articles^ 284. Made 
Earl of Essex, 285. Fall 
and execution, ib. 

, Oliver, first appeai'ance 

of, 427. Defeats Rupert at 
Marston Moor, 430. Repub- 
lican views, 432. Reduces 
the middle counties, 437. 
Obtains command of the 
army, 441. Views as to the 



king, 442. Quells the Lev- 
elers, 443. Defeats Lang- 
dale and Hamilton, 445. 
Proceeds to Ireland, 453. 
Reduces it, 454. Captain 
General, 455. Invades Scot- 
land, ib. Gains battle of 
Dunbar, 456. Defeats 
Charles H. at Worcester, ib. 
Dissolves the Long Parlia- 
ment, 461. Calls another, 
462. Made Protector, 463. 
Reproves the Parliament, 
464. Supports the Vaudois, 

467. Refuses the crown, 

468. Fall of his family, 472. 
Estate confiscated, 478. Dis- 
interred and hanged, 479. 

, Richard, 469. Succeeds 

to the Protectorate, 472. 
Signs his demission, ib. 

, Henry, governs Ireland, 

467. Resigns, 472. 

Cropredy Bridge, battle, 431. 

Cross at Charing and Cheap- 
side destroyed, 407. 

CroAvn, settlement of the, 538. 

Crusade, 95. Of Richard I., 
124. 

Cuichelme, King of Wess«x, 
32. 

Culemberg, Admiral, 578. 

CuUoden, battle, 619. 

Cumberland made an English 
county, 95. 

, Duke of, at Dettingen, 

613. Fontenoy, 615. De- 
feats the Pretender at Cul- 
loden, 619. One of the Conn 
cil of Regency, 6'23. De- 
feated by the French, 626. 
Abandons Hanover, ib. 

, Ernest, Duke of, King 

of Hanover, 737. 

Cumbria, 27. 

Curfew, 91. 

Curia Regis, 130, 131. 

Curie, Queen Mary's secre- 
tary, 343. 

Cicen (queen), 72. 

Cymen, 25. 

Cymen's ora, 25. 

Cyning (king), 72. 

Cynobelin, or Cymbeline, 8. 

Cynric, 25, 26. 

Cyprus, conquered by Richard 
L, 125. 

D. 

Dacre, Lord, defeats the Scots, 
264. 

Dalhousie, Lord, Governor 
General of India, 748. 

Dalrymple, Sir John, Master 
of Stair, 554. 

, Sir Hew, 703, 704. 

Damnonia, kingdom of, 27. 

Danby, Earl of. Treasurer, 
497. Denounces the Popish 
Plot, 503. Impeached, 505, 
517, 520. President of coun- 
cil, 546, 547. Marquis of 



Caermarthen, 551. Duke 
of Leeds, 559. {See Leeds.) 

Banegelt^ 54, 61, 89, 131. 

Dmielagh., 44. 

Danes invade England, 39. 
Murder King Edmund, 41. 
Defeated by Alfred, 43. 
Baptized by him, 44. Five 
tOAvns of, ib. Boundary of, 
ib. Invade Kent, 45. In- 
cursions renewed, 53. Mas- 
sacred, 54. 

Dangeffield concocts the Meal- 
tub Plot, 510. 

Danish fleet carried off, 702, 

Darby, Admiral, relieves Gib- 
raltar, 657. 

Darcy, Lord, 281, 282. 

Darlington, Coimtess of (Bar- 
oness Kilmanseck), 598. 

Darnley, Lord, marries Mary 
Queen of Scots, 321, 324. 

Dartmouth, Lord, Secretarj-, 
586. 

DashAvood, Sir Francis, Chan- 
cellor of Exchequer, 634. 

David, King of Scotland, in- 
vades England, 103. 

, Prince of Wales, exe- 
cuted by Edivard I., 157. 

, Earl of Huntingdon, de- 
scendants, 159. 

Davison, Secretary, dispatches 
warrant for Queen Mary'.s 
execution, 345, 347. 

Days, Saxon names of, 21. 

Deane, Silas, 648. 

Declaration of Independence, 
American, 647. 

Defender of the Faith, title 
of, 264. 

Deira (Deifyr or Deora rice), 
26. 

Delaware, Lord, Governor of 
Virginia, 378. 

Delhi, taken by Lord Lake, 
747. Bv General Wilson, 
749. 

Delinquents., 406. ■ 

Denman, Lord, 728. 

Derby, riots at, 734. 

, Countess of, defends 

Man, 458. 

— , Earl of, conquests in 
France, 181. 

— , Earl of (Lord Stanley), 
Secretary at War, 739. 
Heads the " Protectionists," 
740. Premier, 742. Re- 
signs, 742. Premier again, 
749. 

Demiot Macmorrogh, King of 
Leinster, 118, 119. 

Derwentwater, Earl of, sup- 
ports Pretender, 596, 598. 

Desaix, General, 683. 

Desborough opposes the crown- 
ing of Cromwell, 468. 
Threatens Richard, 472. 

Despenser, Hugh le (Spenser), 
169. 

Dettingen, battle, 612, 613. 



DEVIZES. 



INDEX. 



ELLENBOHOUGH. 771 



Devizes, battle, 426. 

Devonshire, rising in, 297. 

Digby, Sir Everard, joins Gun- 
powder Plot, 373, 374. 

Digges, Sii- Dudley, a leader 
of the Commons, 3S9. Mas- 
ter of the Rolls, 398. 

Diocletian, 12. 

Directoiy for worship, 433. 

Dispensing power, 482, 483, 
and note^ 528. 

Dissenters promoted by James 
n., 530. 

Divine right, theory of, 539. 

Dogger Bank, action oflf the, 
657. 

Domesday-Book, 89 sq. 

Dominica taken, 633. 

Donauwerth taken, 577. 

Dorset, Marquess of, expedi- 
tion to Spain, 257. 

Dort, Synod of, 396. 

Douay, seminary at, 338. 

Douglas, Lord, attacks the 
English camp, 173, 174. 

. , Earl, fights with Hotspur 

against King Henry IV., 
203. 

• , George, 323. Murders 

Eizzio, 323. 

, George, assists Mary, 

Queen of Scots, to escape, 
326. 

Dover, battle oflf, 459. Treaty 
of, 491. 

Dovergilda, 118. 

Dowdeswell, William, Chan- 
cellor of Exchequer, 640. 

Downing, embassador to Hol- 
land, 493. 

Drake, Francis, sails round 
the world, 336. Entertains 
" Queen Elizabeth, ib. At- 
tacks the West Indies, 340. 
Destroys the Spanish ship- 
ping, 348. Expedition to 
Portugal, 352. 

. , Mr., 694. 

Brapier's Letters, 603, 

Druidism, 4 sq. 

Drummond, titular Duke of 
Perth, 616, 617. 

Dubois, Cardinal, 599. 

Duckworth, Admiral Sir John, 
701. 

Dudley, minister of Henry 
VII., 251. Executed, 256. 

Dudley, Lord Guildford, mar- 
ries Lady Jane Gray, 301, 
304. Beheaded, 307. 

. , Lord Robert, favorite of 

Elizabeth, 319. {See Leices- 
ter.) 

, Lord, 731. 

Duke, title of, 238. 
Dumouriez, 672. 
Dunbar, battle, 162, 456, 457. 
Duncan, King of Cumberland, 

reduced by Canute, 60. 
, King of Scotland, mur- 
dered by Macbeth, 64. 
. , Admiral Viscoimt, de- 



feats the Dutch oflf Camper. 

down, 679. 
Dundas. {See Melville.) 

, Admiral, 744. 

Dundee, Viscount, opposes 



Edward the Elder, succeeds 

Alfred, 47. 

the Martyr, his death, 53. 

the Outlaw, son of Ed- 

mond Ironside, 59, 65. 



William HI., 549. Killed, Edward I., reign of, 155-168. 



ib. 

Dunes, battle oflf, 469. 

Dunkirk surrendered to Crom- 
well, 469. Sold to France, 
483. Surrendered by Louis 
XVL, 589. 

Dunstan, St., 49-51. Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, 51. 

Dutch, war with the, &9, 460, 
485. League with, 463. 
War with, 493. 

— colonies taken, 676. 

— guards, 537. Dismissed, 
564. 

Dux Britanniarum, 18. 
Dykvelt, 533. 

E. 

Eadbald, King of Kent, 31. 

Eadburga, 34. 

Eadhild, sister of Athelstane, 
48. 

Ealdormen (aldermen), 72. 

Ealhswith, wife of Alfred, 47. 

Earl, title of, 238. 

East India Company founded, 
378, 559. Progress of, 635. 
Pitt's bill respecting, 664. 
Regulating Act, 666. Abol- 
ished 749. 

(French), 636. Their set- 
tlements, ib. 

East Sexe (Essex), kingdom 
of, 26. 

Eborius, Bishop of York, 15. 

Ebusa, 26. 

Ecclesiastical Commission, 
court of, 529. Annulled, 
534. Titles bill, 742. 

Edgar, reign of, 51, 52. 
— Atheling, 65. Submits 
to William, 81. Rebellion 
and flight, 85. Retires" 
Rouen, 86, 87. Returns to 
England, 95. Captured at 
Tenchebray, 99. 

Edge Hill, battle, 424. 

Edgitha, sister of Athelstane, 
48. 

Edinburgh, tumult at, 401. 

Editha, daughter of Godwin, 
marries Edwiard the Con- 
fessor, 62, 63. 

Edmond Ironside, 55. 

, son of Edmond Ironside, 

58. 

Edmund, King, saint and 
martyr, 41. 

, son of Alfred, 47. 

the Elder, 48. 

Edred, King, 48. 
Edric, Duke of Mercia, 53. 
Edward the Confessor, son of 
Ethelred, 58. Descent at 
Southampton, 61. Reign of, 
62-6.6. Laws, 67, 



Prince, 151-153. Cru- 
sade, 152, 153. 
H., reign of, 167-172. 

— lU., reign of, 173-191. 
— , Pi-ince, sent to Paris, 
170. Affianced to Philippa, 
171. 

IV., reign of, 223-229. 

— v., reign of, 229-232. 

— VL, reign of, 293-301. 
— , Prince, birth, 282. 
— , Prince, son of Henry VI., 
murdered, 228. 

Edwardes, Lieutenant, 748. 

Edwin, King of Northumbria, 
27. Bretivalda, 32. Reign, 
ib. Slain, 33. 

, brother of Athelstane, 

death, 48. 

, grandson of Leofric, 

Governor of Mercia, 66, 81- 
83. Rebels, 84, 86. 

Edwy, King, reign of, 50, 51. 

, brother of Edmond Iron- 
side, 58. 

Egbert, King of Wessex, 34 sq. 
Unites the Anglo - Saxon 
kingdoms, 36. Conquests, 
39. Death, 40. 

Egerton, Lord Keeper, 357. 

Egferth's minster, 33. 

Egmont, Count, executed, 332. 

Egremont, Lord, Secretary, 
634, 637. 

Egypt, French in, 681, 683, 
688. Expedition to, 701. 

Elba, Napoleon banished to, 
717. 

Eldon, Lord, Chancellor, 686, 
700. Resigns, 730. 

Eleanor of Guienne marries 
Henry IL, 105, 120. 

of Provence marries Hen- 
ry III., 147. 

Electors, county, 239. 

Eufrida kills her step-son Ed- 
ward, 53. 

Elgiva, sister of Athelstane, 
48. 
— , wife of Ed-wy, 50, 61. 

Eliot, Sir John, remonstrance 
of, 396, 397. 

Elizabeth of York, wife of 
Heniy VIL, 244, 251. 

Elizabeth, Princess, 296. 
Supports Queen Mary, 304. 
Imprisoned, 307. Released 
through Philip, 308. Queen, 
314, Reign of, 314-366. 

, daughter of James I., 

marries Elector Palatine, 
376. 

EUa, 25. Bretivalda., 29. 

, King of Deii-a, 26. 

EUenborough, Lord Chief Jus- 
tice, resigns, 724. 



772 ELLENBOROUGH. 



INDEX. 



FRANCE. 



EUenborough, Lord, 739. Gov- 
ernor General of India, 741. 

Elliot, General, defends Gib- 
raltar, 660. 

Elphinstone, Admiral, 677. 

Emigration, 729 

Emma of Normandy, 54, 55, 
5S. Marries Canute, 59. 
Confined by her son Ed- 
ward, 62. 

Empson, minister of Henry 
VII., 251. Executed, 256. 

Engliien, Duke d', murdered, 
694. 

Eorls (earls), 72. 

Earnest (judicial combat), 75. 

Episcopacy abolished in Scot- 
land, 402. Abjured in En- 
gland, 433. Restored, 479. 

Eric, 24. 

Erskine, Lord Chancellor, 699. 
Dismissed, 700. 

Escheats (feudal), 132. 

Esher, Wolsey's seat, 269. 

Esnas (serfs), 73. 

Essex, Earl of, 352, 354. Lord 
Lieutenant of Ireland, 356. 
Condemned and imprisoned, 
357. Conspires against the 
queen, 359. Executed, 360. 

, Earl of, sides with the 

Commons, 415. Commands 
the Parliament army, 419, 
425, 431. Death, 439. 

. , Earl of, Treasurer, 50S, 

510, 512. Joins Russell's con- 
spiracy, 538. Suicide, 519. 

Estaples, treaty of, 247. 

Ethandun, battle, 43. 

Ethelbald, King of Mercia, 35. 

• , succeeds Ethelwolf, 41. 

Ethelbert, King of Kent, 24. 
Bretwalda^ 30. His laws, 31. 

, King of East Angles, 

murdered by Ofifa, 35. 

, King of England, 41. 

Ethelburga, wife of Edwin, 32. 

Ethelfleda, sister of Edward, 
47. 

Ethelfrith (^delfrid), 27, 32. 

Ethel red. King of Nortlium- 
bria, 33. 

, King, 41. 

the Unready, King, 53. 

Massacres the Danes, 54. 

Ethelward, son of Alfred, 47. 

Ethelwold, son of Ethelred, 
joins the Danes, 47. 

Ethelwolf, King, succeeds Eg- 
bert, 40. 

Eugene, Prince, co-operates 
witli Marlborough, 576. De- 
feats the French at Turin, 
579. Invades France, 5S2. 
Defeated at Denain, 5S9. 

European system, origin, 243. 

Eustace, Count of Boulogne, 
63. 

EutaAV Springs, battle of, 656. 

Eva, daughter of King Dei'- 
niot, 119. 

Evesham, battle, 152. 



Excheqiier Court, 131. 

Exchequer shut up, 493. 

Excise, origin, 429. Heredi- 
tary, granted, 479. 

Exclusion Bill, 508, 511. 
Thrown out, 512. 

Exeter, Duke of. Governor of 
Paris, 210. 

, Marquis of, executed, 

283. 

Exhibition," Great, 741. 

Exmonth, Lord, bombards Al- 
giers, 724. 

Ex officio^ oath, 338, 339. 

Exton, Sir Piers, 198. 

F. 

Fairfax, Lord, Parliamentary 
general, 425, 427, 425. 

, Sir Thomas, 427, 429. 

Commander of Parliament- 
ary forces, 433, 436, 445, 455. 

, Lady, interrupts the 

High Court of Justice, 447. 

Falaise, 137. 

Falkirk, battle, 165, 

Muir, battle, 619. 

Falkland, Lord, 407. Supports 
Strafford's attaindei', 409. 
Opposes the Remonstrance, 
414. Killed, 427. 

Famars, battle, 673. 

Family Compact, 633. 

Fauconberg, Viscount, marries 
Cromwell's daughtei", 469. 

Fawkes, Guy, 372, 374. 

Fayette, Marquis de la, 649. 

Fecamp Abbey, 83. 

Felton, John, affixes the bull 
of excommunication against 
Elizabeth, 331. 

, stabs Buckingham, 394. 

Executed, 395. 

Fenwick, Sir John, joins Bar- 
clay's conspiracy, 560, 561. 

Ferdinand of Aragon deceives 
Henry VIII., 257. 

VH. of Spain, 703, 718. 

IV. of Naples, 699. 

of Brunswick recovers 

Hanover, 627. 

Feudalism, Norman, 89. An- 
glo-Norman, 128 s]. 

Feudal tenures abolished, 478. 

Feversham, Earl of, commands 
against Monmouth, 525, 526, 
532, 536, 537. 

Fiefs, 129. 

Fiennes, Nathaniel, 432. 

Finch, Sir Heneage, 496 (see 
Nottingham). 

, Sir John, Speaker, 397. 

Lord Keeper, 406. 

Fines (feudal), 131, 142. 

FinisteiTe, battle off, 621. Gai- 
dar's, 696. 

Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 
276. Made a cardinal, 278. 
Executed, ib. 

Fisher, Captain, 560. 

Fishguard Bay, French male- 
factors landed at, 678. 



Fitz-Alan, Archbishop, im- 
peached by Commons, 195. 

Fitz-Gerald, Maurice, assists 
King Dermot, 119. 

, Lord Edward, conspiracy 

and death, 684. 

, Mr. Vesey, 731. 

Fitzherbert, Mrs., 665. 

Fitz-Osberne, William, 83. 

Fitz-Stephens, 101. 

, Robert, takes Waterf or d, 

119. 

Fitz-Urse, Reginald, 116. 

Fitz-Walter, Robert, heads the 
barons against King John, 
140. 

Five Burghers (Danes), 44. 
Removed by Edmund, 48. 

Five-mile Act, 486. 

Flamus^ title of, 72. 

Fleetwood, governs Ireland, 
467. Opposes the motion to 
crown Cromwell, 468. His 
son-in-laAv, 471. 

Flemings, the, invade En- 
gland, 120. Treaty of com- 
merce with, 252. 

Fletcher of Saltoun, 581. 

, Sir Robert, mutinies, 

666. 

Fleunis, battle, 675. 

Flodden, battle, 259, 

Folc-land, 73. 

Fontainebleau, Napoleon ab- 
dicates at, 717. 

Fontarabia, expedition to, 257. 

Fontenoy, battle, 615. 

Fontevraud, Henry II. buried 
at, 122. 

Foreigners, address against, 
565. Ineligible to offices or 
to Parliament, 567. 

Forest laws, 90, 91. Charter, 
163. 

, New, 91. 

Forfeitures (feudal), 132. 

Forster, Mr., supports the Pre- 
tender, 596. Surrenders, ih. 

Foss, the, 14. 

Fox, Bishop of Exeter, minis- 
ter of Henry VIL, 244. 

, Geoi-ge, 257. 

, Sir Stephen, 623. 

, Henry, 623. Secretary, 

624. Paymaster of the 
forces, 625. Leads the Com- 
mons, 637. Made Lord Hol- 
land, ib. (see Holland). 

, Charles James, secre- 
tary, 658. Resigns, 659. 
Secretary, 664. Dismissed, 
ib. Foreign secretary, 699. 
Death, 700. 

France, provinces of, possess- 
ed by Henry IL, 110. Ed- 
ward III.'s claim to, 176. 
Title of king assumed by 
him, 177. English expelled 
from, 217. Religious wars 
of, 320 sq., 331. Acknowl- 
edges American independ- 
ence, 650. Threatens an 



FRANCIS I, 



INDEX. 



GRENVILLE. 773 



invasion, 652. Revolution Gaunt, Mrs., 52T. 

in, 670. Extent of the em ; Gave^ton, Piers, 16S, 169. 



pire, 709. Alliance with, 
against Russia, 743. 

Francis I. courts Wolsey, 261. 
Meets Henry VIII. at Ca- 
lais, 262. Captured at Pa- 
\;ia, 265, 266. Recovers his 
liberty, 266, 267. 

IL, husband of Mary, 

Queen of Scot?, 316, 317. 

I., Emperor, 614. 

Francis, Father, 530. 

, Philip, 667. 

Frankalmoign^ tenure, 129. 

Franklin, 129. 

, Dr. , 639. Dismissed from 

post- office, 64.5. Negotia- 
tions, 64S, 649. At Paris, 
659, 661. 

Frankpledge, 47, 74. 

Frederick, Elector Palatine, 
marries Princess Elizabeth, 
376. Elected King of Bo- 
hemia, 3S0, 381, 3S3. 

IL of Prussia invades Si- 
lesia, 612. Invades Bohemia 
and Moravia, 614. His cam- 
paigns in Seven Years' War, 
626 sq. 

, Prince of Wales, 60S. 



General warrants, 63S, 

Genoa united to France, 6S9. 
Annexed to Sardinia, 71S. 

Geoffrey (Plantagenet) of An- 
jou, marines Matilda, daugh- 
ter of Henry I., 101, lOS. 

, son of Henry II., 120, 

122. 

, natural son of Heniy 

II., 122, 123. 

George I., reign of, .593-605. 

II. , reign of, 606-630. 

III., reign of, 631-726. 

IV.j reign of, 727-733. 

, Prince of Wales, dissi- 
pation and extravagance, 
665. Regent, 710. 

, Prince of Denmark, mar- 
ries Anne 520, 535, 574, 
592. 

Georgia, disputes with Spain 
respecting, 60S. 

Gerard, Baltazar, assassinates 
the Prince of Orange, 339. 

Germain, St., of Auxerre, 13, 
15. ■ 

Germaine, Lord George (Sack- 
vnie) colonial secretaiy, 647. 

Germantown, battle of, 649 



Marries Augusta of Saxe- Gemian troops, hiring of, 648. 

Gotha, ib. Death, 623. JGeta, 11. 
Freeman, Mrs., name ofj. -, Cn. Osidius, 8. 

Duchess of Marlborough, : Ghent, Treaty of, 719. 

574. j Gibbon, Memoire Justificatif, 

Freemen, equality of, 2G6. j 652. 
French language abolished in' Gibraltar taken, 578. Relin- 



pleadings, 191. 
Frere, Mr., 704. 
Freya, 21. 
Fiiborg (frankpledge), 74. 



quished by Spain, 60S. Me- 
morable siege, 660. 
Gifford reveals Babington's 
conspiracy, 342. 
Friend, Sir John, conspiracy Gilds, Anglo-Saxon, 75. 

against William IH., 561. jGinkell, 548. Takes Athlone, 
553. Besieges Limerick, ib. 



Frisians, 20, 37. 
Fnth-borh, U. 
Fnth-gilds., 75. 
Frobisher, 350. 
Frontinus, Julius, 10. 
Fuentes de Onoro, battle, 711. 
Fulford, battle, 68. 

G. 

Gage, General, 646. 

Gainsborough, battle, 427. 

Galgacus, 11. 

Galway, Earl of (Ruvigny), ex- 
pedition to Spain, 579, 581. 

Gambier, Admiral, bombards 
Copenhagen, 701, 702. 

Gardiner, Bishop of Winches- 
ter, 277, 286. Opposes Ref- 
ormation, 295. Deprived, 
299. Restored, 305. Prime 
minister, 306. Favors per- 
secution, 30S. 

Garter, order, instituted, 1S3. 

Gascoigne, Chief Justice, 205. 

Gates, General, 655. 

Gaul, occupied by the Alani, 
etc., 13 

Gauls, 3. 



Gisele, wife of Rollo, 78. 

Githa, Harold's mother, S3. 

Glamorgan, Earl of, treaty 
"vvith Irish rebels, 437. 

Glastonbury Abbey, 49. 

Glencoe, massacre of, 554 sq. 

Glendower, Owen, 202-204. 

Gloucester, Duchess of, does 
penance for witchcraft, 216. 

, Earl of, leader of the bar- 
ons, 151. Guardian, 1.55. 

■ -, Duke of, uncle of Rich- 
ard IL, regent, 193-195. 

, Duke of, guardian of En- 
gland, 210, 215, 216. Mur- 
dered, 216. 

, Richard, Duke of, assists 

in the murder of Prince Ed- 
ward, 228. Regent, 230. 
Seizes Edward V., ib. 
Named protector, ib. Ac- 
cepts the crown, 232. (Rich- 
ard HL) 

, Duke of (son of Anne), 

death, 566. 

, statute of, 156. 

Goderich, Viscount, premier, 



730, 731. Colonial secreta- 
ry, 734. 

Godfrey, Sir Edmondsbuiy, 
502. Murdered, 503. 

Godolphin, Lord, Treasurer, 
574, 5S4. Impeaches Sache- 
verell, 585. Death, 5S9. 

Godov, Don Emanuel, Prince 
of Peace, 667, 702. 

Godwin, Earl, 60, 64. 

Gondomar, 379, 3S0. 

Good Hope, Cape, taken, 677. 

Goojerat, battle, 748. 

Gordon, Duke of, opposes Wil- 
liam IH., 549. 

, Lord George, riots, 653 

sq. 

Goring, 409. Governor of 
Portsmouth, 417, 424. 

Gormanstone, Lord, heads the 
English of the pale, 413. 

Gortz, Baron, 600. 

Gough, General Sir Hugh, 748. 

Goulburn, Mr., Chancellor of 
Exchequer, 731, 739. 

Gourdon, Bertrand de, wounds 
Richard I., 127. 

Gower, 237. 

. Earl, President of Coun- 
cil, 664. 

, Lord Leveson, embassy 

to St. Petersburgh, 701. 

Grafton, Duke of, deserts 
James H., 535. 

, Duke of, Secretaiy, 640. 

Head of treasuiy, 641, 643. 

Graham's Dike, 11. 

Graham of Claverhouse, 509. 
(see Dundee). 

, Sii- Tliomas, 715. Expe- 
dition to Holland, 718. 

, Sir James, Home Secre- 
tary, 739. 

Grammont, Duke de, 613. 

Granby, Marquess of, 632. 

Grand Coatumier, or Great 
Customary, 131. 

Grantham, Lord, Secretary, 
659. 

Granville, Earl, Lord Lieuten- 
ant of Ireland, 603. 

, Earl (Carteret), resigns, 

614. 

Grattan, Henry, 658. 

Graves, Admiral, 656. 

Gray, Lady Jane, mames Lord 
Dudley, 301. Proclaimed 
queen, 304. Beheaded, 307. 

, Master of, advises the 

death of his queen, 344, 345. 

Great Britain, name of En- 
gland and Scotland united, 
581. 

Greece, independence of, 730. 

Greek professorship, first, 292. 

Greenwich Hospital, 557. 

Gregg executed, 584. 

Gregory the Great, Pope, con- 
verts the Saxons, 30. 

XV., Pope, 385. 

, Speaker, 507. 

Grenville, Sir John, 4T5. 



774 GRENVILLE. 



INDEX. 



HENRY. 



Grenville, George, Secretary, 
634, 63T. First Lord of Treas- 
ury and (Jhaneellor of Ex- 
chequer, ib. Proposes Amer- 
ican Stamp Act, 638, 641. 

, Lord, coalesces with Fox, 

694. Premier, 699, TOO. 

, Thomas, at Admiralty, 

683. 

Grey, Lord, of Ruthyn, 202. 

, Lord, plots against 

James I., 371. 

, Lord of Groby, 446. 

, Lord, at Sedgemoor, 525. 

, Earl {see Howick), pre- 
mier, 733. Resigns, 737. 

• , Sir Thomas, executed, 

207. 

, General Sir Charles, 676. 

Grim, Cambridge monk, 116. 

Grimstone, Sir Harbottle, 
Speaker, 475. 

Grindal, Archbishop of Can- 
terbuiy, 338. 

Grove, 501. Executed, 506, 

Guader, Ralph de. Earl of Nor- 
folk, 87. Rebels, ib. 

Guardians of the Realm, 155, 
211. 

Guiana, Raleigh's expeditions 
to, 354, 379. 

Guillotine, ambulatory, 674. 

Guinegate, or Spurs^ battle, 
258. 

Guiscard stabs Harley, 587. 

Guise, Duke of, takes Calais, 
311. Designs against Eliz- 
abeth, 317. Seizes Catherine 
de Medicis, 320. 

, Duke of, forms the 

League, 335. Assassinated, 
352. 

, Cardinal, assassinated, 

352. 

Gunilda massacred by Ethel- 
red, 54. 

Gunpowder Plot, 372 sqf 

Gurth, son of Godwin, 63, 68. 

Guthrum, the Dane, 43. Bap- 
tized, 44. 

Guthry, 480. 

Gwynn, Eleanor, note., 521. 

Gyllenborg, Count, 600. 

H. 

Habeas Coi-pus, 142, 508, 522. 

Hacker executed, 479. 

Hadrian, rampart of, 12. 

Hales, Sir Edward, collusive 
trial of, 527, 528. Attends 
the flight of James n.,536. 

Halidown Hill, battle, 176. 

Halifax, Marquess of, 508. Op- 
poses Exclusion Bill, 512, 
Privy seal, 516. President 
of council, 524, 528. Sent 
to Prince of Orange, 535, 
Speaker of the Peers, 5S6, 
Tenders the crown to Wil- 
liam and Mary, 538. Privy 
seal, 546, 547, 551. 

, Earl of (Montague), 567, 



Dismissed, 573. Embassy to 
Hanover, 580. First lord of 
treasury, 594. 

Halifax, Earl of, Secretary, 
637. 

— (Nova Scotia), founded, 
622. 

Hallelujah victory, 13. 

Hamilton, Marquess of, em- 
ployed against the Cove- 
nanters, 402. 

— , Duke of, raises men in 
support of Charles L, 444. 
Defeated, 445. Executed, 
449. 

— , Duke of, opposes Hano- 
verian succession, 580. Op- 
poses union, 581. 
— , Colonel, 555. 
— , Lady, 698. 

Hammond, Governor of Caris- 
brooke, 442. 

Hampden, John, refuses to pay 
ship-money, 400. Opposes 
Strafford's attainder, 409, 
note. Accused of treason, 
415. KUled, 426. 
— , John (grandson), joins 
Monmouth's conspiracy, 
517. Apprehended, 518. 
Fined, 520. 
— , Clubs, 723. 

Hampton Court, conference 
at, 371. 

Hanover, electoral prince of, 
naturalized, 581. Treaty of, 
604. Overrun by the French, 
626. Seized by Prussia, 686. 
By France, 693. Made a 
kingdom, 718. Separated 
from British crown, 737. 

Hanoverian succession sup- 
ported by peers, 575, 580. 
Rejected by Scotch Parlia- 
ment, 580 sq. 

Harcourt, Sir Simon, 585. 
Chancellor, 586. 

Hardi-Canute, king, reign of, 
60, 61. 

Hardinge, Sir Heniy, Govern- 
or General of India, 748. 

Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor, 
610. Resigns, 632. 

Hardy, Sir Charles, 652. 

, Captain, 698. 

Harfleur taken by Henry V., 
207. 

Hargreaves, 751. 

Harley, Sir Robert, destroys 
the crosses at Charing and 
Cheapside, 407. 

Harley, Robert, Speaker, 566, 
568. Secretary, 584. Sup- 
planted, 585. Chancellor 
of Exchequer, 586. Corre- 
sponds with Duke of Ber- 
wick, ib. Made Earl of Ox- 
ford and Treasurer, 587 (see 
Oxford). 

Harold Harefoot, son of Ca 
nute, 60, 61. 

, son of Earl Godwin, 62- 



66. Accedes to the throne, 

67. Defeats Harold Hardra- 
da and Tosti, 68. Defeated 
and slain at Hastings, 70. 

Harold Hardrada, 68. 

Harrington, Earl of. Secreta- 
ry, 608, 614. Lord Lieuten- 
ant of Ireland, 621. 

Harrington, 539. 

Harris, General, 746. 

Harrison, Colonel, 447. 

Hasting, the Dane, 45. 

Hastings, battle, 69, 70. 
— , claims the Scotch crown, 
159. 

— , Lord, his fidelity, 230, 
231. 

— , Marquess, Governor 
General of India, 747. 
— , Warren, impeached, 665. 
First governor general of 
India, 666. Administration, 
667 sq. Impeachment, 669. 

Hatfield, James, shoots at 
George IIL, 685. 

Hatton, Sir Christopher, 348. 

Haugwitz, 695. 

Havana taken, 634. 

Havelock, General, 749. 

Havre occupied by the En- 
glish, 320. 

Hawke, Admiral Sir Edward, 
621-625. Expedition against 
Rochefort, 626. Victory off 
Quiberon, 628. 

Hawkins, Sir John, 353. 
— , Richard, son of Sir John, 
353. 

Hawley, General, 619. 

Hazlerig, Sir Arthur, 415, 474. 

Heathfield, Lord {see Elliot). 

Hedgley Moor, battle, 224. 

Helder, the, taken, 683. 

Helena, wife of Constantius, 
12. 

Helie de St. Saen, 99, 100. 

Heligoland, 702. 

Hengist and Horsa, 23, 24, 26. 

Henley, Lord Chancellor, 632. 

Henriettaof France, 384. Mar- 
ries Charles I., 388. Sells 
the crown-jewels, 419. 

Heney L, reign of, 97-102. 
Besieged by his brothers at 
St. Michael's Mount, 94. 

IL, reign of, 108-123. 

, Prince, acquires Nor- 
mandy, Anjou, and Maine, 
105. Marries Eleanor of 
Guienne, ib. Invades En- 
gland, 106. 

HI., reign of, 144-153. 

IV., reign of, 201-204. 

v., reign of, 205-211. 

VI., reign of, 211-222. 

VIL, reign of, 242-253. 

VIH., reign of, 255-292. 

, son of Henry H., crown- 
ed, 115. Rebels, 120. Death, 
122. 

, Prince, son of James I., 

death, 375, 376. 



HENRY VI. 



INDEX. 



IRELAND. 



Heniy VI., empeixrr, releases 
Richard I., 126, 127.' , 

III., of France, assassin- 
ated, 3-52. 

IV., of. France, assisted 

by Elizabeth,' ■ 352. Re- 
nounces Protestantism, 353. 
Assassinated, 375. 

of Blois, Bishop of Win 

Chester, 102, 104. 
-—--^ Patrick, 640. 
Heptarchy, the, 27. 
Herbert, Attorney General, 
irbpeaches Lord Kimbolton 
and the five members, 415. 
— ^, Sir Edward, Chief Jus- 
tice, dictum on the dispens- 
ing power, 528. 

, Admiral, Earl of Tor- 

rington, 553. 
Heresy, first penal law 

against, 202. 
Heretics, commission to exam- 
ine, 297. Laws against, re- 
vived, 308. 

Heretoga^ 71. 

Hereward, resists the Nor- 
mans, 87. 

Hennin Street (see Irmin) 

Hertford, Earl of, 290. Pro- 
tector, 293. Created Duke 
of Somerset, 294 (see Somer 
set). 

, Marquess of, retires be 

fore the Parliamentary 
army, 424. Overruns Dev- 
on, 426. 

Hesse, Landgrave of, subsidi- 
ary treaty with, 624. 

Hewitt, Dr., beheaded, 470. 

Hexham, battle, 224. 

Heydon, Sir John, 424. 

Heyle, Sergeant, 363. 

High Commission Court, 315, 
New, 339, 365. Abolished, 
411. 

Court of Justice to try 

Charles L, 446. 

HUl, Abigail (Masham, Mrs.), 
584. 

— , Sir Rowland, 706, 712, 
715. 

, Rowland, postal reform, 

752. 

HiUsborough, Earl of, 642, 643, 

Himilco, the Carthaginian, 2. 

Histrio-Mastix^ Piynne's, 399. 

Hiwiccas^ 44. 

Hlcefdige^ (lady), 72. 

Hlaford (lord), 75. 

Hobbes, 539. 

Hoche, General, 676. 

Hoel, Count, of Nantes, 110. 

Holgate, Archbishop of York, 
305. 

Holkar, 746. 

Holland, revolts, 335. Treaty 
with, ib. Elizabeth pro- 
tector of, 339. War with, 
655. Overrun by French, 
675. Annexed to France, 
T09, 



Holland, Earl of, executed, 



449. 

Hollis, holds the speaker, 397. 
Character, 406. Accused of 
treason, 415. Opposes Crom- 
well, 445, 446. 

Holmby, Charles I. confined 
at, 439. Seized at, 440. 

Holmgang (judicial combat), 
75. 

Holy Alliance, 723. 

Homage, ecclesiastical, 100. 
Described, 129. 

Homilies, twelve, 295. 

Hone, William, prosecuted, 
724. 

Honorius ' withdraws his le- 
gions from Britain, 13. 

Hood, Sir Samuel, admiral, 
656. Made an Irish baron, 
659. Takes Toulon, 673, 
Corsica, 676, 

Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, 
306. Burned, 308. 

Hopson, Admiral, 574. 

Hopton, Sir Ralph, reduces 
Cornwall, 425. 

Horn Tooke, 649, 676. 

Horn, County executed, 332, 
333. 

Horsa, tomb of, 24. 

Hoste, Sir WUliam, 707. 

Hotham, Sir John, Parlia- 
mentaiy governor of Hull, 
417, 419, 428. 

Hotspur, 194, 203. 

Howard, Catherine, marries 
Henry VIH., 286. 

, Admiral Sir Edward, 

killed, 25S. 

, Lord of Effingham, ad' 

miral, 350. Defeats the 
Spanish Armada, 351. Ex- 
pedition to Cadiz, 354. 
Created Earl of Notting- 
ham, ib. 

, Lord, joins M(Amouth's 

conspiracy, 517, 5l8. 

Howe,- General, 646. Take; 
New York, 648. Philadel- 
phia, 649, 

— , Lord, expedition against 
Cherbourg, 627, 659. Re- 
lieves Gibraltar, 660. First 
lord of admiralty, 664 Vic- 
tory of 1st June, 676. 

Howick, Lord, at admiralty, 
699. Foreign secretary, 700. 
Bill for Catholic emancipa- 
tion, ib. (see Grey). 
Hubert, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, 138. 
Hugh Capet, 79, 
Huguenots, 320. Assisted by 
Elizabeth, *., 331, 332, 
Their strength, 334, Expe- 
dition against, 389, 
Humber, country beyond, de- 
vastated by William, 85. 
Humble Petition and Advice., 

bill so called, 408, 469. 
Hundreds, 74. Mote, ib. 



Hunt, Henry, 723. 

Huntingdon, Earl of, appre- 
hended, 556. 

Huskisson, Mr., 731. 

Hus-thing (Hustings), 75. 

Hutchinson, General, 689, 

Huysduinen taken, 683. 

Hyde, Anne, marries Duke of 
York, 479, 492, 493. 

, Sir Edward, 407. Sup- 
ports Strafford's attainder, 
409. Opposes the Remon- 
strance, 414. Created Earl 
of Clarendon, 478 {see Clar- 
endon), 

, Lawrence, treasurer, 

510. Earl of Rochester, 516 
(see Rochester). 

Hyder Ali, 666, 668. 



Ibrahim Pasha, 730, 

Iceni, 9. 

Icon Basilike., account of, 450, 

Ictis, isle of, 3. 

Ida, King of Bernicia, 27. 

Iden kills Cade, 219. 

lerne, 2. 

IkenUd Street, 14. 

Impeachment, first instance, 
239. Revived, 381. Differs 
from attainder, 409, note. 
Not pardonable by croivn, 
507, 567. 

Imprisonment, arbitrary, ab- 
rogated by the Charter, 141. 

Ina, King of Wessex, 34. His 
laws, ib. 

Income tax, 739. 

Independents, rise of, 431. 

India, British history, 636 sg. 
665 sq., 746 sq. 

Indulgence, Declaration of, 
482, 493, 495. Canceled by 
Charles H., 496. James 
IL's declaration of, 529, 531, 

Inglis, Sir Robert, 732. 

Inkei-mann, battle, 744. 

Innocent HI., Pope, 138. Ex- 
communicates King John, 
139. Abrogates Magna 
Charta, 143. 

Inquisition, introduction at- 
tempted, 309, 

Instrument of Government, 
463. 

Investitures, what, 100, Re- 
signed by Heniy I., ib. 

Ionian Islands taken, 707. 

Ireland, early history, 118. 
Conquered by Henry H., 
119. Under Elizabeth, 355. 
Rebellion, 412. English 
massacred, 412. Reduced 
by Cromwell, 454. How 
ruled by him, 467. Grants 
of foi'feited estates in, re- 
versed, 564. Union with 
England, 684, 685. Dis- 
turbances in, 735, 736. Co- 
ercion Bill, 736, Famine, 
740, 741. 



776 



IRELAND. 



INDEX. 



LANGDALE. 



Ireland, Father, executed, 506, 

Ireton, 436, 442, 445. Com 
mands in Ireland, 455, 
Takes Limerick, 458. 

Irmin Street, 14. 

Isaac, ruler of Cyprus, 125. 

Isabella, second wife of King 
John, 136. 

. , daughter of Philip the 

Fair, marries Prince Ed- 
ward (Edward II.), 164. In- 
trigues with Mortimer, 171. 
Invades England, ib. Im- 
prisoned, 115. 

, daughter of Charles VI. , 

affianced to Richard II. , 195. 
Restoi-ed to France, 204. 

Isca Silurum, 14. 

Islands, claim of Pope to, 118. 

J. 

Jacobite Plot, 603. 

Jamaica acquired, 466. In- 
surrection in, 736. 

James I., reign of, 369-387. 

II., reign of, 523-543. 

. I. of Scotland, detained 

at English court, 204. Re- 
stored, 211. 

IV. of Scotland supports 

Perkin Warbeck, 249. Mar- 
ries Margaret, daughter of 
Henry VII., 251. Slain at 
Flodden, 259. 

. V. of Scotland, 2S7. 

VI. of Scotland, 326, 344, 

347 (see James I. of En- 
gland). 

, Pretender, birth, 532 

(see Pretender). 

Jane of Flanders, 178. 

of Navarre, second wife 

of Henry IV., 205. 

Jaqueline of Luxembourg 
marries the Duke of Bed- 
ford, 215. Marries Sir Rich- 
ard Woodville, 225. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 645, 647. 

Jeffreys, Chief Justice, 519. 
Bloody circuit, 526, Chan- 
cellor, 527. Killed by the 
populace, 536. 

Jena, battle of, 699. 

"Jenkins's ears," 608. 

Jephson, Colonel, 468. 

Jerusalem taken by Saladin, 
122. 

Jervis, Admiral Sir John, 676. 
Defeats the Spanish fleet, 
679. Made Earl St. Vin- 
cent, ib. 

Jesuits, conspiracies of, 337. 
Law against, ib. 

Jews massacred, 124. Ban- 
ished, 158. How excluded 
from Parliament, 731. Ad- 
mitted, 750. 

Joan d'Arc, history, 212 sq. 
Captured and burned, 214, 
215. 

Joan of Kent (see Bocher). 

John, Prince, sent to Ireland, 



121. Rebels, 122. Intrigues 
against his brothei". King 
Richard, 126. King, reign 
of, 136-144. 

John, King of France, cap- 
tured by the Black Prince 
at Poitiers, 185, 187. 

Jones, Colonel, takes posses- 
sion of Dublin, etc., 453. 

, Inigo, 543. 

, J. Gale, 708. 

, Paul, 652. 

Joppa, 125. 

Joseph I., Emperor, 579. 

Jourdan, General, 675. 

Joyce, Cornet, seizes Charles 
L, 440. 

Judges brought to trial, 158. 
Displaced by James H., 528. 
Made independent of the 
crown, 567. 

Judith of France, 41. 
— , sister of the Conqueror, 
84, 88. 

Julius II., Pope, allures Hen- 
ry VIIL, 256. 
— HI., Pope, 305. 
— , martyrdom of, 15. 

Junot, Marshal, 702, 703. 

Junta of Seville, 703. 

Junto., the, 584. 

Jury, 47, 74, 75. Account of 
trial by, 154. Exempted 
from fines, 491, 499. 

Justice, arbitrary administra- 
tion of, under Tudors, 364. 

Justices, itinerant, 121, 131, 
150. 

Justiciary, 124. Chief, 131. 
For life, 146. 

Justinian, the English, title 
of Edward L, 167. 

Jutes, 21. 

Juxon, Bishop of London, ad- 
vice to Charles I., 410. At- 
tends his execution, 449. 

K. 

Kalisch, alliance of, 716. 

Keane, Sir John, 747. 

Keith, Sir WiUiam, 344. 

Ken, Bishop of Bath and 
Wells, 530. 

Kendal, Duchess of, 598 (Bar- 
oness Schulenburg), 602, 
603. 

Kenilworth, Edward H. con- 
fined at, 171. 

Kenmure, Lord, proclaims 
Pretender, 596. Executed, 
598. 

Kennett, Lord Mayor, pun- 
ished, 654. 

Kent, kingdom of, 24. 

, Earl of, joins Isabella 

and Mortimer, 171. Exe- 
cuted by Mortimer, 174. 

, Earl of, superintends the 

execution of Queen Mary, 
345. 

Kent, Duke of, dies, 725. 

Kenyon, Lord, 686. 



Keppel, Earl of Albemai-le, 
564. 

, Admiral, 652. First lord 

of admiralty, 658. 

Ket, Norfolk rebel, 298. 

Keymis, Captain, follower of 
Raleigh, 379. 

Kildare, Fitzgerald, Earl of, 
supports Simnel, 245. 

Killiecrankie, battle, 549. 

Kilmai'nock, Earl, execiited, 
620. 

Kimbolton, Lord, sides with 
the Commons, 415. 

King, Anglo-Sax., elective, 71. 
De facto., allegiance to, pro- 
tected by law, 253. Statute 
pleaded by Vane, 481. 

, Colonel, moves Charles's 

restoration, 475. 

King's Bench Court, 131. 

Kirke, Colonel, inhumanity, 
526. At Londonderry, 550. 

Kirkpatrick, Sir Thomas, as- 
sassinates Comyn, 166. 

Kleber, General, 684. 

Kloster Seven, convention of, 
626. 

Knight-service, 129. 

Knox, John, 317. Insults 
Queen Mary, 318. 



La Chaise, Pere, 502. 

Lackland, name of John, 136. 

Lahmen., what, 75. 

La Hogue, battle, 556, 557. 

Lake, Bishop of Chichester, 
530. 

, General, defeats Irish 

rebels, 685. 

, Lord, takes Delhi, etc., 

747. 

Lambert, General, opposes the 
crowning of Cromwell, 468. 
Intrigues against Richard 
CroniAvell, 472. Expels Long 
Parliament, 473. Excepted 
from indemnity, 478. Trial, 
481. Reprieved, 482. 

Lancaster, Thomas, Earl of, 
conspires against Gaveston, 
168. Makes war on Edward 
n.,170. Executed, i&. 

, Earl of, guardian, 173. 

, John of Gaunt, Duke of, 

espouses the daughter of 
Peter of CastUe, 188. Sells 
his pretensions to that 
crown, 194. Influence over 
Richard H., 194. Death, 

195. Encouraged Wickliffe, 
198. 

, Henry, Duke of, son of 

Gaunt, invades England, 

196. Deposes Richard II., 

197. Seizes the crown, ib. 
(HeniylV.). Genealogy, ift. 

Lanfranc, Archbishop of Can- 

terbuiy, 86, 90. 
Langdale, Sir Mannadiike, 

444, 445. . 



LANGHORNE. 



INDEX, 



777 



Langhorne, executed, 509. 

Langside, battle, 326. 

Langton, Cardinal, elected 
primate, 139, 140. Discov- 
ei's Henry I.'s charter, ib. 

Lansdown, battle, 4r'26. 

Lansdo^v^ne, Marquess of, pres- 
sident of council, 734. 

Latimer, Bishop, imprisoned, 
2S4. Burned, 309. 

Latin words in English, 14. 

Laud, Bishop, 396, 39S. Arch- 
bishop of Canterbuiy, 400. 
Attacked at Lambeth, 404. 
Lnpeached, 434. Executed, 
ib. 

Lauderdale, Earl of, 433, 509. 

La^v", common, 233. 

Laws, how made, 239. 

Law's scheme, 602. Failure 
of, 602. 

Lawson, Admiral, declares for 
Long Parliament, 474 

League, Catholic, 335. Go%'- 
erned by Duke of Mayenne, 
852. Dissolution of, 353. 

. and Covenant, Solemn, 

423. American, 645. 

Leake, Sii" John, Admu-al, 579, 
583. 

Leeds, battle, 33. 

, Duke of (Danby), im- 
peached, 559. 

Legge, Henry, Chancellor of 
Exchequer, 623, 632. 

Legion of Honor, 690. 

Legislation, Anglo - Norman, 
131. 

Leicester, Earl of, 120. 

, Simon de Montfort, Earl 

of, caUs a meeting of the 
barons, 149. Defeats Hen- 
ry HI. at Lewes, 151. Sum- 
mons a Parliament, ib. 
Slain, 152. 

, Dudley, Earl of, 321. 

Commissioner to try Mary, 
327. Favors the Puritans, 
331. Forms an association 
to defend the queen, 337. 
Commands in Holland, 340. 

Leinster, kingdom of, 118. 

Leipsic, battle of, 716. 

Le'th, evacuated, by the 
French, 317. 

Lenox, Earl of, 2SS. Con- 
spires against Rizzio, 323. 
Accuses the Queen of Scots, 
327. Regent, 330. 

, Countess of, imprisoned, 

321. 

Lenthal, Speaker, 405. Re- 
pairs to the army, 442. 
Speaker again, 464, 474. 

Leo X., Pope, 257. Dies, 264. 

Leodr/ild.! what, 74. 

Leofric, Earl of Mercia, 61 , 63. 

Leofu assassinates Edmund, 
48. 

Leofwin, son of Godwin, 63, 69. 

Leopold, Duke of Austria, ar- 
rests Richard L, 126. 



Leopold, of Saxe-Coburg (after- 
ward King of the Belgians), 
Prince, consort of Princess 
Charlotte, 724. 

Lesley, Scotch general, 455. 
Defeated at Dunbar, 456. 

Levelers, 443. Put down by 
Cromwell, ib. 

Leven, Earl of, commands the 
Scotch Covenanters, 428. 
Joins Lord Fau'fax, 429. 

Lever jMaur, or the Great 
Light (Lucius), 15. 

Lewes, battle, 151. Mise of, 
ib. 

Lexington, skirmish at, 646. 

Ligny, battle, 720. 

Ligonier, Lord, 615. 

Lilla saves Edwin, 32. 

Limerick, siege of, 552. Paci- 
fication of, 553. 

Limoges, massacre of, 188. 

Lincoln, battle, 145. 

, John, Earl of, supports 

Simnel, 245. 

Lindesey, Earl of, commands 
the expedition to Rochelle, 
395. 

Lindisfarne, 33. 

Lindsay, Earl of, commands 
Charles's army, 424, 425. 

Liprandi, General, 744. 

Lisbon entered, 704. 

Lisle, Sir George, executed, 
445. 

, Lady, condemned, 527. 

Litany, English, 239. 

Literature under Edward IH. , 
237. Elizabeth, 365. The 
Stuarts, 542. Since Revo- 
lution, ib. 

Littleton, Solicitor General, 
389. 

Liturgy, Edward VI.' s, 296. 
Revised, 300. Elizabeth's, 
315. English, imposed on 
Scotch Church, 401. 

Liverpool, Lord, secretary at 
war, 708. Premier, 711, 730. 

Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, 
156. Conquered by Edward 
L, 157. 

Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph, 
530. 

Loan, general, 891. 

Locke, 539. 

Lollards, 198, 206. 

Lollius Urbicus, rampart of, 11. 

London, Roman colony, 10. 
Burned, ib. Rebuilt by Al- 
fred, 44. Besieged by the 
Northmen, 53. Early com- 
merce of, 75. Fortified by 
the Conqueror, 82. Bridsre, 
97. Charter, 93. Fran- 
chise established by Magna 
Charta, 141. Annual 

mayor, 144. First stone 
bridge, ib. Pestilence, 184 
Plague, 820. Sides -nith 
Parliament, 423. Train- 
bands, 425. Valor of, 427. 

Kk 2 



Overawed by Cromwell's 
army, 441. Plague, 436. 
Fire of, 4S7. Improved, ib. 
Charter surrendered, 516. 
In the Gordon riots, 655. 
Effect of French Revolution 
at, 672. 

Londonderiy, siege of, 550. 
Relieved, 551. 

Long Island, evacuated by 
Americans, 643. 

Longsword, WUliam, natural 
son of Heniy H., 123. 

Lords, House of, 238. 

Lords justices, 593, 601. 

Lords lieutenant instituted, 
298. 

Loughborough, Lord, retires, 
636 (see Wedderburn). 

Louis d'Outremer, 48. 

the Fat, 100. 

VII. , alliance with Hen- 
ry II., 110. Supports Beck- 
et, 114 

, Prince (Louis Viil.), son 

of Philip, assists the En- 
glish barons, 143. Evacu- 
ates England, 145. 

^^^. takes RocheUe, 146. 

IX. repulses Henry HI., 

147. Generous treaty with 
him, 151. Arbitrates be- 
tween him and the barons, 
151. Death, 152. 

XI. assists Queen Marga- 
ret, 224 Forwards War- 
wick's invasion, 226. Treaty 
with Edward IV., 228. 

Xn. marries Princess 

Marv, 259. Death, ib. 

XrV., character, 490. In- 
vades the Netherlands, ib. 
Invades Holland, 493. Re- 
vokes Edict of Nantes, 527. 
Reception of James IL, 536. 
Lends him a fleet, 549. Abet.s 
his invasion, .556. Acknowl- 
edges the Pretender, 568. 
Sues for peace, 583. Death, 
595. 

XV. , accession, 595. In- 
vades Flanders, 614. 

XVin. restored, 717. 

Flies, 719. Restored, 722. 

Philippe, King of the 

French, 733. Expelled, 741. 

, Prince, of Baden, 576. 

Louisbourg taken, 615, 627. 

Lovat, Lord, temporizing con- 
duct, 616, 618. Interview 
with Charles Edward, 620. 
Captured, ib. Executed, ib. 

Lovel, Lord, insurrection of, 
245. Fate, 246. 

Lovalists, American, indemni- 
fied, 661. 

Lucas, Sir Charles, executed, 
445. 

Lucius, Prince, 15. 

Ludlow, Colonel, 445, 458. 

Lundy, 550. 

Lupus, 15. 



778 



LUTHER. 



INDEX. 



MATILDA. 



Luther, 264. 

Lyndhurst, Lord, Chancellor, 

730, T39. ■ 
Lynedoch, Lord (Graham), 

victoiy at Barrosa, 710. 
Lynn, disaster of King John 

at, 143. 
Lyons, Admiral Lord, 744. 

Expedition to Kertch, etc., 

ib. 

M. 

Macbeth, 64. 

Macclesfield, Lord Chancellor, 
fined for peculation, 604. 

, Earl of, 621. 

MacDonald, Flora, 621. 

Mclan of Glencoe, 554. 

Mcintosh, Brigadier, 596, 597. 

Macintosh, Sir James, Vindi- 
cice Gallicce^ 671. Improves 
criminal law, 754. 

Mack, General, defeated at 
Ulm, 695. 

Madras, 635. 

Mseat93, 11, 12. 

Magna Charta, 141. Annul- 
led by Innocent III., 143. 
Confirmations of, 14S, 154, 
163. 

Maida, battle, 699. 

Main^ the plot, 371. 

Mainfroy, King of Sicily, 148. 

Maintenon, Madame de, 5S2. 

Mainwaring, sermon of, 391. 
Impeached, 394. 

Maitland, Captain, carries 
Napoleon to England, 722. 

Major generals, Cromwell's, 
464. 

Malcolm, King of Scotland, 
48. 

n. reduced by Canute, 60. 

in. (Kenmore), 64 sq. 

, King of Scotland, 84, 85. 

Marries Margaret, sister of 
Edgar Atheling, 85. Sub- 
dued by Duke Robert, 95. 

, Sir John, 747. 

Malmesbuiy, battle of, 106. 

, Lord, embassy to Paris, 

678. 

Malplaquet, battle, 583. 

Malta, taken by the French, 
681. Surrendered, 686. 

Malt-tax, occasions riots in 
Scotland, 604. 

Manchester, Earl of, takes 
Lincoln, 430. Defeats 
Charles at Newbury, 431, 
432. 

, Earl of, lord chamber- 
lain, 478. 

, riots at, 725. 

Mancus (coin), 40. 

Mandeville, 237. 

Mandubratius, 8. 

Manners, 542, 754. 

Manny, Sir Walter, 178. 

Mansfield, Lord (Murray), 
chief justice, 625, 642. Li- 
braiy burned, 654. 



Mantes burned, 89. 

Manufactures, Flemish, intro- 
duced into England, 333. 
British,prohibited in France, 
674, 751. 

Mar's insurrection, 596. 

March, Mortimer, Earl of (see 
Mortimer). 

Margaret, sister of Edgar Ath- 
eling, marries Malcolm, 85. 

, the maid of Norway, 

159. Queen of Scotland, 
ib. 

of France, marries Hen- 

ly n., 110. 

, sister of PhUip the Fair, 

marries Edward I., 164. 

of Anjou, marries Henry 

VL, 216. Gains the battle 
of Wakefield, 221. Of St. 
Alban's, 222. Army defeat- 
ed at Towtou, 224. Twice 
defeated, ib. Escapes to 
Flanders, 225. Eeconciled 
with Warwick, 226. Lands 
at Weymouth, 228. Cap- 
tured at Tewkesbury, ib. 
Death, 229. 

, daughter of Heniy VII., 

marries James IV. of Scot- 
land, 251. Eegent of Scot- 
land, 259. 

Maria Louisa, Archduchess, 
marries Napoleon, 707. 

Maria Theresa, of Austria, suc- 
cession opposed, 611. Flies 
to Hungary, 612. Support- 
ed by Parliament, ib., 614. 

Marian exiles, 331. 

Markham, Sir Griffin, plots 
against James I., 371. 

Marlborough, Duke of, expe- 
dition to Ireland, 552. Plots 
the restoration of James, 
556. Committed to the 
Tower, ib. Infonns James 
of Berkely's expedition, 558. 
Captain general, 574. Cam- 
paign, ib. Dukedom, 575. 
Unpopularity and intrigues 
with the Pretender, i 6. Cam- 
paign, 576. Victorious at 
Blenheim, 577. Concludes 
a treaty with Prussia, 578. 
Campaign, I &. Prince of the 
empire, 579. Victorious at 
Earaillies, ib. Farther re- 
wards, ib. Accused of ex- 
tortion, 582. Victorious at 
Oudenarde, ib. At Malpla- 
quet, 583. Influence de- 
clines, 584. Offended, 585. 
Addresses Elector of Hano- 
ver, 586. Absents himself 
from court, 587. Last cam- 
paign, ib. Charged with 
peculation, 5S8. Censured 
by the Commons, 589. Re- 
tires to Antwerp, ib. Re- 
turns, 593. Reinstated as 
captain general, etc., 594. 
Sends a loan to tlie Pretend- 



er, 595. Death, 603. Char- 
acter, ib. 

, Charles, 2d duke, expe- 
dition to Cherbourg, 627. 

, Duchess of, governs 

Anne, 574. Decline of her 
influence, 584. 

Marmont, Marshal, 711. 

Marquess, title of, 238. 

Marriage (feudal), 132. 

Marriage act, royal, 644. 

Marseilles, siege of, 265. 

Marston Moor, battle, 430. 

Maiy de Bohun, wife of Henry 
rV., 205. 

, daughter of Heniy Vn., 

252. Marries Louis XII., 
259. Marries Brandon, 
Duke of Suffolk, 260. 

Mary, daughter of Henry 
Vni., contracted to the dau- 
phin, 261. To Charles V., 
263. Rejects the Liturgy, 
300. Retires into Suffolk, 
303. Queen, reign of, 303- 
312. 

, Queen of Scots, 287. 

Sent to France, 295. As- 
sumes the ^rms of England, 
316. Returns to Scotland, 
318. Corresponds with Eliz- 
abeth, 320. Marries Dam- 
ley, 321. Bears James, 323. 
Marries Bothwell, 325. Sur- 
renders at Carberry Hill, 
ib. Confined at Lochleven 
Castle, ib. Resigns the 
crown, 326. Escapes to En- 
gland, ib. Consents to a 
trial, 327. Carried to Bol- 
ton, 327. Refuses to plead, 
ib. Removed to Tutbury, 
329. Entertains Norfolk's 
proposals, ib. Party in her 
favor, ib. Removed to Cov- 
entry, 330. Renews her 
correspondence with Nor- 
folk, 333. Implicated in 
Babington's conspiracy, 341. 
Conveyed to Fotheringay 
Castle, 342. Trial, i6. Con- 
demned, 343. Execution 
and character, 845 «q. 

, Princess, daughter of 

James n., marries Prince 
of Orange, 498. Crown set- 
tled on, 538. 

Masham, Mrs., ingratiates 
herself with Queen Anne, 
584. 

Massachusetts Bay planted, 
400. 

Massena, 695, 708, 710. 

Masses, private, abolished, 
296. 

Matilda, wife of the Conquer- 
or, crowned, 84. 

, daughter of Malcolm HI., 

marries Henry I., 98. 

, daughter of Eustace, 

Count of Boulogne, marries 
Stephen, 103. 



MATILDA. 



INDEX. 



NAPOLEON I. 779 



Matilda, daughter of Heniy I., 
betrothed to the emperor, 
101. jNIarries Geoflfrey of 
Anjou, 102. Appointed 
Heniy's successor, ib. In- 
vades England, lOi. Ac- 
knowledged as queen, ib. 
Flight, 105. Retires into 
Normandy, ib. 

Maud, consort of Henry I., 
101. 

Maurice, Bishop of London, 98. 

, Prince, 424, 426, 

Maximian, 12. 

Maximilian, Emperor, serves 
under Heniy VIII., 25S. 
Death, 261. 

Maximus, 13. 

Maynard, Sergeant, 54T. 

Mazarin, Cardinal, 465. 

Meal-tub Plot, 510. 

Meanee, battle, 74S. 

Meath, kingdom of, 118. 

Mechanics' Institute, 754. 

Medina Sidonia, Duke of, com- 
mands the Armada, 350. 

Medina, Sir Solomon, accuses 
Marlborough, 5S8. 

Meer Jaffier, 636. 

Melbourne, Lord, home secre- 
tary, 734. Premier, 737. 
Supported by O'ConneU, 
738. Resigns, ib. 

Mellitus, 31. 

Melvil, Sir Robert, 344. 

, Sir Andre^v, 346. 

MelviU, Sir James, evidence 
respecting Bothwell, 325. 

Melville, Lord, charged with 
peculation, 694, 695. 

Mendoza, Spanish embassa- 
dor, 341. 

Menou, General, 684, 688, 689. 

Menschikoflf, Prince, 743. 

Mercia, 20. The March, 27. 
History of, 37. 

Meres, Sir Thomas, speaker, 
507. 

Meroz, curse of, 428. 

Mesne lords, 129. 

Methodists, 753. 

Middlesex, Earl of, treasurer, 
impeached, 386. 

Middlesexe, kingdom, 26. 

Milan Decree, 702. 

Millenarians, 451. Conspire 
against Cromwell, 470. 

Milton, 539. 

Minden, battle, 628. 

Minorca, taken by the French, 
624, 625. Surrendered, 657. 

Minute-men, 645. 

Mirabeau besieged, 137. 

Mise of Lewes, 151. 

Misprision of treason, 276 and 
note. 

Modena, Maiy of, marries 
Duke of York, 496. 

Moidart, seven men of, 615. 

Mompesson, Sir Giles, im- 
peached, 381. 

Mona (Anglesey), 10, 



Monarchy abolished, 449. 

Monasteries suppressed, 279, 
282, 315. 

Monckton, General, 634. 

Monk, General, 456. Success- 
es in Scotland, 458. Com- 
mands under Blake, 460. 
Defeats Tromp, 463. Pro- 
claims Richard Cromwell 
Protector, 472. Protests 
against the expulsion of the 
Parliament, 473. Enters 
London, 474. Sends a mes- 
sage to Charles II., 475. 
Meets the king at Dover, 
476. Created Duke of Al- 
bemarle, 478 (see Albe- 
marle). 

Monmouth, birthplace of Hen- 
ry v., 205. 

, Duke of, 506. Routs the 

Covenanters, 509. Triumph- 
al procession, 511. Con- 
spires against the Duke of 
York, 517. His views, 517. 
Absconds, 518. Recalled, 
520. Banished, ib. Inva- 
sion, 524, 525. Assumes the 
title of king, 525. Defeat 
and flight, ib. Execution, 
526. 

Monopolies, 363. 

Montacute, Lord, twice de- 
feats Queen Margaret, 224. 
Deserts Edward IV., 227. 

Montague, Lord, executed, 
283. 

, answers Sergeant Heyle, 

363. 

, Admiral, 466, 474. Cre- 
ated Lord Sandwich, 478. 
Killed, 493. 

, embassador at Paris, in- 
forms against Danby, 505. 

, Sir James, 585. 

Montcalm, Marquess de, gov- 
ernor of Canada, 629. 

Monteagle, Lord, discovers 
Gunpowder Plot, 373. 

Monteith, Sir J., betrays Wal- 
lace, 165. 

Montfort, Simon de. Earl of 
Leicester (see Leicester, Earl 
of). 

, Count de, claims Britta- 
ny, 178. 

Montmorency, Constable, 319, 
320, 332. 

Montrose, Earl of, victories, 
434. Routed, 437. Defeat- 
ed and hanged, 454. 

Moore, Commodore, 694. 

, General Sir John, 704. 

Invades Spain, ib. Killed, 
705. 

Morcar, Earl of Northumber- 
land, 66. Proclaims Edgar 
Atheling, 81. Submits, 82, 
83. Rebels, 84. Joins Here- 
ward, 86. 

Mordaunt, Earl of Peterbor- 
ough, 547. 



Mordaunt, General Sir John, 
626. 

More, Sir Thomas, speaker, 
264. Chancellor, 269. Re- 
signs, 275. Refuses the Oath 
of Succession, 276. Exe- 
cuted, 278. 

, Roger, rebels, 412. 

Moreau, General, 675, 686. 

MorevUle, Hugh de, 115. 

Morgen-gifii, morning gifts 
(queen's dowry), 72. 

Morley, Mrs., assumed name 
of Queen Anne, 574. 

Mortier, Marshal, 698, 699. 

Mortimer, Roger, Earl of 
March, intrigues with Queen 
Isabella, 171. Puts Edward 
H. to death, 172. Surprised 
and executed by Edward 

in.,175. 

Mortimer's Cross, battle, 221. 
Mortmain, statute of, 15is. 
Morton, Bishop of Ely, 233. 

Archbishop of Canterbury, 

244. 
, Chancellor of Scotland, 

322, 326. 
Moscow burned, 714. 
Mount Badon, battle, 25. 
Mountcashel, Lord, defeated 

and captured, 551. 
Mountjoy, administration in 

Ireland, 357. 
Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, 

rebels against Henry IV., 

203. Executed, ib. 
Municipal Refonn Bill, 737. 
Munro, Sir Hector, 668. 
Munster, kingdom of, 118. 
Murat, King of Naples, 703. 
Murray, Earl of, 322. Regent, 

326. Submits to Elizabeth, 

328. Assassinated, 330. 
, Lord George, joins 

Charles Edward, 616, 617, 

618, 619. Escapes, 620. 
Muscovy, trade with, 312. 
Musgrave, Sir Philip, 444. 
Mutiny at Spithead and the 

Nore, 680. 
Mutiny BUI, origin, 548. 

N. 

Najara, battle, 187. 

Namur taken, 560. 

Nantes, edict, revoked, 527. 

Nantwich, battle, 429. 

Napier, Sir Charles, occupies 
Scinde, 748. 

, Admiral Sir Charles, 

743. 

Naples taken by the French, 
682. 

Napoleon I., besieges Toulon, 
673. Threatened invasion 
of England, 681. Expedi- 
tion to Egypt, ib. To Pal- 
estine, 683. Returns to 
France, 684. First consul, 
ib. Power and magnifi- 
cence, 690. Insults our em- 



780 NAPOLEON II. 



INDEX. 



OLDCASTLE. 



bassador, 693. Empei'or, 
694. King of Italy, 695. 
Enters Vienna, ib. Seizes 
Portugal, 102. And Spain, 
ib. Enters Vienna, 707. 
Marries Maria Louisa, ib. 
Excommunicated, ib. Ex- 
pedition to Russia, T14. 
Struggles in Germany, 716. 
Abdicates, 717. Lands at 
Cannes, 719. Enters Bel- 
gium, 720. Defeat and 
flight, 721, 722. Goes on 
board the Bellerophon, 722. 
Conveyed to St. Helena, ib. 

Napoleon IL, 722. 

IIL, Emperor, 743. At- 
tempt to assassinate, 749. 

Naseby, battle, 435. 

National debt, 541, 663, 723, 
753. 

Navarino, battle, 730. 

Navarre, King of, 319. 

Navigation-laws, 459. Repeal- 
ed, 741, 75S. 

Navy, increase of, under Eliz- 
abeth, 365, 541. 

Nelson loses an eye, 676. At 
St. Vincent, 678. Rear Ad- 
miral, 679. Loses an arm, 
ib. At Aboukir, 6S2. A 
baron, ib. Captures Leg- 
horn, ib. Bombards Copen- 
hagen, 687. Attempts Bou- 
logne, 688. Chases the 
French fleet, 696. At Tra- 
falgar, 697. Death, 698. 
Funeral, ib. 

Nero, 10. 

Neutrality, armed, 656, 686. 

Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, 
203. 

Neville's Cross, battle, 181. 

Newark, Scotch army at, 438. 

Newburn, battle, 404. 

Newbury, battles, 427, 431. 

Newcastle, seized by Cove- 
nanters, 405, 430. 

, Marquess of, forms a 

league for Charles I., 425. 
Attempts Hull, 428. Re- 
treats, 429. Retires to the 
Continent, 430. 

, Duke of, secretary, 60S, 

610. Prime minister, 623. 
Vacillating policy, 625. Re- 
signs, ib. Returns, ib. Re- 
signs, 634. 

Newfoundland, colonized, 878. 

Newport, riots at, 738. 

Newspapers, 543, 559. 

Newton Butler, battle, 5.51. 

New York acquired from the 
Dutch, 489. 

Ney, Marshal, 720. 

Niagara taken, 628. 

Nicholas, Sir Edward, secreta- 
ry, 478. 

, Czar, quarrels with the 

Porte, 742. Death, 745. 

Nightingale, Florence, 745. 

Nile, battle of the, 682. 



Nimeguen, peace of, 498. 

Nithisdale, Lord, escape of, 
598. 

Nivelle, battle at the, 715. 

Noailles, Marshal, 612, 613. 

Nobles, English, condition of, 
130. Degrees of, 238. 

Non-addresses, vote of, 444. 
Repealed, ib. Renewed, 446. 

Nonconformists, penal laws 
against, suspendfid by proc- 
lamation, 493. 

Nonjurors, 548. Deprived, 
554. 

Non-resistance, oath of, 481. 

Norfolk, insurrection in, 298. 

, Duke of, quells an in- 
surrection, 266. Another, 
282. Arrests Cromwell, 285. 
Prime minister, 287. Com- 
mands against the Scots, ib. 
Attaint and narrow escape, 
290. Restored, 805. 

, Duke of, commissioner 

to try the Queen of Scots, 
327. Proposes marriage to 
her, 329. Committed, but 
released, 330. Conspires 
with Alva, 333. Executed, 
ib. 

Normandy, Mai'quess of, privy 
seal, 573, 574. 

Normandy (Neustria) seized 
by the Northmen, 40. His- 
tory of, 77. Name, when 
first used, 78. Reduced by 
Henry L, 99. Legislation 
in, 130. Reunited to France, 
138. Lower, subdued by 
Henry v., 209. 

Nonnans, influence of, in En- 
gland, 62. Character of the, 
80. Language, ib. Amal- 
gamate with the Saxons, 
136 and note. 

Norris, Sir John, 352. Com- 
mands in Ireland, 35.5. 

, Sir John, Admiral, 599. 

North, Lord, Chancellor of Ex- 
chequer, 642. Prime minis- 
ter, 643. Measure respect- 
ing tea, 644. Attempts to 
conciliate the Americans, 
650. Resigns, 657. Secre- 
tary, 664. Dismissed, ib. 
RegulaJ:ing Act, 666. 

Anieiican colonies, de- 
scribed, 638. Discontents 
in, 639, 643. War breaks 
out in, 646. 

Briton paper, 634. No. 

Forty-five, 637, 638. 

Foreland, battle oft', 486. 

Northampton, council of, 114. 

, battle, 221. 

Northington, Lord Chancellor, 
641. 

Northmen (Danes, etc.) land 
in Northumbria, 33, 39. 
Manners, 39. Seize Nor- 
mandy, 40. Ravage En- 
gland, ib. 



Northumberland, Earl of, rises 
against Henry IV., 203. 
. Second rebellion, ib. 

, Earl Warwick, becomes 

Duke of (see Warwick), 300. 
Ruins Somerset, ib. At- 
tempts on the crown, 301. 
Desei'ted, 304. Executed, ib. 

, Earl of, conspires to lib- 
erate the Queen of Scots, 
329. Executed, 338. 

, Earl of, sides with the 

Commons, 415. 

Northumbria, 20, 27. 

Norway, Maid of, 159. 

Norwegians in Scotland, etc., 
39. 

Nott, General, 747. 

Nottingham, royal standard 
erected at, 419. 

Castle, Isabella and Mor- 
timer seized at, 175. Burn- 
ed, 734. 

Nottingham, Earl of, chancel- 
lor, 496. Secretary, 540. 
Bill to prevent occasional 
conformity, 587. President 
of council, 594. 

Novel disseisin., assize of, 154. 

Noy, Attorney General, 398. 

Nuncio received by James II. , 
530. 

O. 

Oak, royal, 457. 

Gates, Titus, histoiy, 501. 
Pensioned, 503. Evidence 
against Stafford, 512. Fined 
and imprisoned, 520. Fined, 
whipped, and pilloried, 524. 
Pensioned, 551. 

Oftths, value of, among the 
Anglo-Saxons, 74. 

O'Brien, Smith, transported, 
741. 

Ochta, 23. 

O'Connell, Daniel, 729. Or- 
ganizes Catholic Associa- 
tion, 730. Returned for 
Clare, 731. Advocates re- 
peal of Union, 734, 735. 
Supports Lord Melbourne, 
737. His " Tail," 738. Con- 
victed of sedition, 739. 
Death, ih. 

Oden (see Woden). 

Odo, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, brnt.ality to Elgiva,51. 

, Bishop of Baieux, S3. 

Conspires against Rufus, 
94. 

Oestrymnides, 2. 

Offa, King of Mercia, 35. 

Ofticers, Council of, 472. Re- 
stores the Long Parliament, 
473. Expels it, ib. 

O'Hara, General, 673. 

Olave of Nonvay invades En- 
gland, 53. 

Oldcastle, Sir John (Lord Cob- 
ham), heads the Lollards, 
206. Executed, i&. 



OLIVE BRANCH. 



INDEX. 



PENDRAGON. YgJ 



'•'• Olive Branch," the Ameri- 
can petition, (54T. 
Oltenitza, battle of, 743. 

Omar Pasha, T43. 

O'Neale, Sir Phelim, rebels, 
412. 

Onslow, Speaker, addi-ess to 
Queen Elizabeth, 363. 

Opdam, Dutch admiral, 485, 

Orange, Prince of, founds the 
Dutch republic, 335. Assas 
sinated, 339. 

, William, Prince of (Wil 

liam III.), defense of Hol- 
land, 494. Insurrection in 
favor of, ib. Marries Prin- 
cess Mary, 498. Invitation 
to England, 533. Declara- 
tion, 534. Lands in Torbay, 
ib. Marches to London, 
536. Summons a Conven- 
tion, 537. Crown settled on, 
538 {see William IIL). 

, Prince of, 674, 675. 

, Prince of, at Quatre- 

Bras, 720. Wounded, 722. 

Orangemen, 685. 

Ordeals, 75. Abolished, 131. 

Ordovices, 9, 11. 

Orford, Earl of (Russell), 567 
(see Russell). 

Orkney, Countess of, 564. 

Orleans, besieged by English, 
211. Relieved by Joan 
d'Arc, 210. 

, Maid of, 213 {see Joan 

d'Arc). 

— — , Duchess of, negotiates 
treaty of Dover, 491. 

, Duke of, regent, 599. 

Ormesby, justiciaiy of Scot- 
land, 164. 

Ormond, Duke of, lord lieu- 
tenant in Ireland, 429. De- 
livers Dublin, etc., to Par- 
liament, 438, 453. Proceeds 
to France, ib. Successes 
and reverses in Ireland, ib. 
Leaves it, 454.' Conspires 
against Cromwell, 470. Cre- 
ated a Duke, 478. Recalled 
from Ireland, 528. 

, Duke of, attacks Vigo, 

574. Lord Lieutenant of Ire- 
land, 586. Commands in 
Flanders, 589. Impeached 
and attainted, 595. Invades 
England, 597. 

OnnuluvT., 153. 

Orthez, battle of, 716. 

O'Ruarc, Prince of Breffny, 

lis. 

Osborne, Sir Thomas, 496 {see 

Danby). 
Ostorius (see Scapula). 
Oswald, King of Northumbria 

and Brehvalda., 33. Slain, 

ib. . 
Oswy, King of Northumbria 

and Bretwalda., 33. 
Otho, King of Greece, 731. 
Otterbourne, battle, 194 



Oudenarde, battle, 582. 

Overbury, Sir Thomas, advises 
Carr, 376. Poisoned, 377. 

Oxford, provisions of, 149, 150. 
Annulled, 151. Parliament 
assembled at, 389. Occu- 
pied by Charles I. , 425. Par- 
liament at, 429. Invested 
by Fairfax, 435. Parliament 
at, 486, 513. Violence of, 513. 

University, 45. Decree 

of, condemned by the peers, 
585. 

, Earl of, treats with 

James II., 536. 

, Harley, Earl of (see Har- 

ley), treasurer, 587. Dis- 
missed, 591. Impeached and 
committed, 595. Interview 
with Ormond, ib. 



Pack, Alderman, 468. 

Paine, Thomas, 647, 671. 

Pale, English of the, join the 
Irish rebellion, 413. 

Palliser, Sir Hugh, court-mar- 
tial on, 652. 

Palmerston, Lord, 708. Sec- 
retary-at-war, 731. Foreign 
Secretaiy, 734. Premier, 
745. Resigns, 749. 

Pampluna taken, 715. 

Pandolf, papal envoy, 139. 

Papists, fire of London as- 
cribed to, 487. 

Paris, evacuated by the En- 
glish, 215. 

, peace of (17G3), 635. 

, entered by Allies, 717, 

722. Peace of (1814), 723; 
(1856), 746. 

Parker, Arclibishop of Canter- 
bury, 315, 338. 

-, Bishop of Oxford, Pres- 
ident of Magdalen College, 
530. 

, Sir Hyde, admiral, 657, 

687. 

, Richard, 680. Hanged. 

680. 

Parliament, Anglo - Norman, 
130. When assembled, ib. 
Mad, 149. Leicester's, 152. 
Advance under Edward IH., 
189. Progress of, 237. Di- 
vision into two houses, 239. 
Long, 405. Bill for trien- 
nial, 408. Subjected by 
army, 441. Proposals to the 
king, 443. iJt(TO_p, 446. Dis- 
missed by Cromwell, 461. 
Barebone' S.I 462. Restored 
by the officers, 473. Ex- 
pelled, ib. Restored, ib. 
Renounces military author- 
ity, 474. Bill for Septen- 
nial, 598. 

— , Scotch, meets Edward I. 
at Norham, 159. 
— , Irish, independence ac- 
knowledged, 658. 



Parma, Du^e of, commands 
the Spanish army of inva- 
sion, 350, 351. 

Parma, Duchess of, governs 
the Netherlands, 352. 

Parnell, Sir H., 733. 

Parr, Catherine, marries Hen- 
ry Vm., 287, 288, 289. Mar- 
ries Lord Seymour, 296. 

Parry, design to assassinate 
Queen Elizabeth, 339. 

Parsons, Jesuit, 338. 

Parties, court and country, 
381. At outbreak of civil 
Avar, 423. 

Partition treaty (Spanish), 
first, 562. Second, 565. Dis- 
approved by Parliament, 
567. 

Pascal IL, Pope, 100. 

Passaro, action off, 600. 

Patrick, St., 118. 

Paul, Czar, 686. Assassin- 
ated, 687. 

Paulet, Sir Amias, 341, 342. 

Paulinus, Suetonius, 9. 

, Archbishop of York, 32. 

Pa via, battle, 265. 

Paw, Pensionary, 460. 

Pecquigni, treaty of, 228. Vio- 
lated by Louis XL, 229. 

Peel, Sir Robert, 725. Home 
secretary, 729. Resigns, 
730. Returns, 731. Intro- 
duces Catholic Relief Bill, 
732. Resigns, 733. Short 
prenaiership, 737. Premier, 
739. Corn -law, ib. In- 
come-tax, ib. Bill abolish- 
ing corn-laws, 740. Resigns, 
ib. Death, 741. 

Peerage, oi'iginal right of, by 
tenure, 238. By writ, ib. 
By letters patent, ib. 

Peers, House of, abolished, 
449. Restored by CromAvell, 
469. Resume their author- 
ity, 475. Creation of twelve, 
589. 

Pelagius, 15. 

Pelham, head of treasury, 613. 
Negotiates with Pitt, 614. 
Death, 623. 

Ptiissier, General, 745. 

Peltier convicted of libeling 
Bonaparte, 692. 

Pembroke, William, Earl of, a 
founder of English liberty, 
140. Protector, 145. Re- 
news Magna Charta, ib. 

, Aymer de Valence, Earl 

of, defeats Bi-uce, 166. Con- 
spires against Gaveston, 
169. 

, Jasper Tudor, Earl of, 

210, 221. 

, Earl of, expedition to 

Netherlands, 311. 

Penda, King of Mercia, 27, 33. 

Penderell conceals Charles II., 
457. 

Pendragon (British chief), 28. 



782 PENINSULAR. 



INDEX. 



PRETENDER. 



Peninsular war, 703, 704, 710, 
714. 

Penn, Admiral, 460, 463. Con- 
quers Jamaica, 466. 

, William, 542. 

Pennsylvania, 542. 

Pepys, Secretary, 541. 

Perceval, Spencer, Chancellor 
of Exchequer, 700. Prem- 
ier, 708. Assassinated, 711. 

Percy, Earl, defeats David 
Bruce, 181. 

, feuds with Douglas, 194. 

Supports Wickliffe, 198. 
Revolt of the, 202. 

engages in Gunpowder 

Plot, 372. Killed, 374. 

Perkins, Sir WUliam, execu- 
ted, 561. 

Perrers, Alice, 189. 

Persecution under Mary, 309. 

Peter, Bishop of Winchester, 
justiciary, 146. 

the Cruel, of Castile, re- 
stored by Black Prince, 187. 

the Hermit, 95. 

. II., of Portugal, joins 

Grand Alliance, 576. 

Peterborough, Earl of, expedi- 
tion to Spain^ 578. {See 
Mordaunt.) 

"Peterloo," 725. 

Peter's pence, 36. 

Peters, Hugh, executed, 479. 

Petition, right of, 239. 

Petition of Right, 393, 420. 

Petitioners, 511. 

Petre, Lord, impeached, 503. 

Philadelphia, Congress at, 646. 
Taken 649. 

Philibert, Duke of Savoy, 311. 

Philip, of Spain, proposed to 
Mary, 306. Marriage, 307. 
Protects Princess. Elizabeth, 
308. Political views, 311. 
Proposes to marry Eliza- 
beth, 314. Foments a re- 
bellion in Ireland, 336. Pre- 
pares to invade England, 
348. Again, 354. Death, 355. 

■ H., of France, supports 

Prince Richai'd, 122. Ac 
companies him in a crusade, 
124. Quits Palestine, 125. 
Invades Normandy, 126. 
Supports Arthur of Brit- 
tany, 136, 137. Condemns 
King John, ib. Regains 
Normandy, Anjou, etc., 138. 
Prepares to invade England, 
139. Cajoled by the Pope, 
ib. Victory at Bovines, ib. 
Assists the English barons, 
143. 

the Fair of France, 158, 

Cites Edward I. as his vas 
sal, 161. 

VI., 176. Peace Avith 

Edward HI., 177. 

, Duke of Anjou, appoint 

ed to Spanish throne, 565. 
PhUip V. of Spain (Duke of 



Anjou), 578. Driven from; Pollock, General, 747. 
Madrid, 579. Offer to re- Pomfret Castle, Lancaster ex- 
linquish Spain, 583. De-| ecuted at, 170. 



feated, ib. Hostile designs 
of, 600. Accedes to Quad- 
ruple Alliance, 601. 
— , Archduke, detained by 
Hemy VH., 252. 

Philip-haugh, battle, 437. 

Philippa of Holland, affianced 
to Prince Edward, 171. 

Philippine Islands taken, 635. 

Phoenicians trade with Brit- 
ain, 2. 

Pichegru, 675. 

Pickering, 5 U. Executed, 506. 

Picton, General, 720. Killed, 
722 

Pict?,' 12, 17. 

Picts' wall, 11. 

Piedmont united to France, 
639. 

Pierre, Eustace de, 182. 

Pilgrimage of Grace, 281. 

Pilnitz, conference at, 671. 

Pinkie, battle, 295. 

Pitt, William (see Chatham, 
Earl of). 

, William the younger, 

enters public life, 658. Ad- 
vocates Parliamentary re- 
form, ib. Chancellor of Ex- 
chequer, 659. Prime minis- 
ter, 664. India bill, ib. 
Reform bill rejected, ib. 
Speech on impeachment of 
Hastings, 669. Assists the 
French Loyalists, 676. 
Abandons Parliamentary 
reform, 685. Advocates 
Catholic emancipation, 686. 
Letter to George III., ib. 
Resigns, ib. Premier again, 
693. Popularity, ife. Death 
and public funeral, 698. 

, Lady Hester, Baroness 

Chatham, 634. 

Pius v.. Pope, excommuni- 
cates Elizabeth, 330. 

VII., Pope, carried to Sa- 

vona, 707. Restored, 718. 

Placemen, their election to 
Parliament regulated, 567. 

Plague, yellow, 83. Great, 
473. 

Plantagenet, etymology, 108. 
House of, 110. Period, char- 
acteristics of, 236. 

Plassy, battle, 636. 

Plymouth, battle off, 460, 

Poitiers, battle, 185. 

Pole, de la, Earl of Suffolk and 
chancellor, 194. 

, Cardinal Reginald, at- 
tacks Henry "Tin., 283. 
Abets a rebellion, 286. Le- 
gate, 307, 308. Primate, 
311. Death, 312. 

Police, new, 734. 

Poll-tax, under Richard II., 
191. 

PoUilore, battle, 668, 



Pompadour, Madame de, 632. 

Pondicherry taken, 633. Re- 
stored, 635, 

Ponsonby, General, Sir Wil- 
liam, Icilled, 722. 

Pont Achin, battle, 675. 

Poor-laws, 736, 756. 

Pope, exactions of the, 148. 

Popham, Sir Home, expedi- 
tion to Ostend, 681, 

Popish Plot, 501. 

Population under William I., 
91. End of Plantagenets, 
237. Under Charies H. , 540. 
Last census, 753. 

Port, 25. 

Portland, battle off, 460. 

, Earl of, 547. Negotiates 

peace of Ryswick, 561. 

, Duke of, 659. Premier, 

664, 700. Death, 708. 

Porto Bello taken, 610. 

Novo, battle, 668. 

Portsmouth, Duchess of, mis- 
tress of Charles IL, 491, 512. 

Portugal, alliance with, 481. 
Seized by French, 702, 703. 

Post established, 540, Reform- 
ed, 752. 

Potato rot, 739. 

Potteries, 751. 

Powys, Lord, impeached, 503. 

Poynings, Governor of Ire- 
land, 249. His '■'•Law," ib.^ 
note. 

Prcemunire., statute of, 199, 
270. WTiole church guilty 
of, 274. 

Pragmatic Sanction, 611. 

Prance, evidence in Popish 
Plot, 506. 

Pratt, Chief Justice, declares 
general warrants illegal, 
638. Made Lord Camden, 
641 (,see Camden). 

Preaching regulated, 295. Si- 
lenced, 305, 314. 

Prendergrass betrays Bar- 
clay's conspiracy, 560. 

Presbyterians, 431. 

Pre.?ton Pans, battle, 617. 

Pretender (James), attempted 
invasion, 582. Issues a 
manifesto, 595. Invades 
Scotland, 597, 598. Char- 
acter, 598. Flight, ib. Ex- 
pelled France, 599. Mar- 
ries Princess Sobieski, ib. 
Strange manifesto, 603. Ap- 
points his son regent, 613. 

(Charles Edward), de- 
scent in Scotland, 615. 
Erects his standard, 616. 
Proclaims James VIH., 617. 
Defeats Sir J. Cope, ib. En- 
ters England, 618. Ad- 
vances to Manchester and 
Derby, ib. Retreats, ib. 
Defeated at CuUoden, 619. 



pride's purge. 



INDEX. 



ROCHFORT. 



783 



Escapes to Morlaix, 621. 
Expelled from France, 622. 
Subsequent fate, ib. 

Pride's Purge., 446. Petition 
against office of king, 468. 

Priestley, Dr., 6T1. 

Primer seisin., 132. 

Priviicerius.^ title of, 72. 

Prince Edward's Island taken, 
62T. 

Printing, introduction of, 237. 

Privy councU remodeled, 507, 
508. 

Proclamation, king's, made 
law, 284. Penal laws sus- 
pended by, 493. 

Prophesyings, 338. 

'•'• Protectionists," 740. 

Protector, title of, 211. 

Protectorate, Cromwell's, es- 
tablished, 462, 463. 

Provisions, papal, 199. 

Provisors, statute of, 190, 270. 

Prussia, subsidized, 674. Ac- 
cedes to armed neutrality, 
686. Seizes Hanover ib. 
Conquered by the French, 
699. Joins coalition against 
France, 716. 

Piynne, pilloried and fined, 
399. 

Pulteney, Secretaiy at War, 
594. Earl of Bath, 611. 
Supports inquiry about Wal- 
pole, ib. 

Punishments, Anglo - Saxon, 
74. 

Puritans, rise of the, 331. Fa- 
vored by Cecil, Leicester, 
and others, ib. Different 
kinds of, 396. Emigrate to 
America, 400. 

Pym carries up Strafford's im- 
peachment, 405. Charac- 
ter, 406. Accused of trea- 
son, 415. Death, 429, 

Pyrenees, battles of the, 715. 

Q. 

Quakers, origin of, 542. 
Quatre Bras, 720. 
Quebec taken, 628, 629. 
Querouaille {see Portsmouth, 

Duchess of). 
Quiberon, battle off, 627, 628. 

Expedition to, 676. 
Quo Warranto., writ of, 516. 

E. 

" Radicals," 725. 

Raglan, Lord, expedition 

against Russia, 743. Death, 

745. 
Railways, 752. 
Raleigh, Sir Walter, founds 

Virginia, 340. Imprisoned, 

353. Expedition to Guiana, 

354. Plot against James I., 
371. Reprieved, ib. Sec- 
ond expedition to Guiana, 
379. Execution, ib. 

Ramillies, battle, 579. 



Ransom, feudal, 132, 141. 

Rapes, Saxon, '25. 

Rapparees, 553. 

Rastadt, Congress of, 682. 

Ratcliffe, Sir Richard, 230. 

Ravaillac assassinates Henry 
IV., 375. 

Read, Alderman, enrolled as 
a soldier, 362. 

Reading taken by Essex, 425. 

Recognitors, 121, 154. 

Recusants, acts against, 353. 
Compositions Avith, 398. 

Redwald, King of East Angles, 
and Bretivalcla., 31. 

Reform, Parliamentary, advo- 
cated by Lord Chatham and 
William Pitt, 65S. Partial, 
effected, 659. Pitt's bill for, 
lost, 664. Becomes a na- 
tional question, 723. Lord 
John RusseU's biU, 734. 
Riots respecting, ib. Car- 
ried, 735. Provisions of, ib. 

Reformation, progress, 264, 
289, 294. Opposed by Gar- 
diner, 295. Scotch, ib. Im- 
ages, etc., abolished, 296, 
297. Discontent at, ife. Op- 
posed by Mary, 305. For- 
warded by Elizabeth, 314. 
In Scotland, 316. In France, 
319. Finally established in 
England, 320. Review of, 
364. 

Regalia, Scotch, carried to 
London, 458. 

Reged, kingdom, 28. 

Regent, title rejected by Par- 
liament, 211. 

Regicides, fate, 478, 479. 

Reginald elected to see of Can- 
terbuiy, 138. 

Reliefs, 131, 141. 

Remonstrance, grand, 414. 

Representation, Parliamenta- 
ry, 239. 

Restitutus, Bishop, 15. 

Revenue, Anglo-Norman, 131. 
Under James II. , 541. 

"■Rex Anglorum," title as- 
sumed by Edward the Elder, 
36, 72. 

Rhine, Confederation of the, 
696. 

Rhutupise, 14. 

Ribaumont, vanquished by 
Edward IH., 183. 

Rich, Lord, Cromwell's son-in- 
law, 471. 

Richard, " Sans Peur" of Nor- 
mandy, 79. 

II. of Normandy, 79. 

RiCHAED I., rebels, when 
prince, 120, 122. Reign of, 
123-128. 

n., reign of, 191-199. 

in., reign of, 232-235. 

, son of the Conqueror, 

death, 90. 

— — , Earl of Cornwall, King 
of the Romans, 148, 151. 



Richborough, 7. 

Richelieu, Cardinal, besieges 
Rochelle, 392. Assists the 
Covenanters, 402. 

Richmond, Edmund Tudor, 
Eari of, 210. 

, Hemy, Earl of, descent, 

233. Engages to marry 
Elizabeth of York, ib. 
Lands at Milford Haven, 
235. Defeats Richard III. 
at Bosworth, ib. Saluted 
King, 243 (see Henry VH.). 

, Duke of, son of Charles 

II., 521 7iote. 

, Duke of, moves address 

for peace with America, 651. 

Ridley, Bishop of London, 305. 
Burned, 309. 

Rights, declaration of, 538. 
Bill of, 551, 569. 

Rikenild Street (see Ikenild). 

Rinucciui, nuncio in Ireland, 
453. 

Riot on burning of the North 
Briton, 638. 

Ripon, treaty of, 405. 

Earl (see Goderich). 

Rivers, Earl, tutor of Edward 
v., 229. Imprisoned by 
Gloucester, 230. Killed, ib. 

Rizzio, David, 322. Murdered, 
323. 

Roads, 540, 752. 

Robert the Devil, 79. 

, son of William the Con- 

querer, rebels, 88. Obtains 
Normandy and Maine, ib. 
Stipulation with Rufus, 94. 
Subdues Malcolm, 95. Mort- 
gages his dominions, ib. In- 
vades England. 99. Treaty 
with Henry I. , ib. Captured 
by him, ib. Dies at Cardiff 
Castle, ib. 

III. , of Scotland, his mis- 
fortunes, 204. 

, Earl of Gloucester, re- 
volts from Stephen, 103. In- 
vades England, 104. Cap- 
tures Stephen, ib. Captured, 
105. 

Robespierre executed, 675. 

Robinson, Mr. (see Goderich). 

, Sir Thomas, secretary, 

623. 

Rochelle, Buckingham's expe- 
dition to, 392. Surrendered 
395. 

Roches, Peter des. Bishop of 
Winchester, 146. 

Rochester, bishopric founded, 
31. 

Castle besieged by King 

John, 143. 

, Earl of (Hyde), 516. 

Treasurer, 524. Dismissed, 
528. Lord Lieutenant of 
Ireland, 565, President of 
council, 586. 

Rochfort, Viscount, brother of 
Anne Boleyn, 280. 



784 



ROCHFORT. 



INDEX. 



SCIR-GEREFA. 



Eoclifort, Viscountess, accuses 
Anne I3oleyn, 280. Exe- 
cuted, 2S7. 

Eockingham, Marquess of, 
prime minister, 640. Again 
prime minister, 653. Death, 
659. 

Roderick O'Connor, King of 
Connaught, 118, 119. 

Rodney, Admiral Lord, bom- 
bards Havre, 627. Takes 
Martinico, 634. Victoiy at 
Cape St. Vincent, 656. 
Takes St. Eustatia, 657. 
Defeats De Grasse, 659. 
Made a baron, ib. 

Roger, Arclabishop of York, 
crowns Prince Henry, 115. 

, Earl of Hereford, 87. 

Rogers, Prebendaiy, burned, 
308. 

Rokesby, Sir T., defeats 
Northumberland, 204. 

Rolipa, battle, 704. 

Rollo, or Rolf the Ganger, ob- 
tains Neustria, 78. 

Romans abandon Britain, 13. 
Civilization under the, 14. 

Rome, sacked by Bourbon's 
troops, 267. 

Rovi-feoh^ or Rome Scot (see 
Peter's pence). 

Romilly, Sir Samuel, 753. 

Rooke, Admiral Sir G., 557. 
Attacks Vigo, 574. Takes 
Gibraltar, 578. 

Rosamond, Fair, 123. 

Roses, symbols of York and 
Lancaster, 224. 

Rosetta Stone, 689, note. 

Ross, General, 719. Killed, ib. 

Rouen, peace of, 79. Prince 
Arthur murdered at, 137. 
Surrendered to Philip, 138. 
Taken by Henry V., 208. 
Joan d'Arc burned at, 215. 

Roundheads, 415. 

Rouse, Speaker, 462. 

Rowena, 23. 

Roxburgh ceded to England, 
121. Sold by Richard I., 
124. 

Royal George sinks, 659, 660. 

Royal Society founded, 543. 

nuivi (Thanet), 37. 

Rumbold engaged in Rye 
House Plot, 518. 

Rumford, Colonel, betrays 
Monmouth's conspiracy, 
518. 

Runnymede, Magna Charta 
signed at, 141. 

Rupert, Prince, routs the Par- 
liamentary cavalry, 424. 
Takes Bristol, 426. Defeat- 
ed at Marston Moor, 430. 
Surrenders Bi'istol, 436. 
Dismissed, ib. Chased by 
Blake, 458. Commands in 
English fleet, 485, 486. High 
admiral, 496. 

Russell, Admiral, a Jacobite, 



556. Queen Mary's letter 
to, ib. Defeats the French 
fleet at La Hogue, i&., 557. 
Earl of O-rford, 567 (see Or- 
ford). 

Russell, Lord, quells insurrec- 
tion in Devonshire, 297, 298. 

, Lady, pleads for her hus- 
band, 519. 

, Lord William, conspires 

against Duke of York, 517. 
Projects an insurrection, ib. 
Trial and execution, 518. 
Attainder reversed, 551. 

, Lord John, carries re- 
peal of Test and Corporation 
Acts, 740. Introduces Par- 
liamentary Reform Bill, 733. 
Its provisions, 735. Declares 
against the corn-laivs, 740. 
Premier, ib. 

Russia, subsidiaiy treaty with, 
624, 675. League with, 695, 
714. Attacks the Turkisli 
dominions, 742. War with, 
743. 

Ruthven, Lord, murders Riz- 
zio, 323. 

, Earl of Brentford, 431. 

Rutland, Eaii of, betrays a 
plot against Henry IV., 202. 

, Duke of, privy seal, 664. 

Ruyter, De, Admiral, 460. 
Defeated by Albemarle, 486. 
Sails up the Thames, 488. 

Ryder, Sir Dudley, 625. 

, Hon. R., home secretary, 

708. 

Rye House Plot, 518. 

Ryswick, treaty of, 561. 

S. 

Sacheverell, Dr., sermon, 585. 
impeached, ib. Suspended, 
ib. Journey to Wales, 586. 

Sackville, Lord George, 627. 
Misbehavior at Minden, 628. 
Dismissed, ib. 

Sadler, Sir Ralph, 327. 

Saint Alban's, battle, 220, 222. 

Amand, battle, 673. 

Andre, Jean Bon, 676. 

George, Chevalier (Pre- 
tender), 595. 

Helen's, Lord, treaty 

with Russia, 687. 

Ildefonso, treaty of, 677. 

John, Lord, treasurer, 

299. 

John, Oliver, character, 

406. An Independent, 432. 
Commissioner to settle Scot- 
land, 459, Embassy to Hol- 
land, lb. 

John (see Bolingbroke). 

Paul's, 14, 31. 

Petersburg, treaty of, 

687. 

Quentin, battle, 311. 

Roque, lines of, 60S. 

Ruth, 553. Killed, ib. 

Sebastian taken, 715. 



Saint Vincent, Cape, battles 
off, 656, 678. 

Vincent, Earl (see Jervis). 

Saintes, Garnier des, de- 
nounces Pitt, 673. 

Saladin takes Jerusalem, 122. 
Richard's truce with, 125. 

Salamanca, French barbarity 
at, 712. Battle of, ib. 

Sale, General, 747. 

Salisbury, Earl of, attacks the 
French harbors, 139. De- 
feats Louis VIII., 146. 

, Earl of, beheaded, 221. 

Countess of, attainted, 

283. Executed, 286. 

, Lord (Cecil), discovers 

Gunpowder Plot, 373. In- 
stitutes baronetcy, 375. 
Death, 376. 

Sancroft, Archbishop of Can- 
terbuiy, 530. A nonjuror, 
548. Deprived, 554. 

Sandwich, Lord, ridiculed by 
Wilkes, 638. 

Sandys, Sir Edwin, 389. 

, chancellor of exchequer, 

611. 

Saragossa, battle, 583. 

Saratoga, Convention of, 650. 
Violated by the Americans, 
ib. 

Sardinia; sends an army to 
Crimea, 745. 

Sarsfield, 554. 

Sautre, William, burned, 202. 

Savage, John, meditates assas- 
sinating Queen Elizabeth, 
341. 

Saville, Sir George, 653. 

Savoy, Duke of, joins Grand 
Alliance, 576. Invades 
France, 582. 

, conference in the, 480. 

Saxe, Marshal, 614. 

Saxon pirates, 12. Called in 
by the Britons, 14. 

tribes, 20. Religion, 21. 

ships, 22. Arms, ib. First 
settlement, ib. Conquest, 
24. Historical value of, ib. , 
note. Second settlement, 
24. Third settlement, ib. 
Fourth, fifth, and sixth set- 
tlements, 26. Kingdoms 
united by Egbert, 36. Sax- 
ons amalgamate with Nor- 
mans, 136 and note. 

Say, Lord, privy seal, 478. 

Scandinavians (see Northmen, 
Danes). 

Scapula, Ostorius, 9. 

Scarsdale, Earl of, 556. 

Schism Act, 588. 

Schomberg, Marshal, 495. 
Lands in Ireland, 551. Kill- 
ed, 552. 

Schonbrunn, peace of, 707. 

Schwartz, Martin, 24(5. 

Scindiah, 746, 747. 

Scir-gemot (shire mote), 73, 

gere/a (sheriff), 73. 



SCONE. 



INDEX. 



STANHOPE. 



785 



Scone, Charles n. crowned 
at, 456. 

Scotia (Ireland), 13. 

Scotland, claims to crown of, 
159. First alliance with 
France, 161. Overrun by 
Edward I., 162. Again, 165. 
Delivered by Bruce, 169. 
Truce with, 170. Part of 
ceded to Edward III., 176. 
Reduced under the Com- 
monwealth, 459. How ruled, 
467. Royal authority re- 

. stored in, 479. William III. 
acknowledged in, 549. Par- 
liament rejects bill for Han- 
overian succession, 580 fq. 
Effect in England, ih. Un- 
ion with, 579-5S1. 

Scots, 13, 17. Defeated by 
Edward I. at Falkirk, 165. 
Invade England, 173. 
Treaty with the, 174. De- 
feated at Halidown Hill, 176. 
Assist the dauphin (Charles 
Vn.), 210. Routed at Sol 
way, 287. Impose condi 
tions on Charles I., 439 



Monmouth, 506, 507. Pres-:Sleda, 26. 

ident of the Council, 508. ! Slingsby, Sir H., beheaded, 

Advises the Exclusion Bill,! 470. 

ib. Dismissed, 510. Indicts Sluys, battle, 177. 

the Duke of York, 511. In- Smeton, 280. 

dieted for treason, 515. Smith, Sir Sydney, at Toulon, 

Conspires against the duke, I 673. Defense of Acre, 683. 

517. Retirement and death, ; , Spencer, 694. 



ih. 

Shah Alum, 666. 

Shannon, frigate, takes the 
Chesapeake, 719. 

Sharpe, Archbishop of St. An- 
drews, 480. Murdered, 509. 

, Granville, 700. 

, Dr., sermon, 528, 529. 

Shaw, Dr., sermon at Paul's 
Cross, 282. 

Sheerness taken by the Dutch, 
488. 

Shelbume, Earl of, secretaiy, 
641, 658. Prime minister, 
659, 661. Resigns, 664. 

Shephard betrays Monmouth's 
plot, 518, 

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 
658, 659, 669. 

Sheriffmuir, battle, 597. 



Deliver him up, ib. Dis- 1 Ship-money, 391, 399. Op 
pleased with English Parlia-| posed by Hampden, 400. 
ment, 444. Protest against Ships, Saxon, 22. 
the king's trial, 448. Pro- Shires, or counties, 73. 



claim Charles II. , 452. 
Scrope, Archbishop of York, 

rebellion and execution, 

203. 

, Lord, executed, 20T. 

Scutage {escuage\ 131, 141. 
Sebastiani, Marshal, 701, 706. 
Sebastopol invested, 743. 

Taken, 745. 
Sebert, King of Essex, 31. 
Secret service money, 611. 

Limited, 659. 
Security, act of (Scotch), 580. 
Sedgemoor, battle, 5-5. 
Segontiaci, 7. 
Selby, battle, 429. 
Selden, 389, 395. 
Select men of Boston, 647 
Self-denying Ordinance, 432. 
Senlac (field of Hastings), 70. 
Septennial Act, 598. 
Serfs, 73. 

Sergeantry, Grand, 130. 
Seringapatam, taken, 746. 
Settlement, Act of, 566. 
Seven Years' War, 626, 635. 
Severus dies at York, 12. 

Wall of, ib. 
Seville, treaty of, 608. 
Seymour, Jane, wife of Heniy 

VIH. , 280, 281. Death, 282. 

. , Admiral, Lord, 295. Mar- 

. ties the Queen dowager, 296. 

Executed, ib. 
, Mr., impeaches Claren- 
don, 489. 

Sir Edward, supports 



Shore, Jane, penance, 232. 
— , Sir John, governor gen- 
eral of India, 746. 

Shovel, Sir Cloudesley, 578. 
Blockades Toulon, 583. 

Shrewsbury, battle, 203. 

, Earl of, superintends the 

execution of Queen Mary, 
345. 

, Earl of, secretary, 546. 

, Duke of, lord chamber- 
lain, 586. Defeats Boling- 
broke's schemes, 591, 592. 
Treasurer, 592. Resigns, 
594. 

Sibthoi-pe, sermon of, 391. 

Sidmouth, Lord (Addington), 
president of council, 694. 
Retires, 729. 

Sidney, 539. 

Sidney, Algernon, joins Mon- 
mouth's conspiracy, 517. 
Apprehended, 518. History, 
519. Execution, ib. At 
tainder reversed, 551. 

Sidonius, 22. 

Siegfrid the pirate, 45. 

Silures, 9. 

Simnel, Lambert, personates 
the Earl of Wanvick, 245, 
246. 

Simon, Richard, incites the 
pretender Simnel, 245, 246. 

Simpson, General, 745. 

Siward, Earl of Northumber- 
land, 63, 64. 

Six Articles, law of, 283. Re- 
pealed, 296 



Prince of Orange, 535. 
Shaftesbury, Earl of, dismiss-! Slavery abolished, 736. 
ed, 496, Abets the Duke of I Slave-trade abolished, 700. 



Smyrna fleet attacked, 557. 
Sobraon, battle, 748. 
Societies, religious, 753. So- 
ciety, Royal, 543. Society 
for the Diffusion of Useful 
Knowledge, 754. 
Socmanni (socmen), 72, 132. 
Somers, Lord, 567, 573, 586. 
Somerset, Duke of. minister of 

Henry VL, 219. 
, Duke of (Hertford, Pro- 
tector), overturns Henry 
VIII. 's will, 294. Invader 
Scotland, 295. Ambition 
and unpopularity, 298. Ex- 
ecuted, 300. 

, Countess of, poisons 

Overbuiy, 377. Pardoned, 
378. 

house built, 298. 

Sophia, Electress of Hanover, 
566. Succession to England 
and Scotland established, 
580. Death, 591. 
Dorothea of Zelle, con- 
sort of George I. , 604. 
Soult, Marshal, 704, sq.., 708- 

711, 714-717. 
Southampton, Earl (Wriothe-3- 
ley), removed by Somerset, 
294. Helps to remove him, 
299. 

— , Earl, engaged in Essex's 
conspiracy, 359, 360. 
— , Earl of, embassador to 
the Parliament, 423. 
— , Earl, high treasurer, 478. 
Southcote, Joanna, 754. 
South Sea Company, 601. Ex- 
posed, 602. 

Sexe (Sussex), 25. 

Southwold Bay, battle in, 493, 

Spa-fields riots, 724 

Spain seized by Bonaparte, 

702, 703. 
Spanish succession, '562. War 

of, 568, 578, 581. 
Speaker, how elected, 507. 
Spensers, favorites of Edward 

II., 169. Executed, 171. 
Spinola invades the palatinate, 

381. 
SjJinster, etymology of, 75. 
Stafford, Lord, impeached, 

503. Execution, 513 sq. 
Stair, Earl of, 612. 
Stamp Act (North American), 
638. How received in 
America, 639. Repealed, 
641. 
Standard, battle of the, or 

Northallerton, 103, 104. 
Stanford Bridge, battle, 68. 
Stanhope, General, expedition 



786 



STANHOPK. 



INDEX. 



TOWNSHEND. 



to Spain, 583. Secretaiy, 
594, 599. Fjrst lord of treas- 
ury, 600. " Made viscount 
and earl, ib. Concludes 
quadruple alliance, ib. 
Death, 603. 

Stanhope, Earl, chairman of 
Revolution Society, 671. 

Stanley, Lord, declares for 
Richmond, 235. 

, Sir William, services at 

Bosworth, 285. Executed 
for treason, 249. 

, Lord (see Derby). 

Star Chamber, 253, 304. Ac- 
count of, 366, 399. Abol- 
ished, 411. 

Staremberg, Count, 5S3. 

Steam-engines, 751. 

vessels, increase of, 752. 

Steinkirk, battle, 557. 

STEniEN, King, reign of, 102- 
1C6. 

Stewart, Colonel, 656. 

Stigand, Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 81, 83. Degraded, 
86. 

Stilicho, 13. 

Stirling taken by Monk, 458. 
Besieged by Pretender, 619. 

Stoke, battle, 246. 

Stolberg, Louisa of, marries 
the Pretender, 622. 

Stonelienge, 5, 23. 

Stoi-m, great, 576. 

Strachan, Admiral Sir Rich- 
ard, 698, 707. 

Strafford, Earl of (Wentworth), 
chief minister, 398. Im- 
peached, 405. Trial, 408. 
Attainted, ib. Executed, 
410. 

Strahan defeats Montrose, 454. 

Strathclyde, kingdom, 28. 

Straw, Jack, 192. 

Strode accused of treason, 
415. 

Strongbow (see Clare). 

Stuart, Arabella, plot in her 
favor, 371. 

dynasty, revicAv of, 538. 

, Sir John, invades Italy, 

699, 707. 

Sub-infeudation, 129. 

Succession, lineal, when estab- 
lished, 106. Regal, ques- 
tion respecting, 160, 361, 

Suetonius (see Paulinus). 

Suffolk, Earl of, besieges Or- 
leans, 212. Negotiates Hen- 
ly VI. 's marriage, 216. 
Made a duke, 217. Accused 
of treason, 219. Murdered, 
ib. 

, Edmund de la Pole, Earl 

of, surrendered to Henry 
VII., 252. Death, ?:&., 7iote. 

, Charles Brandon, Duke 

of, marries Mary, dowager 
queen of France, 260. 

, Marquis of Dorset made 

Duke of, 301. Declares for 



Queen Mary, 304. Rebels, 
306. Executed, 307. 

Suffolk, house of, appointed to 
succeed by Henry VIIL's 
will, 370. 

, battle off, 485. 

Sully, his character of James 
L, 370. 

Sundei'land, Earl of, secretary, 
508. Advocates the Exclu- 
sion Bill, 512. Re-enters the 
ministry, 516, 524. Turns 
Roman Catholic, 528. Cor- 
responds with Prince of 
Orange, 533. Corresponds 
with James, 558. 

, Earl of, son-in-law of 

Marlborough, 586. Lord 
Lieutenant of Ireland, 594. 
Secretary, 600. Death, 603. 

Supremacy, Act of, 315. 

Surajah Dowlah, 636, 667. 

Surinam conquered, 683. 

Surrey, Earl of, minister of 
Henry VIH., 256. Defeats 
the Scots at Flodden, 259. 
Lands at Calais, 264. De- 
feats Albany, ib. (see Nor- 
folk). 

, Earl of (son of Norfolk), 

executed, 290. 

Suspending power, 483, note. 

Sussex, Earl of, 327. 

Suwarrow, 683. 

Sweyn of Denmark, 53-55. 

, son of Canute, 60. 

, son of Godwin, 62, 63. 

, King of Denmark, takes 

part against the Conqueror, 
84. 

Swift, attacks Wood's half- 
pence, 603. 

Sydenham proposes Crom- 
well's protectorate, 462. 

Sydney, Sir P., death, 340. 

, Lord, secretary, 664. 



Tacitus, account of Britons, 3, 

4. 
Taillefer, Count of Angou- 

leme, 136 sq. 
Talavera, battle, 706. 
Talbot, slain, 217. 
'•'• Talents," party so called, 

694. In office, 699, 
Tallages, 131. 
Tallard, Marshal, 577. 
Talleyrand, 692. 
Talmash, General, slain, 558. 
Tangiers, dowry of Catherine 

of Braganza, 481. 
Tasciovanus, 8. 
Taxes collected by Archbishop 

of Canterbury, 178. 
Taylor, Parson, burnt, 308. 
Tea, introduction of, 543. 

Duties, Americg,n, 644. 

Ships, how treated in Amer- 
ica, 645. 
Teignmouth burned, 553. 
Temple, Sir William, forms the 



Triple Alliance, 490. Re- 
called, 493. Plans a new 
privy council, 507, 508. 

Tenants in cainte., 129. Num- 
ber of, 130. 

Tenchebray, battle, 99. 

Tencin, Cardinal, 613. 

Tennison, Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 558. 

Tenures, Anglo - Saxon, 73. 
Per baroniam, 129. 

Test Act, 496, 498. 

, Parliamentaiy, 498,. 504, 

and Corporation acts re- 
pealed, 731. 

Tewkesbury, battle, 228. 

Thanea, 72. 

Thanet, isle of, 23, 37. 

Thelwall, prosecution of, 676. 

Theobald, Archbishop of Can- 
terbuiy. 111. 

Theodin, legate, 117. 

Theodosius, Emperor, 13. 

, General, 13. 

Theowas (serfs), 73. 

Thistlewood executed, 728. 

Thomas, St., of Canterbury 
(Becket), shrine pillaged, 
282. 

Thor, 21. 

Thorough, the, 411. 

Throgmorton, Sir Nicholns, 
embassador to Scotland, 325. 

Thurlow, Lord Chancelloi', 
651, 658. 

Tiberius, 8. 

Ticonderoga taken, 628. 

Tien-manna tale, 74. 

Tilbury, Elizabeth at, 350. 

Tillotson, Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 554. 

Tilsit, peace of, 701. 

Tin-trade, Bi'itish, 2. 

Tippoo, 668. Reduced, -746. 

Titchfield, Charles L at, 442. : 

Tithes in England, 41. 

Toleration Act, 548. 

Tollendal, Lally, 627, 637. 

Tone, Theobald Wolfe, 684. 

Tonge, Dr., 501, 512. 

Tonnage and poundage, what, 
372 and note. How granted, 
395. Levied without con- 
sent of Parliament, 398. 

Tonstal, Bishop, 305. 

Tories, name, 511. Support 
William IIL, 554. 

Torres Vedras, lines of, 709. 

Torrington, Ear' of (Herbert), 
conduct at Beachy Head, 
553. 

Tosti, son of Godwin, 63, 65, 
66, 68. 

Toulon, siege of, 582. Occu- 
pied by English and Span- 
ish, 673. 

Toulouse, battle of, 71 T. 

Tourville, 553, 556, 557. 

Towns, Roman, in Britain, 17, 
18. 

Townshend, Lord, dismissed, 
599. Lord lieutenant of Ire- 



TOWNSHEND. 



INDEX. 



WARBECK. 



787 



land, ib. Dismissed, 600. 
President of the council, 
601. Secretary, 602. Re- 
signs, 60S. 

ToTvnshend, Charles, chancel- 
lor of exchequer, 6-11. Amer- 
ican taxes, 64'2. Death, ib. 

, Thomas, secretary, 659. 

Towton, battle, 224. 

Tracy, William de, 116. 

Trade, T51. 

Trafalgar, battle, 696-698. 

Transtamare, Henry of, 1ST. 

Treason, High, law of, 190, 
305. Amended, 559. 

Treasurer, Lord High, office 
extinguished, 594. 

Tredings (I'idings), 13. 

Trela\7ney, Bishop of Bristol, 
530. 

Tresham, Francis, joins Gun- 
poTTder Plot, 373, 374. 

Trevor, Sir John, speaker, ex- 
pelled, 55S. 

Triennial Act repealed, 4S3. 
Bill passed, 55S. Repealed, 
598. 

Trimmers, party of, 516. 

Trinity College, Cambridge, 
founded, 291. 

Trinobantes, T. 

Trinoda necessitas^ irhat, 73. 

Tromp, Admiral, combats 
with Blake, 459, 460. His 
bravado, 460. KUled, 463. 

Trotter, Mr., 695. 

Trowbridge, Captain, 679. 

Troyes, treaty of, 209. 

Tnitulensis, Portus, 11. 

Tudor, Sir Owen, 210. Be- 
headed, 222. 

, house of, 235. Period, 

review of, 361. 

Tuisco, 21. 

Tunis, Dey of, chastised by 
Blake, 465, 466. 

Turcoing, battle, 674. 

Turks declare war, 701. 

Turner, Bishop of Ely, 530. 

Turnpikes, 540. 

Tyler, Wat, 192. Slain by 
Walworth, ib. \ 

Tyndale's New Testament,' 
277. 

Tyrconnel, Earl of (Talbot), 
violence in Ireland, 52S, 
549. Supports James n., ?b. 

Tyi'one, Earl, rebellion, 355. 
Surrenders, 360. 

Tyrrel shoots Riifus, 97. 

, Sir James, murders 

Gloucester's nephews, 232, 
248. 

Tythings, 74. 

U. 

L'ffa, King of East Anglia, 26. 

Uffingas., 26. 

Lister, kingdom of, 118. 

Planted, 375. 
Uniformity, Act of, 315, 481, 

499. 



Union, Scotch, 579. Articles T-7Z;?»r7s, 39. Flag, 40. 
of, 581. Carried in Scot-, Ville de Paris taken, 659. 



land, ib. Act of, ib. 
Union, Irish, 684, 685. 
United Irishmen, 684. 
United States of America, in 



Villeins protected by Magna 

Charta, 142. 
Villenage, Anglo - Norman, 

132. Extinguished, 237. 



dependence recognized, 661. jVilleneuve, Admiral, 696, 



Pass non - intercourse act, 
713. Declare war, ib. 

Universities, European, con- 
sulted on Henry VHI.'s di- 
vorce, 271. 

University of London, 754. 



YUleroi, Marshal, 560. 577. 
Defeated at Ramillies, 579. 

ViUiers, Barbara, 521, note. 

•, George (see Bucking- 
ham). 

Vimiera, battle, 704. 



Urban _YUL, Pope, obstructs Vinegar Hill, battle, 685. 



Spanish match, 385, 
L'shant, action off, 652. 
Utrecht, conference at, open 

ed, 588. Peace of, 590. 
Uvedale, Sir William, 423. 



Virginia colony, 340, 378. 
Virius Lupus, 11. 
Viscount, title of, 238. 
Visitors, ecclesiastical, 295. 
Vittoria, battle of, 715. 



Uxbridge, conference at, 433. Vortigern, 14, 23. 



V. 

Valenciennes taken, 673. 

Valentia, 13. 

Valentine holds the speaker in 

the chair, 397. 
Valentinian I., 13. 
Vane, Sir H., character, 406. 



Vortimer, 23. 



W. 



Wade, Marshal, 618. 
Wagram, battle, 707. 
Wakefield, battles, 221, 427. 
Wakeman, Sir George, 501. 
Trial, 509. 



Negotiates the Solemn Walcheren expedition, TOT. 



League, 428. An Indepen 

dent, 432. Commissioner 

for Scotland, 459. Excepted 

from indemnity, 478. Trial, 

481. Execution, 482. 
Van Paris burned, 297. 
Vansittart, Mr., Governor of 

India, 6G5. 
, Mr., Chancellor of the Wall, Roman, 16. 

Exchequer, 711. 'Wallace, WiUiam, histoiy of^- 

Varangians, 85. ' 164-166. 

Vassalage, Scotch, 95, 121. Waller, Sir William, Parlia- 

Sold by Richard L, 124. I mentary general, 4-5, 426, 
Vassals, condition of, 129. 431, 432. Conspires against 



Wales conquered, 156. United 
with England, 279. 

Wales, Prince of, title, 158. 

Wales, Dowager Princess, ap- 
pointed regent, 623. 

Walker, a clergyman, defends 
Londonderry, 550. Killed 
at the Boyne, 552. 



Vaudois, the, supported by 
Cromwell, 467. 

Venables, Admiral, 466. 

Vendome, Marshal Duke de, 
583. 

Verdun, English detained at, 
693. 

Vere, Earl of Oxford, governs 
Richard H., 193. 

, Sii' Horace, defends the 

Palatinate, 3S1. 

Vernon, Admiral, takes Porto 
Bello, 610. 

Versailles, treaty, 626. Peace 
of, 661. Unpopular, 664. 

Verulamium taken by Caesar, 
8. 

Vespasian subdues the Isle of 
Wight, 8. 

Vicar-general, Cromwell ap- 
pointed, 279. 

Victor, Marshal, 706, TIG. 

ViCTOEiA, reign of, T3T sq. 

Vidomar of Limoges, 127. 

Vienna, treaty of, 604. En- 
tered by Napoleon, 695. 
Congress of, 719, 723. 

Vienne, John de, 181. 

iVigo taken, 352. 



Cromwell, 470. 

, Edmund, conspii'acy, 

426. 

Walpole, Sir Robert, 585. Ex- 
pelled the Commons, 589. 
Restored, 595. Resigns, 600. 
Paymaster of the forces, 601. 
Chancellor of exchequer, 
602. System of corruption, 
604. Receives the Garter, 
ib. Reappointed by George 
H., 607. Administration, 
607, 60S, 610. Resigns, 611. 

, Horace, Historic Doubts., 

232, note. 

Walsch (Welsh), 27. 

Walsingham, Secretary, 342, 
347. 

Walters, Lucy, 506. 

Waltham Abbey, TO. 

Waltheof, Eari, S3, 84, 8T, 88. 

Walworth, Mayor of London, 
slays Wat Tyler, 192. 

Wandebash, battle, 63T. 

Wantsuvut., the, 3T. 

Wapentake., 74. 

Warbeck, Perkin, personates 
Richard, Duke of York, 
24T-250. 



788 WARBURTON. 



INDEX. 



WOLVES. 



Warburton, Bishop, 638. 

Wardle, Colonel, 705. 

Wardship (feudal), 132. 

Warehousing system, 752. 

Wargaum, battle, 668. 

Warham, Archbishop of Can- 
terbuiy and chancellor, 260. 

Warrenne, Earl, 156. Gov- 
ernor of Scotland, 162. De- 
feated by Wallace, 164. 

Wars, private, 130. 

WarAvick, Guy, Earl of, 169. 

, Earl of, banished by 

Richard II., 195. 

, Earl of, tutor of Heniy 

VI., 210. ThQ King-maker^ 
218. Flies to Calais, 220. 
Captures Henry VI., lb. De- 
feated at St. Albans, 222. 
Victorious at Towton, 224. 
Alienated by Edward IV. 's 
marriage, 225. Agreement 
Avith Queen Margaret, 226. 
Invades England, 227. Pro- 
claims Henry VI., ib. Re- 
gent, ih. Slain at Barnet, 
ib. 

, Edward Plantagenet, 

Earl of, imprisoned, 244. 
Led through London, 245. 
Beheaded, 250. 

, Earl of (Dudley), opposes 

Somerset, 296, 298, 299. 
Earl Marshal, ib. Becomes 
Duke of Northumberland, 
300 {see Northumberland). 

, Earl of, Parliament- 
ary general, resigns, 432. 
Grandson marries Crom- 
■well's daughter, 469. 

Washington, George, appoint- 
ed commander-in-chief by 
the Americans, 646, 648, 
656. 

, American capital, taken, 

719. 

Waterloo, battle, 720. 

Watling Street, 14, 44. 

Watt, James, 751. 

Wealas ("Welsh kind"), 34. 

Wedderburn, Solicitor Gener- 
al, 644. Made chief justice 
and Lord Loughborough, 
656. 

Wedgewood, 751. 

Weights and measures, 141. 

Wellesley, Marquess (Lord 
Mornington), foreign secre- 
tary, 708, 711. Governor 
General of India, 746. 

{see Wellington). 

Wellington, Duke of (Sir Ar- 
thur Wellesley), at Copen- 
hagen, 702. In Peninsula, 
703, 704. Superseded, 704. 
Resumes command, 706. In- 
vades Spain, ib. At Tala- 
vera, 706. Made Viscount 
Wellington, ib. Occupies 
Torres Vedras, 709. De- 
feats Massena, 711. Duke 
of Ciudad Rodrigo, 712. Ad- 



vance into Spain, ib. De- 
feats Marmont, ib. Enters 
Madrid, ib. Retires, ib. 
Grant to, 714. Re-enters 
Spain, 715. Enters France, 
ib. Pursues Soult,716. Made 
duke, 718. Grant to, ib. 
Opinion on Bonapai-te's es- 
cape, 720. Defeats him at 
Waterloo, 721, 722. Master 
general of ordnance, 725. 
Resigns, 730. Premier, 731. 
Duel with Lord Winchelsea, 
732. Death and character, 
742. Achievements in In- 
dia, 746. 

''Welsh kind" iWealas\ 27. 

Wnids., or Sclavonians, 59. 

Wentworth, Peter, sent to the 
Tower, 353. 

, Sir Thomas, leader of the 

Commons, 389, 393. Made 
Earl of Strafford and minis- 
ter, 398 (.see Strafford). 

, General, 610. 

Wergild.^ Avhat, 74. 

Wesley, John, 754. 

Wessex, 20, note. 

West, Admiral, 624. 

Westminster Abbey, 14, 31, 
67. 

Hall, 97. 

Westmoreland, Earl of, con- 
spires to liberate the Queen 
of Scots, 329, 330. 

West Sexe (Wessex), kingdom 
of, 25. 

Wharton, Earl of, 586, 589. 

, Duke of, 602. 

Whig, origin of name, 511. 

Whitbread, Mr., 694. Im- 
peaches Lord Melville, 695. 

White, Colonel, ejects the Par- 
liament, 462. 

, Bishop of Peterborough, 

530. 

Whitebi'ead, Jesuit, 508. 

Whitelock, account of Straf- 
ford's behavior, 409 

Whitfield, S., 754. 

Whitgift, Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, character, 338. 

Whitworth, Lord, insulted by 
Bonaparte, 693. 

Wibbandun, battle, 29. 

Wic-gerefa (town-reeve), 76. 

Wickliffe, John, account of, 
198 sq. 

Wiglaf, King of Mercia, 36. 

Wihtgar, 25. 

Wilberforce, William, 700. 

Wilkes writes against Lord 
Bute, 634, 637. Arrested, 
637, 638. Duel, 638. Out- 
lawed, ib. Returned for 
Middlesex, 642, 643. Sen- 
tence and riot, 642. Popu- 
larity, ib. Expelled, ib. 
Active against the Gordon 
riots 655. 

William I., Duke of Nor- 
mandy (the Conqueror), 64, 



79. Obtains an oath from 
Harold, 65. Demands the 
crown from him, 67. De- 
feats Harold at Hastings, 
69. Enters London, 81. 
Reign of, 80-92. 
William II., reign of, 93-97. 

HI., reign of, 545-569. -^ 

IV., reign of, 733-73T. 

Longsword, of Norman- 

dy, 78. 

, son of Robert of Nor- 
mandy, 99, 100. 

, son of Henry I., 101. 

Duke of Guienne, 97. 

of Poitiers, account of 

English nobility, 83. 

, King of Scotland, in- 
vades England, 120, 121. 

, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, 103. 

Williams, General, defends 
Kars, 745. 

Willis, Dr., 670. 

Wilmington, Lord, head of 
treasury, 611. Death, 613. 

Wilson, Sir Robert, 706. 

Wilson, General, 749. 

Winchelsea, Lord, retires, 614. 

, Earl of, duel with Wel- 
lington, 732. 

Winchester palace, 91. 

Windebank, Sir F. , secretary, 
absconds, 406. 

Windsor Castle, how built, 
190. 

Winter, Thomas, engages in 
Gunpowder Plot, 372, 374. 

Winton Ceaster (Venta Bel- 
garum), 26. 

Winwood, Sir Ralph, 377. 

Wiseman, Cardinal, 741. 

Wishart burnt, 295. 

Witeiia-gemot., 73. 

Witnesses, judicial, when first 
summoned, 154. 

Witt, De, Admiral, 460. 

, Pensionary, 488. Nego- 
tiates with Temj)le, 490. 
Massacred, 494. 

Wlencing, 25. 

Woden, 21. 

Wodnesbeorg, battle, 30. 

Wolfe, General, 626. Expedi- 
tion against Quebec, 628. 
KUled, 629. 

Wolsey, Cardinal, history, 
257. Obtains the revenues 
of Toitrnay, 259. Archbish- 
op of York, etc., 260. Mag- 
nificence of, ib. Treaty with 
Francis, 261. Legate, etc., 
ib. Gained by Charles V., 
263. Expostulates with the 
Commons, 264. Inclines to 
Francis I., 265. Disgraced, 
269. Condemned, but par- 
doned, 270. Charged with 
high treason, 271. Death, 
ib. Founded Christ Church, 
Oxon., 291, 

Wolves extirpated, 52. 



WOOD S HALFPENCE. 



INDEX. 



ZUYLESTEIN. 789 



Wood's halfpence, 603. 

Woodstock, labyrinth, 123. 
Manor conferred on Marl- 
borough, 579. 

Woodville, Elizabeth (Lady 
Grey), marries Edward IV., 
225. Takes sanctuary, 230. 

Wool, grant of, ITS. 

AYoolen manufacture, 231. 

Worcester, Earl of, revolts 
against Henry IV., 203. 
Beheaded, ib. 

, battles, 424, 456. 

Wotton, Dr., 317. 

Wren, Sir Christopher, 543. 

Wriothesley, Chancellor, 

abused by Heniy Vm., 290. 
Executor, 293. Created 
Earl Southampton, 294. 

Writs established by Magna 
Charta, 141. 

Wulstan, Bishop of Worcester, 
86. 

Wurtemberg, a kingdom, 696. 

Wyatt's insui'rection, 306. 
Executed, ib. 



Yarmouth, Countess of (So- 
phia de Walmoden), 60S. 
, Lord, 699. 



Yonge, Sir William, 614. 

York, archbishopric founded, 
33. Cathedral, ib. Coun- 
cil at, 405. Taken by the 
Roundheads, 431. 

York, Archbishop of, rebels, 
2S1, 282. 

, Duke of, guardian, joins 

Henry of Lancaster, 196. 

, Kichard, Duke of, re- 
gent of France, 215. His 
claim to the English crown, 
217. Marches on London, 
220. Gains the battle of St. 
Albans, ib. Killed at Wake- 
field, 221. 

, Edward, Duke of (Ed- 
ward IV.), gains the battle 
of Mortimer's Cross, 221. 
Proclaimed king, 222. 

, Richard, Duke of, son 

of Edward IV., murdered, 
232. Inquiry into his deatli, 
248. 

, Duke of (James H.), 

marries Ann Hyde, 479. A 
Roman Catholic, 482. Im- 
proves naval tactics, 485. 
Defeats the Dutch at South- 
wold Bay, 493. Resigns 
command, 496. Marries 



Mary of Modena, ib. Ex- 
empted from Parliamentary 
test, 504. Retires to Brus- 
sels, 506. High commis- 
sioner in Scotland, 510. 
Cruelty, ib. Indicted by 
Shaftesbuly, 511. Conspir- 
acy against, 517. Restored 
as admiral, 520 (see James 
ID. 

York, Frederick, Duke of, 
lands at Ostend, 673. Nar- 
row escape, 674. Resigns 
command, 675. Expedition 
to Holland, and capitula- 
tion, 683. Colonel Wardle's 
charges against, 705. Re- 
signs commandership, ib. 
Reinstated, 710. Death, 
730. 

Place, Wolsey's palace 

(Wliitehall), 269. 

Yorktown capitulates, 656, 
657. 

Young, gives evidence against 
Marlborough, 556. 

Ypwines-fleet, 24. 



Zutphen, battle, 340. 
Zuylestein, 533, 541. 



THE END. 







*»* Harpee & Bbothees will send either of the following Works by Mail, 
postage paid (for any distance in the United States under 3000 miles), on re- 
ceipt of One Dollar. 

LIDDELL AND SMITH'S 

SCHOOL HISTORIES OF 

GREECE AND ROME. 



DR. SMITH'S HISTORY OF GREECE. 

A School History of Greece, from the Earliest Times to the Ro- 
man Conquest, with Supplementary Chapters on the History 
of Literature and Art. By Wm, Smith, LL.D., Classical Ex- 
aminer in the University of London, and Editor of the " Class- 
ical Dictionaries." Revised, with an Appendix, by George 
W. Greene, A.M. Illustrated by 100 Engravings on Wood. 
(Uniform with "Liddell's Rome" and "The Student's Gib- 
bon."') New Edition. 679 pages, Large 12mo, Muslin, $1 00. 
We have much satisfaction in bearing testimony to the excellence of the plan 
on which Dr. Wm. Smith has proceeded, and the careful, scholar-like manner 
in which he has carried it out. The great distinctive feature, however, is the 
chapters on Literature and Art. This gives it a decided advantage over all pre- 
vious works of the kind. — Athenceum. 



DEAN LIDDELL'B HISTORY OF ROME. 

A School History of Rome, from the Earliest Times to the Estab- 
lishment of the Empire, with Chapters on the History of Liter- 
ature and Art. By Henry G. Liddell, D.D., Dean of Christ 
Church, Oxford. Illustrated by numerous Wood-cuts. (Uni- 
form with "The Student's Gibbon" and "Smith's History of 
Greece.") 778 pages, Large 12mo, Muslin, $1 00. 
This excellent History of Rome, from the pen of one of the most celebrated 

scholars of the day, ivill supersede every other icork on the subject. The volume 

conforms with the "History of Greece," by Dr. Wm. Smith, in typography, 

literary method, and illustration. — John Bull. 



DR. SMITH'S STUDENT'S GIBBON. 

The History of the Decline and Eall of the Roman Empire. By 
Edward Gibbon. Abridged. Incorporating the Researches 
of Recent Commentators. By William Smith, LL.D., Editor 
of the " Classical Dictionary" and "A Dictionary of Greek and 
Roman Antiquities." Illustrated by 100 Engravings on Wood. 
(Uniform with "Liddell's Rome.") 705 pages, Large 12mo, 
Muslin, $1 00. 

Dr. Wm, Smith has drawn up an admirable abridgment of Gibbon's Eoman 
Empire, using, as far as possible, the language of the original, and adopting the 
plan of omitting or treating briefly circumstances of inferior importance, so that 
the grand events which have influenced the history of the world may be nar- 
rated at length. — Cambridge Chronicle. 

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, 

Franklin Square, Ne-w York. 



harper's Catalogue- 



A New Descriptive Catalogue of Harper & Brothers' 
Publications, with an Index and Classified Table of Contents, is? 
now ready for Distribution, and may be obtained gratuitously on 
application to the Publishers personally, or by letter inclosing Six 
Cents in Postage Stamps. 

The attention of gentlemen, in town or country, designing to form 
Libraries or enrich their Literary Collections, is respectfully invited 
to this Catalogue, which will be found to comprise a large propor- 
tion of the standard and most esteemed works in English Literature 
—comprehending more than two thousand volumes — which 
are offered, in most instances, at less than one half the cost of sim- 
ilar productions in England. 

To Librarians and others connected with Colleges, Schools, &c., 
who may not have access to a reliable guide in forming the true 
estimate of literary productions, it is believed this Catalogue will 
prove especially valuable as a manual of reference. 

To prevent disappointment, it is suggested that, whenever books 
can not be obtained through any bookseller or local agent, applica- 
tions with remittance should be addressed direct to the Publishers, 
which will be promptly attended to. 



H 279 85 



//.y'//")/ 



'^A. 







4 > %^ * • « 5 






€^ 



F* «5.^ *%«. * rails* -^^ "^ oVJO^* AT -^ 




» • * 



rp < 




















4^ 




HECKMAN 

BINDERY INC. 

^ APR 85 



M ^y^ANrHP?;TFR. 






